Sociologies (Feb 2012)
Transgenres thaïlandaises en Europe
Abstract
Like many of their Thai compatriots, Thai male-to-female transgenders (MTF), also known as kathoey wish to go abroad, seeking for a better life. It is not only a quest for a better economic situation for themselves and their families, but also the possibility to live completely as women, and as such to get engaged in emotional and / or sexual relationships with men. The kathoey who migrate to Europe are looking for various sexual / emotional relationships in order to maintain or improve their situation. For them, to have a farang (western) “husband” represents a chance for an economic as well as a social success which could help them overcome the negative stereotypes and social exclusion to which they are subjected to in Thailand.
