Japan's Transgender Community

Japan is a giant in terms of its economic, technological, industrial, and medical prowess, but when it comes to treating transgender people lagged behind the rest of the world. The first sex reassignment surgery in Japan (for an F to M) didn't take place until 1998 and was followed up by the first M to F surgery a year later.

If you're an anime fan there are numerous titles that have transgender characters such as my fave series You're Under Arrest which features transgender Tokyo police officer Aoi Futaba. But unfortunately real life transgender people in Japan have been reluctantly hiding in the shadows in a culture that prizes conformity.

Things are changing in Japan as it make moves to grant more personal freedom to its citizens, and the Japanese transgender community is a beneficiary of this openness.

It's estimated that there are 7,000 to 10,000 transgender people in Japan, and while it seems that the ascension of Japanese transpeople has been meteoric, much of what has happened was the result of years of behind the scenes work.

In 2003 Aya Kamikawa became the first (and so far only) transgender person elected to public office in Japan when she won a place on the local assembly for Setagaya, one of Tokyo's biggest local government areas. She has played a key role in lobbying for changes at both the national and local levels, including the 2004 gender change law. Kamikawa has also successfully lobbied to eliminate unnecessary mentions of gender in public documents and was reelected in 2008 to serve a second four year term.

Following on the heels of Kamikawa's historic political victory were groundbreaking legal reforms in 2004 that allowed some transsexuals to change their officially registered sex. Unfortunately the law only allows unmarried, childless applicants to change their official gender. In addition, applicants also must have had SRS and been diagnosed by two doctors as having gender identity disorder.

That has resulted in only 151 people officially changing their gender codes between July 2004, when the law took effect, and the end of March 2005, according to Japan's Justice Ministry.

Despite the victories, there's still some stigma attached to being transgender in Japan, although that is slowly being overcome. "As long as we keep silent, nothing is going to change," said Kamikawa. "We need the courage to make a society which respects diversity."

The Korean Transgender Community

When it comes to Asia and the Pacific islands, there is a wide variance in terms of the populace's acceptance level for transgender people.

One of the countries that has made gigantic leaps in terms of acceptance of transgender people is South Korea. Much of the improved perception of transgender people there has been driven by transwoman Lee Kyung-eun, who is better known to Koreans and the rest of the world by her stage name of Harisu.

Harisu was born in 1975, transitioned in her teens, had SRS, then started garnering international attention in 2001 when she appeared in a wildly successful advertising campaign for Dodo Cosmetics.



The multitalented Harisu has authored four books, modeled, acted in movies and television shows, appeared in print and television commercials and recorded several K-pop albums.



On November 29, 2003 she petitioned a Korean district court in Incheon to change her name and gender on her family registry. The petition was granted and on December 13, 2002 she became only the second person in South Korea to legally change their gender. On May 13, 2007 after dating him for two years she married her boyfriend Micky Jung.

Harisu was cognizant of her role as South Korea's first open transgender celebrity and was adamant about always setting a good example. Her successful transition opened the door for other Korean transwomen to walk in her pumps.

A K-pop group called Lady appeared on the scene which tried to capitalize on Harisu's popularity in Korea. After a nationwide talent search, three transwomen were chosen to form the group and a fourth was added later. However, the band received a lukewarm reception and officially disbanded in 2007.

In addition to Harisu being credited for helping to change attitudes about transgender people, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has been pushing to protect transgender people in Korea as well.

South Korean transpeople are now eligible to serve in the country's military forces and rewrote its military medical examination procedures in order for them to do so.


But the biggest milestones for Korean transsexuals have been in their court system. In June 2006 the Korean Supreme Court ruled that transsexuals who have sex change operations should be able to legally change their gender.

Justice Kim commenting on their decision, said that their decision “is the best choice to alleviate the suffering of transsexual people at a time when any tangible legislative measures to protect their rights is most likely a long time coming.”

And to illustrate just how far Korea has come on transgender issues, a Korean court recently sentenced a man to four years in jail plus community service for raping a transwoman. It's a landmark case there because in 1996 the Korean judiciary rejected a similar case involving the rape of a transwoman.

So once again you have an Asian nation running rings around the self proclaimed leading democracy in the world when it comes to granting basic human rights to transgender people. When are we in the States going to catch up to the rest of the world who long ago recognized that we are human beings?

Pecah Lobang

Pecah Lobang is a documentary by 24 year old filmmaker Poh Si Teng about Muslim transgender sex workers.

Pecah lobang means 'busted', and Malaysian transwomen because of Sharia law increasingly find themselves harassed by fundamentalist adherents to the faith and negative attitudes from Christians as well.



One of the reasons is that crossdressing became a crime under Sharia law with severe penalties to match, but that wasn't always the case.

Teng's award winning documentary not only focuses on Natasha's struggle to honestly live her life, but explores why Malaysian society has turned repressive on transwomen through interview with a religious scholar, a physician who conducted sex change surgeries, a sociologist, three attorneys and an outreach worker.

It's also another reminder for transgender people all over the world that no matter what part of the planet we inhabit, we still fight the same battle for acceptance.

China's Transgender Community

Since the turn of the 21st century, China has begun making another 'Great Leap Forward' in terms of modernization and putting itself in the world's spotlight.

We got a glimpse of just how much it has progressed during the recently concluded Beijing Games, and its space program continues to take giant leaps as well toward their ultimate goal of becoming the second nation to put a man on the moon.

One interesting thing that has come to light is that China, like 'errbody' else on our planet, has an estimated 400,000 transgender people in their midst. Over 1000 of them have had surgery, and we in the West have been getting introduced to them and their stories as well.

It's not unusual now to Google 'china transsexuals' and see many links to various stories about transpeople in China. But all Chinese transsexuals probably owe a major debt to internationally acclaimed dancer Jin Xing. Her struggles and eventual SRS in 1995 basically opened the door that has made life easier for other transpeople across China to follow.

Chinese society has become more open and tolerant towards transsexuals to the point where in 2004, Chen Lili won the Miss China Universe pageant and was poised to become the first transgender contest in the 50 plus year history of the event that was being staged in Ecuador that year. But rules were quickly passed limiting the event to cisgender women and Chen was barred from participating.

Maybe the Donald should rethink that ban. Some of the biggest traffic days I get on TransGriot is when I post video or photos from various transgender pageants around the world.

As the examples of Jin Xing and Chen Lili show, Chinese transpeople are being fully integrated into society. They can now change their ID cards without hassles, their civil rights are protected by law, and after they have surgery can get married and have those marriages recognized by the state as valid.

They are examples that the rest of the judgmental Western world would do well to emulate, especially in my own country.

Transpinays Are Doing It For Themselves

Every now and then you'll see my busy sis PinayTG post something in my comment section from time to time. I have a link to her wonderful blog as well.

But as I continue to point out, transgender peeps are everywhere and we face on varying levels from country to country and continent to continent a struggle to see our human rights respected, codified into law and protected.

So what's a transpinay? A transpinay is a transwoman of Filipina heritage. It's a term the community created to more accurately describe themselves and separate themselves from the more negative local terms that are considered insulting by our sisters there. I enthusiastically embrace and use transpinay here out of respect, solidarity and love for my sisters.

Transpinays are becoming more active and vocal about educating their nation about transgender issues and improving the lives of their sisters through STRAP, the Manila based Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines.

STRAP was founded in 2002 and its multifaceted mission not only focuses on fighting for the rights of transpinays, they are a support group, do educational advocacy on transgender issues, build pride in being a transpinay and confront negative images about transwomen as well.

Like us on this side of the Pacific, they face the same non-matching identity paperwork issues, discrimination, and unemployment/underemployment problems as well. But with each passing day they are becoming a more cohesive community, and it's only a matter of time before transpinays take their rightful place in Philippine society.

Turkish Transsexuals Take To The Stage To Defend Their Rights

TransGrior Note: I'll say it again, transgender peeps fighting for their rights, dignity and respect is a worldwide struggle.

Turkey: transsexuals take to the stage to defend their rights

From Agency France Presse
Jan 20, 2008

ANKARA (AFP) — A unique play in an Ankara theatre ended with a standing ovation this week as the little-known actors -- transsexuals and gays raising their voice against discrimination -- fought back their tears on stage.

Their play, "Pink And Grey," put the spotlight on the plight of transsexuals in mainly Muslim Turkey, in the latest initiative of a fledgling but increasingly vocal movement for rights by a community long ostracized and often harassed.

Beaming with pride and excitement, the amateur stars, male-to-female transsexuals Derya Tunc and Sera Can, received congratulations in the boisterous backstage, taking a welcome respite from their actual jobs as sex workers.

"Despite all the discrimination we face, I have no regrets for what I am," Can cheerfully told AFP. "My only regret is having ended up in the prostitution sector."

Almost all transsexuals and transvestites in Turkey make their living as prostitutes. They say they have no other option in a society where homophobia is strong and often accompanied by violence.

Three quarters of Turks say they are "disturbed" by homosexuals, a recent opinion survey showed, although many gays today are recognized as being among the country's most prominent singers and fashion designers.

Notoriously harsh against transsexual prostitutes, police have been accused of arbitrary round-ups, mistreatment, torture and rough "clean-up" operations in several Istanbul neighbourhoods popular with transsexuals.

Activists say police abuse declined in recent years as the homosexual and transgender movement became organised and Turkey's bid to join the European Union made human rights a priority issue.

"Before, the police used violence -- now they only fine us," said Buse Kilickaya, the head of Pembe Hayat, or Pink Life, a newly-founded association that advocates transgender rights and sponsored "Pink and Grey."

She pointed to the ongoing trial of four people over an assault on transvestite and transsexual prostitutes in Ankara's Eryaman suburb in 2006, which left several seriously injured.

The victims were attacked by young men wielding sticks and knives who were allegedly encouraged by local authorities and property developers; their flats were ransacked and they were eventually forced to flee the neighbourhood.

Attorney Senem Doganoglu, a supporter of Pink Life, said transvestites and transsexuals continue to be arbitrarily detained and could end up in a police station simply for showing up in the street.

"I had a case in which one was detained when she went out in the evening to buy bread," Doganoglu said.

Prostitution is not a crime in Turkey, so the police use a law that provides for fines for disturbing public order to pursue transsexual sex workers, she explained.

That the advocacy of conservative values by the governing Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) "is fostering the existing climate of intolerance," she said.

Islam's impact on sexual freedoms, however, has proven to be a tricky issue in secular Turkey, where same-sex relationships and sex change operations are allowed, unlike in many other Muslim countries, and homosexual traditions can be traced back to the palaces of Ottoman sultans.

One of Turkey's best-known gays, prominent fashion designer Cemil Ipekci, made the headlines this month as he praised the AKP, described himself as a "conservative homosexual" and said he would have worn the Islamic headscarf had he been a woman.

And a transgender association in Ankara has called for a special mosque where its members can pray without disturbing the conventional Muslim flock.

"They cannot deny us the right to pray for salvation, can they?" asked group leader Oksan Oztok.

Activists hope discrimination will decrease as they become better organised and more vocal.

"We know things cannot change overnight. But there is progress already and we will continue to fight," Kilickaya said as she and her fellows excitedly discussed the date of the next "Pink and Grey" performance.

My Favorite Transgender Cop

I've had the pleasure over the years of meeting now Lieutenant Stephan Thorne of the San Francisco Police Department (congrats Stephan on the promotion) and hanging out with TOPS founder Tony Barreto-Neto during the 2000 IFGE convention in Washington DC.

But my favorite transgender police officer is Sgt. Aoi Futaba of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Aoi was a former star high school basketball player in Japan with many female fans and after joining the force worked on the vice squad.

She crossdressed as part of an operation to catch a serial rapist, and after the case was successfully concluded she realized her body may be male, but her spirit was female and continued to dress and live as a woman full time.

She transferred from Vice to the Traffic Division soon afterward and ends up at Bokuto Station. After a rocky beginning, Aoi's new coworkers at Bokuto Precinct fully accept her, even with the knowledge that she wasn't always female.

By the way, did I mention that Sgt. Aoi Futaba is an anime character?

Some of you may have figured out either by the photos or the initial paragraph I wrote that I'm talking about the anime series You're Under Arrest. While the show is focused on the exploits on and off duty of Sgt. Miyuki Kobayakawa and Sgt. Natsumi Tsujimoto who are this anime police show's Cagney and Lacey clones, Aoi is the far more fascinating character on it.

Miyuki correctly observes during their initial meeting that Aoi is more feminine than any genetic woman in Bokuto Station by saying to her after she explained her emotions and thoughts leading to her transition, "You're the daughter my mom always wanted." During the first and second season her observation proves to be right on target.

You have the embarrassing situations centered on Aoi's pre-op status in various episodes, but over time she not only proves to be a valued officer at Bokuto Station, she simply becomes 'one of the girls.' Even Yoriko Nikaido, the nosy Bokuto station dispatcher and scheming gossip who had a major problem with her at first using the women's locker room eventually warms to Aoi and becomes her patrol partner.

It's interesting to note that Aoi realistically mirrors many of the emotions, concerns and problems that many transgender people face. She faced the bathroom issue in the very first episode that chronicles her character's initial arrival at Bokuto Station.

There were two episodes in which she faced the 'When Do I Tell Him' dating dilemma. She had to decide when to disclose to a handsome and famous actor she was attracted to and who showed romantic interest in her that she was a transwoman. The other episode chronicling Aoi's dating dilemma focused on her anguish about meeting a man she'd become romantically involved with via the Internet and revealing her secret.

There was also the You're Under Arrest-Full Throttle episode in the third season in which her old superior in the vice department Udamura Kumanosuke felt responsible for her transition because of those crossdressing missions and showed up at Bokuto station with the announced intention of turning Aoi back into a man. After the failure of the remasculinization plan, his wife pointed out after meeting Aoi that she was always female and that was her natural predestined path to travel.

Even one of her female fans in the first episode who'd developed a crush on the pre-transition Aoi in high school and treasured the pair of old basketball shoes she was given by Aoi eventually realized the same thing.

So yes, she's my favorite transgender police officer, at least in the anime world.

As for my favorite transgender police officer in the real world, I'm pleading the fifth on that.

Documentary-She's My Son

I posted the article a few months ago about the award winning documentary She's My Son by Indrani Kopal.

It peeks into the lives of Malaysian transwomen and once again, underscores the comment I made sometime ago that being transgender is a worldwide issue. We are everywhere, and we are a part of the human family that needs to be embraced, not reviled.

Here's the YouTube uploaded video of it.

Past Miss International Queen Pageant Highlights

Since Thailand's recent political turmoil postponed Miss International Queen 2008, thought I'd post some video from the past pageants to give y'all an idea what we pageant fanatics missed this year.

I'm happy to hear that some of the Thai political turmoil is starting to fade a bit since the Thai constitutional courts weighed in on the issue that triggered the crisis and led to the opposition group's boycott and occupation of Bangkok's two airports.

The shutdown stranded over 300,000 international tourists in Thailand and is estimated to have cost the country $2 billion USD in tourist revenue.

Now that they're on the road to sorting out the political problems, let's hope political stability reigns in the 'Land of Smiles' for a while, people resume visiting Asia's best beaches and my Thai transsisters can get back to work dazzling tourists at the various cabarets they're famous for along with the other 1.8 million Thais the tourism industry employs..

It'll also be cool to see those two highly anticipated transgender pageants take place there in 2009.


The 2004 Pageant


The 2005 Pageant


The 2006 Pageant

2008 Miss International Queen Pageant Postponed

If you're wondering why I haven't done a post yet about who won Miss International Queen 2008, the reason is because the pageant won't be happening until October 2009.

It's been affected by a double whammy of political unrest and a border clash between Thailand and Cambodia near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

Which country claims it has been a source of drama between Thailand and Cambodia for decades. The World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, but the sovereignty issues over some of the land around the temple were not clearly resolved.

UNESCO approving Cambodia's application to designate the temple a World Heritage Site led to July 15 troop deployments by both nations along the disputed border. Despite a late August troop pullback, a brief gun battle broke out between the two sides in October which ended up with one Cambodian and two Thai soldiers wounded.

In addition, the political tension in Thailand between the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the People’s Power Party-led coalition government has ratched up to armed confrontation levels between protesters and riot police. An October 7 demonstration resulted in one person killed and several injured.

While the political turmoil has largely been confined to the capital of Bangkok and the border situation is quiet for now, some of the collateral damage has been felt in Thailand's tourism industry, which contributes (depending on what stats you read) 6% to 14% of GNP to Thailand's economy.

It has also been felt 110 kilometers away in the resort city of Pattaya, home to the Tiffany's transgender cabaret shows and two of the best known transgender pageants on the planet.

Due to the travel warnings that several countries have issued since the October 7 clashes between police and protesters in Bangkok and the border clash with Cambodia, Tiffany's Cabaret, which usually has no problem filling its 2000 seat auditorium for it's world renowned show, has seen its business drop 50%.

Alisa Phanthusak, (right in photo) the organizer of the Miss Tiffany’s Universe and Miss International Queen pageant and whose family owns Tiffany's Cabaret, admitted feeling “terrible” that the international pageant had to be “postponed”.

“But we had to take this painful decision because international tourist arrivals dropped after the government declared emergency rule (on Sept 2, after a Thai was killed when anti and pro-government groups clashed on the streets of Bangkok) and several countries advised their citizens not to travel to Thailand,” she explained.

The Miss International Queen 2008/2009 Pageant will take place next October, presuming the political unrest has settled down by then. This year's Miss Tiffany winner Kangsadan Wongdu­sadeekul will represent Thailand alongside Miss Tiffany 2009.

While Miss Tiffany 2008 is disappointed she won't get to compete this year against the world's best transwomen pageant contestants, she's looking at it with glass half full optimism.

“She feels the postponement will be an advantage, as it will give her time to improve her English, looks and outfit.” she said through a translator.

Hopefully, they will hold an election in Thailand soon to sort out the political drama, and cooler heads will prevail and hash out an amicable settlement between Thailand and Cambodia over the disputed border area.

I not only don't want to see any more drama and bloodshed over those two issues, it would be nice to see this pageant finally take place.

To paraphrase the old Thai proverb, even though the elephants are battling, the ants don't deserve to get squashed.

Vietnamese Transgender Journey

TransGriot Note: As I and others continue to point out, being transgender cuts across all economic, class, and ethnic lines. We can also be found all over the globe and represented on almost every continent. Here's the story of Vietnam's most famous transgender person, Cindy Thai Tai

Transgender Journey

From Thanh Niem News.com

After years of living in shame and torment, Cindy Thai Tai underwent sex reassignment surgery and says she’s never felt happier.

Cindy Thai Tai is ecstatic with her new life, she says. After undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2005, Tai became one of just a few Vietnamese to speak publicly about her transsexuality.

“I make no secret about my gender transformation as I want people to accept me and others like me as we are,” says Tai. “There are those who are not brave enough to make their sexual orientation known in order not to be treated as social outcasts. I don’t want to be like them.”

Tai, whose full name is Nguyen Thai Tai, always felt different, even as a little boy.

He preferred girls’ clothes and games and felt he simply wasn’t meant to be a male.

As he grew up, Tai increasingly yearned to be a woman but was tortured by thoughts of becoming a social outcast if he were to reveal his true feelings.

Unlike countries such as Thailand, where transsexuality is more widely accepted, Vietnam remains conservative and transgendered individuals are commonly stigmatized. Yet the ' harder Tai struggled to engage in “normal” life, the more mental torment he suffered.

His family had wanted him to become a tailor, but Tai secretly had his heart set on becoming a dancer or make-up artist.

Eventually, Tai came out and told his friends and family he was considering sex reassignment surgery.

Over the next two years, Tai underwent four major operations costing more than US$30,000 at the Yanhee Hospital in Thailand – famous for specializing in gender reassignment surgery.

Tai says she is very pleased with the results and would rather have 20 years taken from her life than live unhappily as a man.

“The operation was a miraculous rebirth for me and I’m very happy to be the person I’ve long aspired to be. I regret not doing this earlier,” she says.

“Many think I underwent this major transformation to draw attention to myself or to please the men I love, but I did this totally for my own sake,” she adds.

“I know I’ll never cease to be an object of ridicule among gossip lovers… but I’m used to others’ inquisitive looks and malicious remarks and are no longer hurt by them.”

Tai is now a well-known make-up artist and has even taken up singing.

She captivates audiences with her mellifluous voice and contemplative songs, drawing inspiration from her painful past and journey to inner freedom.

“People probably come to my performances out of curiosity first, but they’re soon mesmerized by my songs,” she says. Tai released her debut album, Noi long co don (Loneliness) in late 2006, which won lavish praise from audiences.

In 2007, she released her second album, Tinh yeu da mat (The Lost Love), a selection of famous Vietnamese oldies mixed with dance, hip-hop and house – also a commercial success.

Tai is set to make another album featuring songs written by famed local composers. She has also acted in films including Saigon tinh ca (Saigon Love Story) and Trai nhay (Bar men) in which she was cast as a transsexual singer.

Earlier this year, Tai was involved in a sex blog scandal when a pornographic entry appeared on her blog.

She said the blog was opened and run by her former manager, and maintains she had nothing to do with the entry.

Tai is currently in a relationship with a German businessman who says she is more attractive and feminine than any woman he has ever dated.

The singer also plans to publish her biography, revealing her life’s journey and detailing the suffering and anguish she has endured.

“I don’t want to improve my image through my biography as many think. I simply hope that through my book people will understand more about transsexuals, empathize with us, and accept us as we really are,” says Tai.

Reported by Nhu Lich

2008 Amazing Philippine Beauties Press Launch

This is a transgender beauty pageant that hasn't been around as long as the more widely known Miss Tiffany Universe in Thailand or Chicago's Miss Continental, but has rapidly gained popularity in the pageant crazy Philippines and garnered worldwide media attention as well.

The press conference launching this year's edition of the pageant was held yesterday for the 6th annual Amazing Philippines Beauty Pageant. There will be 25 ladies competing to see who will succeed 2007 winner Rianne Barrameda, possibly represent the Philippines at the upcoming Miss International Queen pageant in Thailand and the slots in the Amazing Philippines Theatre Show that go with it.



The Amazing Philippines Theatre is modeled on the transgender cabaret shows of Thailand, but features homegrown Filipino and Filipina talent. The winner gets in addition to a cash prize a contract to perform in the show.





Like the Miss Tiffany's pageant has discovered over the course of its existence, the contestants have not only been beautiful, but increasingly have been drawing college educated contestants with talent as well.





The pageant will take place on October 24, and at that time the Philippines and the rest of the world will discover who the new Miss Amazing Philippines Beauty will be.

Transsexual Triumphs Over Gender Adversity

From the Phnom Penh Post
Written by Nguon Sovan
Thursday, 25 September 2008

From an early age Leang Sothea knew she was different, but since having a sex-change operation in 2006 she hasn't looked back

BASED on the prediction of the midwife, Leang Sothea's mother's was
certain the child would be a girl. Before she gave birth, she even
started sewing girl's clothing for her new baby.

Leang Sothea was not born a girl, but the midwife wasn't exactly wrong either.

Feeling like a woman combined with the heartbreak of unrequited love prompted 26-year-old Leang Sothea, professionally known as "Popi", to undergo a sex-change operation in 2006, becoming one of the few transsexuals in Cambodia.

While Popi enjoys reading fashion catalogues, "hair decor" and excursions to the seaside, she is not just another pretty face. From an early age, she knew she was different. By the age of eight, she knew she was attracted to boys. By 16, she started wearing women's clothing and cosmetics for the first time.

She told the Post that she felt an affinity to being female from birth. "It is my inclination by nature," she said.

As a transgendered woman in Cambodia, her life has often been filled with discrimination and misunderstanding.

The reactions from the public and her family - especially early on - were not always positive.

"I've been discriminated against and faced the public's disgust. The first time my parents realised that I wanted to be a girl, they were furious at me, but time gradually reduced their fury. Initially though, I was in a real dilemma; men didn't like me, and women didn't like me."

Crowned Cambodia's first transvestite beauty queen in 2001, Popi took the opportunity of her nationally televised victory to speak out for the rights of transgender people.

Beating out 30 other transvestites was a real turning point for Popi. She told the Post shortly after her 2001 victory, "Before people looked down on me, now wherever I go people like me."

The win even turned into a source of pride for her family. "Now my parents are happy that I won the contest. They are proud," Popi said in 2001.

Organised by the National Television of Cambodia, the pageant was both the first and last of its kind, making Popi the reigning Miss Gay Cambodia to this day. Popi explained this was due to the event being "severely criticised by the public for seriously affecting Khmer traditions and customs".

The beauty queen contest was surely influenced by similar competitions on Thai television, but "katoey" in Cambodia is nothing new.

One scholar told the Post that the Thai word for "transvestite" might have originated in the Khmer word "katoey," which used to describe both hermaphrodites and transvestites.

Back in 2001, she told the Post that she did not want to have a sex-change operation.

What changed her mind?

Even after being crowned and receiving the 500,000 riel grand prize, she faced relationship problems.

"I was really heartbroken, because my boyfriends always walked out on me. I had about 10 boyfriends, one after another, but they always left me." She felt she needed to change her sex to be more comfortable in her relationships.

Nip-tuck took time

Popi's physical transformation to the female gender did not come all at once.

"At first, I only had my breasts done in 2004. I decided to have a breast surgery in Phnom Penh which cost me about US$2,000. At the time, my friend urged me to have my sex organ transformed. I considered it for a week before deciding to do it," she said.

In late 2006, she finally went under the knife in Bangkok.

In total, the operation cost her US$10,000, and she had to go without sex for four months until she fully healed, referring to this time as her "diet of sexual affairs".

But when asked whether she has any regrets, she replied without hesitation, "No, I am very satisfied with my current body. It was expensive, but it was worth it. Before, I was often discriminated against, and some people even expressed disgust with me."

Regarding her relationship situation, she told the Post, "Since I changed my organ, I only have two boyfriends, but now I leave them, instead of them walking out on me. I really love my current self. I can have whatever the girls have, except a baby."

While Popi is quick to admit that her life has at times been an uphill battle, she feels that she has now triumphed over adversity. Currently, Popi works as beautician and an actress.

She claims to have been in around 20 movies, often playing a gay person or a maid. Despite some career success and a newfound confidence in her relationships, she has yet to achieve all her goals.

"In the future, I would like to a marry a man, and open my own beauty salon in Phnom Penh."

Copyright (c) 2006 - 2008 The Phnom Penh Post

No Blacks Or Mongolians Allowed?

Why am I not surprised?

According to the Huffington Post, citing a story from the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post, Beijing authorities are secretly plotting to keep Blacks and other people it considers 'undesirables' out of the city's bars during the Olympic Games set to kick off there August 8.

Bar owners in the Sanluitin district near the Olympic Stadium have been forced by Public Security Bureau officers to sign pledges not to allow Blacks into the city's bars.

The Danwei Chinese media analysis site called that report on the South China Morning Post 'highly unlikely' but admits that low level PSB cops may have issued such orders because the Chinese government has spent much cash to make these Games the showcase of a 'new China'. They are paranoid and nervous about the waves of foreign tourists traveling there for the Olympics.

I guess the One World, One Dream' slogan for these Games doesn't apply to people of African descent visiting Beijing for these games.

How Do Bugis Divas Grow Old?

TransGriot Note: In the 50's, 60's and 70's, the undisputed home of the most beautiful transwomen in Asia was Singapore. Ground Zero to find them was the various clubs on Bugis Street.

In the mid 80's the Singaporean government tore up the area to build a subway station. The reconstruction of the area put an abrupt end to the world famous nightlife that had evolved over the past three decades. In the process, Thailand became the Asian capital for transgender nightlife and as the Singaporean government discovered, grabbed the tourist dollars that came with it.

Here's an interesting article about some of the ladies and how they are gracefully aging.

DEATH OF AN AUNTY 'LADYBOY'
HOW DO BUGIS DIVAS GROW OLD?

We rely on one another, say transvestites

By Mindy Tan
June 30, 2008
from Electric New Paper - Singapore

IN the mid-1980s, she was a model, and then a fashion coordinator, and later, she took the stage as a performer at the Boom Boom Room.

Now, at 42, she says: 'Darling, those days are over.'

Miss Amy Tashiana, a transsexual, looks you in the eye and is perfectly open about discussing her life.

She said: 'We have gone through the extremes to get to who we are, fight to live as who we feel we should be. So it is natural that we grow over the years to become very tough and fiercely independent.

'In order for a man to come along to match that and share companionship, you need someone who is really, really big.'

Does that mean loneliness as they grow older?

Some of the first generation Bugis street transsexuals and transvestites are in their 60s today, like Mr Abdul Khalid Othman, the 61-year-old who was murdered, allegedly by a lover less than half his age.

One transsexual in her mid-50s said: 'When you grow older, sex is no longer important. Like normal people, we seek companionship.'

Some from Bugis Street left to open clothing and jewellery shops, but return occasionally to visit the 'sisters'.

When this reporter first met Miss Tashiana in 2001, it was at a talent management company. Then, everyone called her a diva.

But when The New Paper on Sunday met her again last week at a hawker stall, she looked very different.

She was tidying up the food stall, pushing a cart, with curry stains on her white T-shirt.

When asked how come she looked so different from her days of glamour, she replied: 'No lah, just helping my friend out at her stall for a few days.

'Still glam!'

She laughed, pulling at her cream-coloured shorts.

And she added: 'This is Prada, leh.'

So, was she once the queen of Orchard Towers?

She explained: 'Orchard Towers is a beginning for many of us. Everyone has a beginning when they learn to be a woman.

'Some were teenage girls in secondary school having crushes on boys, learning how to wear heels and put on make-up, and slowly maturing to become a woman.

'We don't have that luxury of time. So we jumpstart our lives at Orchard Towers, dressing flamboyantly, wearing every accessory we can, eager to show breasts and other assets. But that is just the beginning. Nobody wants to be there their whole lives.'

Where, then? With a man?

'After all the people I met in my life, I would find typical Singaporean men extremely boring,' she said.

'We would have nothing to talk about. I need someone bordering towards the extreme.'

There are those who find love.

Said Madam Fiona, 55, (not her real name), a transsexual happily married to a Singaporean: 'The men have to be very strong to stand for his right to love whom he wants.'

Some have gone overseas. In Europe, for instance, they find more acceptance in society.

Another transsexual, Madam Shanu Rekha, who is also in her 50s, is married to a European man 20 years younger. They live in Denmark with two adopted children.

Miss Tashiana herself has been single since 2005, after two serious relationships of three years with a Singaporean and an English man. Around the time of her last breakup, she bought herself a three-room flat in Eunos. Owning her own place is a dream come true.

It's a neat and cozy place, with dark wood furniture, where she lives with at least two well-fed cats.

She has paid off her breast implants and sex-change operation. And now, she is gaining in years gracefully.

Discos don't gel with her lifestyle any more. She said: 'I don't hit Zouk. I stay home and relax, go to photo exhibitions and art galleries. My health is the most important. I do intend to have a boyfriend but I am more fussy about letting a person into my life.'

There is no such thing as 'auntiehood' according to Miss Tashiana.

'I live my life to the best of my ability. Depression can hit anyone, even married women. If you go along with it, you will age,' she said.

She does not crave having her own family but thrives on the support of a tightly-knit group of middle-aged transsexual friends, much like how the characters from Sex And The City lean on each other and value their friendships as they near 50.

'And I am thankful I don't have to deal with things like pregnancy, menstrual cycles and menopause,' she said.

But like so many of the Bugis Street transsexuals who have gone overseas, she too is planning to venture abroad for love, perhaps when she hits 50.

'I just have to give myself a chic, short crop and I will look younger than most people my age in a European city. Singapore is too small,' she said.

'Look at the older Singaporean men looking for China women or going to Batam to look for mistresses.

'What about me? I can go to Europe, find someone younger than me by 20 years.'

Referring to Mr Abdul's murder, she added: 'Don't isolate him in his situation. The chee ko pek (Hokkien for dirty old man) exists in everyone. Not just transvestites and transsexuals.

'People mix with those who are younger to make themselves feel younger. You want to buy a product that's better than yourself.'