Her eponym is Kalaya, which means older associate in Thai, and to her younger sisters aged 8 and 13, that ' s very well what damsel is, being debutante lives in a typical Thai home on the outskirts of bustling Bangkok. Matchless Kalaya is not what bird appears, which is a young attractive twenty - something woman working at dress store in one of the largest downtown shopping malls.
Only Kalaya is not in toto a young woman, so to speak, but something in - between. Her citizen card states a first flag of Kittikorn, and bird usually kids that doll was named following the most famous of film directors that has promoted transgender acceptance in all of Thailand: Leo Kittikorn.
You see Leo Kittikorn directed the film " Saving Private Tootsie ", in which a katoey, or transgendered person, plays the style of " Tootsie " who is modeled later Ryan in Spielberg ' s classic " Saving Private Ryan.
In short, a Thai Tootsie is really a Thai male either with or without gender surgery or hormone treatments, but one who considers himself a female even though born male.
And this is not as rare as one may think in an otherwise conservative Thai culture. The Thais love their katoeys, and social scientists seem to differ on why. Some believe the acceptance of transgendered folks is higher than in other Asian countries in the region because of the religious believe here of tolerance and acceptance. But others argue that it ' s just the jovial attitude about life in general that makes Thais more accepting of someone who has changed sex and now wishes to be seen as such.
Whichever the case may be, there is no denying that Thai males wanting to become a female face little hardships in doing so. After all, some of the best cosmetic surgery in the world is found in the Thai kingdom.
But Kalaya ' s change of sex at age 20 did not come without some pain. She tells a story of her father ' s rage over his change of gender, and how father often threatened to throw her from the home, as father feels she is now an embarrassment for the entire family.
But perhaps it ' s Kalaya ' s bigger - than - dad ' s paycheck that keeps things in check and has restored harmony at home. Whatever the case there, life as a katoey seems doable and enjoyable to Kalaya overall. She gets a discount on great shoes where she works, and all of her friends are fine with it... " totally. "
But she has spoken out against the stereotypes that are often put on " ladyboys, " as westerners often call folks of her class. " We are not all hookers in bars trying to get laid for money or kicks like many dudes think. We are just girls like any other, wanting to have fun and to look good doing it. "
And as the character in the " Saving Private Tootsie " says at the end of the movie, Kalaya agrees, " I may have been born in the wrong body but at least I was born in the right country. "
