AsianTS.com CLUBHOUSE

Lotus Man's Pics of Trips to Bangkok
Our very own resident sicko with the low down on BKK nite life!

*The Transgender ASIA Research Center hosts a new website that has research and discussion papers, autobiographical accounts, and an extensive bibliography - all related to transgenderism in Asian countries, including Thailand. A paper written about transgenderism and mythology called On the Question of Origins: Katoey and Thai Culture can be found there, as well as a personal narrative from a young sao braphet song in Chiang Mai. This site also has a very useful bibliography of Asian transgender and trans-related studies.

* For those who are interested in learning more about the acceptance of transgenderism in Thailand, please see an in-depth article written called The Complexities of "Acceptance": Thai Student Attitudes Towards Kathoey. This article appears in Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, volume 15, number 2. It is unavailable on-line, but university libraries should have it.

*Satree Lex ("Iron Ladies"), which opened in Thailand in March 2000 is a Thai movie based on the story of the 1996 kathoey volleyball team from Lampang. Thais flocked in record numbers to Satree Lex, and Time Magazine [Asia Edition] recently published an article about it.

*Queer In Thailand contains writings about gay and lesbian issues in Thailand.

*Reviews written about books and films dealing with transgenderism in various cultural contexts can be found at Cross-gender/Cross-culture.

*For GRS (gender reassignment surgery; this procedure can also be referred to as SRS - sex reassignment surgery), the most famous surgeon in Thailand is Dr. Preecha, who to date has performed over 2,000 operations. www.Zundara.com is the official, and slickly designed, website of the Preecha Aesthetic Institute.

*Before Zundara, there was - and continues to be - the GRS clinic at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok. This American-managed hospital feels more like a hotel, and is regarded the best in the country. This web site has a lot of well-organized information.

*A doctor who performs gender reassignment surgery in Phuket, a beautiful area in southern Thailand, is Dr. Sanguan Kunaporn. Check out the following link for some interesting articles and photos related to srs in Phuket: http://www.phuket-plasticsurgery.com/article/index.htm

*Dr. Chettawut Tulayaphanich performs gender reassignment surgery in Bangkok. Trained by the eminent Dr. Preecha, Dr. Chettawut has been in private practice since 1995. He has a nicely designed web site.

*Also check out Dr. Suporn's clinic, in nearby Chonburi. Two sao braphet song who who work for Dr. Suporn have their own web sites: Natta and Kie.

*Another doctor who practices gender reassignment surgery in Bangkok is Dr. Pichet Rodochareon.

*A great place to find info on multiple aspects of GRS is on Dr Anne Lawrence's extensive Transsexual Women's Resources web site. There are a large number of links to sites about surgery in both Bangkok and Phuket. Dr Lawrence also gives her own candid opinions about the quality of the Thai surgeons, as well as cost estimates.

*For even more information about gender reassignment surgery in Thailand, please visit An American Transsexual in Phuket. Stephanie's site provides details about the author's experiences undergoing SRS with Dr Sanguan Kunaporn.

*Bangkok is home to two daily English newspapers, both of which periodically carry stories about sao braphet song. The online archives of The Nation and the Bangkok Post, although limited to the past several years, are extremeley valuable resources. As with general internet searches, the key words kathoey and katoey will generate different results, so be sure to use both.

*Utopia, a gay and lesbian store/resource center located in Bangkok, has its own extensive web site. Among other things, it contains a good deal of information about the 1996-97 Rajabhat Institute controversy (in which the Thai national teacher's college publicly banned gays/kathoey from enrolling as students). Click here for a link to background, commentary and a collection of newspaper articles regarding this incident.

*Another extensive resource for Thai gay/lesbian/transgender info is Dreaded Ned's. This personable site will keep you busy for a long time.

*The International Lesbian and Gay Association web site contains a World Legal Survey, which devotes a decent amount of space to Thailand. Tellingly, a lot of info on this country is missing, but what is included happens to be quite informative about the Thai GLT legal situation.

*Click here for a website dedicated to Parinya Kiatbusaba (otherwise known as Nong Toom, who is famous for being a transsexual muay thai kickboxer). There isn't any text, but there are some great pictures.

*This is a page which has some nice photographs from a kathoey beauty contest held at the Galaxy Disco in Patong. The text is written in German.

*Rachel Kronick is an American TS living in Taiwan who has put together a wonderful web site which has an extensive listing of resources geared toward transgendered issues in east and southeast Asia. Her site is very user-friendly, and has enough information to quell even the most insatiable appetite. We recommend taking a look.

*Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context is an online academic journal produced in Australia. Check out issue number 2, which appeared in late May 1999; it is chock full of articles about transgenderism, several of which concern Thailand.

*The International Journal of Transgenderism is a peer-reviewed electronic academic journal, with articles posted quarterly. We like its globally-inclusive emphasis, as well as the variety of disciplines represented: psychology, history, anthropology, sociology, health sciences, law, etc. It's a great source of in-depth information.

*Kate Asia Home Page has lots of photos and writing about Kate's life.

*Nat, who is a UK-based Thai actress/model, also has an informative web site, although her decision to appear in a transphobic advertisement is disappointing, to say the least.

*Another personal web site by a sao braphet song that is worth visiting belongs to Nun.

*Peter Jackson has written a thorough article called Male Homosexuality and Transgenderism in the Thai Buddhist Tradition, excerpted from a book entitled "Queer Dharma: Voices of Gay Buddhists" (Winston Leyland, Ed.).

*The National Coalition of Independent Scholars was formed in 1989, and is dedicated to encouraging and aiding the unaffiliated researcher. Its site has a lot of very helpful resource links, including a number devoted to grant/fellowship data. Indispensible.

*Transgendered Network International acts as a support system for transgendered people. To access its "Transgendered Suite" you must be a member, but it is a great place to get peer support through multiply-oriented chat rooms and weekly group cyber-meetings.

*Above and Beyond has a wealth of resources by, for, and about transgendered people. Click here to enter the portion of this site which contains a wide-ranging listing of articles, regional gender resources, personal web pages, and newsletters, all having to do with transgenderism.

*Another huge universe overflowing with information can be found at "the world's largest and best all free tv/ts site", which offers over 1,200 pages and 10,000 links. A must for those with plenty of time on their hands!

*One more tg-oriented site we like, because it has a ton of stuff and well organized, is http://www.susans.org/