Special report: Struggling to end Phuket's transgender stigma
Phuket Gazette – Wednesday, November 23, 2011 2:20:43 PM
http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article11493.htmlPHUKET: Bad news moves quickly – constantly – and there is a cast of usual suspects who society likes to push the blame on, people who are "different" or somehow not representative of the whole.
Who are they? Illegal immigrants, stateless people, migrant workers and essentially any other minority group that has the misfortune of being a convenient scapegoat. One such "group" of people that is closely watched and often stigmatized in Thai society is the transgender community: katoey.
Katoey are born, raised and registered in the Kingdom of Thailand. They are, and have been, an integral part of Thai society dating back to at least the Rattanakosin period in the 18th century. However, in the mainstream psyche, katoey are placed on the the fringes of the Thai social fabric.
