It is undeniable that there are many ladyboys in Thailand. This country is famous, among other things, for the beauty of its transgender or transsexual individuals. In Thai, the official word would be "katoey," but this term has a somewhat negative connotation. It is therefore better to use the word "ladyboy," strictly in the feminine form. Only female escorts are available at Bangkok Golden Escorts. Since it can be difficult to distinguish between ladyboys and real girls in Thailand, we thought we'd write a short article to assist some of you.
Tourists on their first trips already know that many ladyboys in Thailand are actively involved in the sex industry. For this reason, they expect to encounter a large number of them, especially in tourist areas. Whether it's bars, dedicated venues, cabarets, or nightclubs, it is much easier for a ladyboy to earn a higher income in these situations. However, not all ladyboys work in tourist areas or strictly in the adult entertainment and sex industry. Nowadays, it is common to come across ladyboys engaged in completely normal jobs in Thailand, such as offices, shops, hotels, or various types of businesses.
Many people from Southeast Asia have unique physical characteristics that allow for a relatively easier, albeit still lengthy, path towards gender identity transition. This enables them to go unnoticed when the transition reaches a certain stage. For this reason, recognizing ladyboys on the streets of Bangkok or in other parts of the country might be a challenge for some individuals.
For the tourist or traveler in Thailand, being able to recognize ladyboys serves primarily two purposes: to avoid them or to seek them out intentionally. If the first reason is driven by fear, those who specifically seek them out may have some curiosity to satisfy or have already had satisfying experiences. Whatever the reason for needing to recognize a ladyboy, it is important to behave like the Thais. This country is very inclusive, even towards those who openly express "different" choices regarding their sexuality or gender identity. To avoid any problems in this regard, it is a good idea to behave like the Thais by avoiding judgment and not criticizing the choices made by other people.
It may often seem like a truly challenging task to recognize ladyboys in Thailand, but there are specific details or specific questions that can be asked to actually understand who one is dealing with in case of doubt.
Recognizing ladyboys in Thailand by paying attention to the body
The physical structure of women differs from that of men. The female figure tends to have narrow shoulders and wide hips, while in ladyboys, the opposite can be observed with broader shoulders than hips. Thai women are not known to be particularly tall. In fact, the average height for females in Thailand is 157 centimeters, while the average height for Thai men is 167 centimeters. An old saying suggests that any Thai woman above 165 centimeters may not actually be a woman but a ladyboy.
Another revealing detail is the shape of the forearms. In men, including ladyboys, the forearms are straight, whereas women have them slightly curved. A practical test can be asking someone to keep their arms straight and join their elbows together without bending their arms. A biological woman will easily be able to do this, while a ladyboy may struggle. The Adam's apple used to be one of the typical and most evident clues. However, nowadays, through delicate plastic surgery procedures, it can be significantly reduced. It is better not to rely solely on the absence of this particular feature to determine if someone is a ladyboy.
Hands and feet
A particular aspect worth mentioning is the hands. This is a very noticeable detail. Men generally have larger hands than women. Large hands on a woman's body are a strong clue for recognizing a ladyboy. There is another detail concerning the hands that requires a bit more attention, but it is a definitive test. The lengths of the ring finger and index finger differ between men and women. In men, although slightly, the ring finger is longer than the index finger, while in women, it is the opposite. The same applies to the feet as it does for the hands. A woman, being shorter and generally more delicate in structure, is unlikely to have long feet. This is another detail that is very easy to identify.
Other facial characteristics
There are other subtle differences between male and female bodies that become excellent indicators for identifying a ladyboy in Thailand. Here are some to keep in mind:
- Hairlines in men are usually higher compared to women.
- The horizontal brow ridge above the eyebrows is often more prominent in men, while women have a smoother and flatter forehead.
- Women's eyebrows are generally positioned higher, creating more space between the eyes and eyebrows.
- Men tend to have wider and higher jawlines with a fairly pronounced angle, almost creating a sharp edge at the back.
The voice
A woman speaking with a masculine voice is quite out of place. For this reason, ladyboys tend to speak with a high-pitched voice, almost in falsetto, to mask this noticeable characteristic. Some succeed well in doing so, as demonstrated by Bell Nuntita in a musical performance where she instantly changes the tone of her voice from female to male, stunning the judges.
Asking explicitly: "Are you a ladyboy?"
The open-mindedness of Thais towards sexuality means that some questions are not considered inappropriate as long as they are asked with an appropriate tone of voice. Therefore, directly asking "Are you a ladyboy?" may not be as tactless when there are physical signs suggesting it. Thais have no issues admitting their sexual and gender preferences, so a ladyboy may not feel embarrassed to openly acknowledge it. However, it is important to ask the question politely and non-aggressively, while respecting Thai cultural norms.
Asking to see Identification
All the methods described are generally effective but not completely foolproof. Identifying a ladyboy in Thailand with certainty can vary from case to case. There is only one method that never fails: asking for identification. In Thailand, identification cards are in card format and contain information in both Thai and English. The presence of the prefixes "Mrs" and "Mr" before the given name cannot be deceptive. You can read another interesting article about Exotic Massage Therapies.
