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Thailand’s Got Talent

This performance has upset a lot of Western trans people, who find the attitude of the judges, and the singer hirself, as somehow demeaning or belittling of this person’s trans identity.

I would argue, however, that unless you’re Thai, it may be very difficult to understand the place of trans people in their own cultural context. That doesn’t mean it’s entirely 100% great to be what’s called a ladyboy (or, more properly, Kathoey) in Thailand, but the singer’s experience of being trans might be entirely different than a US trans woman’s.

Anyhoo, I think she rocks.

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Thai Tomboy

A new clothing store catering to tomboys and FTM spectrum people has opened in Bankgkok.

“At first people probably thought it was crazy,” said Supamas “Jean” Sirimoungkalavanit, owner of Tom Chic shop. “It was quite understandable to get such responses because tomswear was something new to them.”

“People often misperceive [sic] that we want to be like men,” she says. “We have a different taste, lifestyle and identity, and so tomboy clothing is different from what men wear.’’

Indeed what we categorize in the states more often as lesbian chic than tomswear does have a unique aesthetic it has quickly spread to tween boy idols and throughout the fashion world. And though Sirimoungkalavanit tries to make it clear that her shoppers do not necessarily want to be like men there is certainly an aspect to her line that many trans-identified people can relate to.

How cool is that?