Monks Try to Teach ‘Maleness’ to Thai Ladyboys

The Bachmann’s aren’t the only ones teaching conversion therapy: Thai Buddhist monks are trying to teach “ladyboys” to be male. I didn’t realise the Dalai Lama was the model of masculinity!

CHIANG KHONG, Thailand — The 15-year-old aspiring “ladyboy” delicately applied a puff of talcum powder to his nose — an act of rebellion at the Thai Buddhist temple where he is learning to “be a man”.

“They have rules here that novice monks cannot use powder, make-up, or perfume, cannot run around and be girlish,” said Pipop Thanajindawong, who was sent to Wat Kreung Tai Wittaya, in Chiang Khong on the Thai-Laos border, to tame his more feminine traits.

But the monks running the temple’s programme to teach masculinity to boys who are “katoeys”, the Thai term for transsexuals or ladyboys, have their controversial work cut out.

“Sometimes we give them money to buy snacks but he saved it up to buy mascara,” headteacher Phra Pitsanu Witcharato said of Pipop.

Read the rest of the article here.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 16th, 2011 at 11:01 am and is filed under Drag & Trans, Images, News & Rumors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.