Lady Boys, Tom Boys, Rent Boys. Male and Female Homosexualities in Contemporary Thailand

This book explores Thailand's diverse sexual population, from kathoeys or "lady boys" (transsexual or transvestite males) and tom boys (masculine lesbians) to male sex workers who service male clients. The nine articles in the collection discuss sexual and gender diversity in a series of case studies of contemporary forms of male and female homosexuality and transgenderism in Thailand. By examining issues of sexual identity and behaviour in Thai society, the selections reveal the social and emotional difficulties experienced by these individuals who live in a country often mistaken for a gay paradise. "Brings to life issues and problems of interpreting sexual and gender identities in contemporary Thailand. . . . Provides challenges to the applicability of models derived from Western gay, lesbian, and queer theories .... An important corrective to the many misapprehensions that have arisen, both within and outside Thailand, about non-normative sexual behaviours. "—Nerida M. Cook. Ph.D., Lecturer in Sociology, Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Tasmania, Australia "Demonstrates how negative stereotypes have pervaded the dominant scholarship on sexual minorities in Thailand and caused barriers to needed health education, counseling, and health services .... This book illustrates how the cultural notions of family and community may be positive resources in providing effective services."—Eldon L. Wegner, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu PETER JACKSON is currently Research Fellow in Thai History at the Australian National University in Canberra. GERARD SULLIVAN is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Sydney.