Transport of delight
Early on Friday evening, Sukhumvit Road being jammed solid with traffic, I decided to take the Skytrain to Siam Square. Getting on at the same station as me was a ladyboy. She was very much the in-your-face type: as tall as me in her high heels, and wearing a bright red little cocktail dress that had no back and which was open at the front so that her silicon boobs were almost popping out. She stood a few feet away from me in the packed carriage. She was not at all my type, so I simply stood strap-hanging, wearing the absent-minded expression that I use when I’m watching people.
The train was full of office workers, there were a few school kids, and even a handful of girl scouts. Nobody paid any attention at all to our fellow traveller, who stood demurely minding her own business next to the door. As unobtrusively as I could, I looked at all the surrounding faces, and there was not one sly look, not one giggle, not one whisper. Our friend disembarked, as I thought she would, at Nana, no doubt bound for one of the ladyboy bars in Nana Plaza. As she stepped out of the carriage, there were no embarrassed grins, no rolled eyes…nothing. She had simply been another passenger.
This I think says a lot about the Thai character, and about the tolerance of ladyboys in Thai society. I would not have given much for the chances of our friend if she had been travelling on the London Tube. But to the Thais, a ladyboy is a ladyboy. End of story.
Of course we are all aware, those of us who follow Thailand’s third sex, of how there has been an enormous increase in the ladyboy population in recent years. Of how there are now so many ladyboys in schools throughout the country that separate changing rooms and toilets are provided for them. Of how if you visit a beautician or hairdresser, or pass through the beauty section of one of the big department stores, you are going to find a number of ladyboys and femboys working there.
My neighbourhood 7-Eleven has three ladyboys on the staff, out of a total payroll of no more than ten. During a stroll through the nearest supermarket the other evening I noted a ladyboy on the fresh foods counter, another in the drinks section, and a third helping take deliveries of a stack of groceries. A 19-year-old student who turned up for a photoshoot at the weekend, and who is studying art at one of the big universities, ran out of fingers when she tried to count how many of her fellow students are ladyboys. (Good potential for new models there!)
One wonders how far it is all going to go. As far as work in the mainstream is concerned, then there is plenty more capacity
to absorb more ladyboys. Given the increasing tolerance, there is no reason at all why a well-educated ladyboy should not enjoy a long and fruitful career in the public or the private sector doing the kind of job that we do not necessarily equate with the third sex. During the course of photography I have met ladyboy students on business administration, computer studies and marketing courses, to name a few that come to mind. A few years back I discovered a whole ladyboy community on a local government administration course at one of the Bangkok universities, and they must all be well on their chosen career paths by now. Thai society itself is changing, as anyone who follows the political situation will know, and there is a growing class of people who are coming out of the working class and moving into the middle class. Ladyboys, it would appear, are part of the movement.
Posted: August 17th, 2011 under General.
Tags: The ladyboy experience
Comments
Comment from Sargent Shameless
Time August 21, 2011 at 6:10 am
its because of articles like this that even i wonder if the Capt and the Srgt personnas are penned by the same hand!!!
i have been drumming how there are more ladyboys than ever: first in the sex industry, second mainstream entertainment, third in the schools, fourth in the menial jobs, and now, according to the Captain they’re making it to the middle class. what’s next: the army? politics? religion?
and where does it all end: is Thailand going to export its mainstreaming of trangenderism to the rest of the world?
I think it is already happening and I sure hope i live long enough to see the outcome.
Comment from Captain Outrageous
Time August 23, 2011 at 7:35 am
Her name is Mimi, Private Widdle, and she was a favourite of mine until she went back upcountry to her home in Khon Kaen a while back.
I took her photo a few times, and she was a horny little minx. She could also be very funny. I remember doing this particular shoot. She lay on her back and shot a nice full load, grimacing at the intensity of it. “Original feeling!” she gasped, looking at the mess of white cream on her tummy. “I not pretend!”
Comment from Captain Outrageous
Time August 23, 2011 at 7:55 am
The Sarge makes a good point here. Where next, indeed? The sheer volume of ladyboys, many of them well-educated, inevitably pushes them further into the public eye. No one appears to think it strange to find a ladyboy working in 7-Eleven or Villa Supermarket, or anywhere else there is a high degree of interaction with the public.
A couple of years ago a very presentable ladyboy friend, newly graduated, landed herself a sales job with a computer company and was so successful that they promoted her to a regional position, with a decent expenses budget so she could travel around visiting distributors and buyers. And I have known others who have enjoyed early career success.
It can only be a matter of time before ladyboys start coming to national and even international prominence as business and political leaders. Although I think a ladyboy prime minister might well be some years away yet.
Comment from Sargent Shameless
Time August 23, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Enough with the visionary stuff!
I think I remember Mimi from Obsession (or was it KC3?). She was one of the most kinky and dilligent ladyboys i ever met (10 years ago?). Hard or limp she would not let go of a cock until orgasms ensued. Did u have similar impression Captain? Are we talking about same lady?
Comment from Captain Outrageous
Time August 25, 2011 at 10:16 am
We are indeed, Sarge. She was originally working in the Crack House, and went to Obsession after that. A tireless little sex fiend. Very intense. You had to be in the mood for Mimi – no chance of pleading a headache!
I was the first photographer to take her picture. This was back in the days when it was a big deal for a ladyboy to have her photo set taken. Not like now, of course. Must be 12 years ago. Digital cameras were in their infancy, and so were ladyboy websites. The set that these pix come from was taken a while later, shortly before Mimi went back upcountry. She had become slightly plump and more homely looking, and had calmed down a little. I don’t know what happened to her in the end.
She had one of the prettiest cocks I have ever seen. Not big, but a cute shape.
Comment from JimC
Time August 30, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Mmmmm… she is a sweetie.
That ass is just delicious.
Comment from Observer
Time August 31, 2011 at 9:32 pm
If I’d seen 10% of the beautiful asses that CO has seen I wud be a happy man.
Comment from Private Widdle
Time August 18, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Love your model, Cap’n. Who is she?