A random collection of over 1910 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
Original title: "Bangkok Ladyboys" by Henrik List.
"In this unique book, the author Henrik List and photographer Anders Askegaard travel from the 'heterosexual matrix' and out of the closet, across the boundaries of prejudice and through the mirror to a Bangkok at the beginning of the 21st century, where nothing is what it appears to be - not even many of the "girls" in the city's nightlife and red light districts.
A raw, poetic and reflected portrayal in text and images of Thailand's "third sex" - an essay about and 48 pages of color photographs of these so-called ladyboys."
2006,
Danish,
Henrik List,
Thailand,
Original title: "Ladyboys de Thaïlande: Une approche anthropologique" (Ladyboys of Thailand: An anthropological approach) by Jean-Pascal Huvé and Franck Poupart.
It is estimated that between half a million and one million "kathoeys" live in Thailand. All of them, from a very young age, have had the feeling of being little girls trapped in boys' bodies and have never stopped assuming or claiming their femininity.
Why in Thailand, why so many, why so pretty?
The authors met and interviewed many ladyboys, whether they were veterinarians, escorts, cabaret dancers or political science graduates, but also with academics, an anthropologist specializing in Kathoeys in Chiang Mai or a researcher from the University of Liège whose laboratory studies the neuro-hormonal mechanisms underlying sexual behavior.
2022,
Franck Poupart,
French,
Jean-Pascal Huvé,
Thailand,
Full title: "Kathoey Ladyboy II.: The World History of Transgender or Transsexual People" by Heinz Duthel.
This book is the second book about Thai transgender women written by Heinz Duthel. The success of his first book "Kathoey Ladyboy: Thailand's Got Talent" made him focus on the other aspects of the kathoey phenomenon.
A "kathoey," often referred to as a "ladyboy," is a term used in Thailand to describe transgender women or effeminate gay men. Kathoey individuals have a unique and recognized place in Thai society and culture, though their experiences and acceptance can vary widely.
Kathoey individuals may undergo hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and/or gender-affirming surgeries such as breast augmentation or genital reconstruction surgery.
2016,
English,
Heinz Duthel,
Thailand,
Full title: "Kathoey Ladyboy: Thailand's Got Talent" by Heinz Duthel.
"Kathoeys are more visible and more accepted in Thai culture than transgender or transsexual people are in Western countries or the Indian subcontinent. Several popular Thai models, singers and movie stars are kathoeys, and Thai newspapers often print photos of the winners of female and kathoey beauty contests side by side. The phenomenon is not restricted to urban areas; there are kathoeys in most villages, and kathoey beauty contests are commonly held as part of local fairs.
Although the term ladyboy is rather ambiguous, simply put, it is a male who dresses as and carries out the identity of a woman. Though the term is often translated as transgender, transgender is rarely used in Thailand, instead they use the term Kathoey. This term can now also be used to refer to any male homosexual and was originally used to refer to intersex people. Due to this term becoming so broad many choose to use the English word to explain a homosexual male dressing as a woman as a "ladyboy," this eliminates much of the confusion.
2013,
English,
Heinz Duthel,
Thailand,
Original title: "Xem mī̀ kathey h̄æ̀ng pī
m" เอมมี่ กะเทยแห่งปี (Emmy's Story... Transgender of the Year) by Emmy.
The book tells the story about the life of a transgender woman named "Emmy", a woman with an interesting personality and identity. In terms of story Emmy has a diverse and adventurous life because she had to face many difficulties in life. The story has a mix of love, humanity and struggles with various obstacles related to her transition.
In addition to the interesting story, the book includes beautiful images that made Emmy become a popular character and widely known in Thai society. Furthermore, Emmy... Transgender of the Year was one of the most popular TV series in Thailand in the year 2017 (2017) and received a lot of attention from the general public and various media.
2017,
Emmy,
Thai,
Thailand,
Original title: "กะเทยอีสาน" Kathey xīs̄ān
(Journal of Transgender Isaan) by Panat Srinuan (เต้ย – ปณต ศรีนวล).
We often hear the myth that Thailand is a paradise for LGBTQ people. Past incidents of sexual violence and testimonials from the community indicate that the above sentence is a huge
exaggeration as shown in this book.
The founder and editor of GendersMatter, as well as the author of this book, wrote this book to expose transgender lives in places where economic mobility is low. This book tells about the lives of transgender women in Sisaket province, one of the poorest provinces in Thailand.
2022,
Panat Srinuan,
Thai,
Thailand,
Original title: "Call Me Anne: ข้ามเพศพันล้าน" (Call Me Anne: Transgender Billions) by Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip.
The book is a biography of Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip (Thai: จักรพงษ์ จักราจุฑาธิบดิ์), also known as Khun Anne or Anne Jakrajutatip, sometimes informally stylized as Anne JKN. She is a Thai businesswoman, television host and Chief Executive Officer of JKN Global Group.
According to Wikipedia, being a media entrepreneur and digital content distributor in Thailand, she is the owner of the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageant organizations. Jakrajutatip became the first trans woman who fully owns these organizations in their history. According to Forbes, she is the third richest transgender person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$210 million in 2020.
2018,
Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip,
Thai,
Thailand,
Original title: "Das Land der 300.000 Ladyboys: Alles über Thailands Transgender-Kultur" (The Land of 300,000 Ladyboys: All About Thailand's Transgender Culture) by Clemens Maria Albert.
While discussions about all forms of LGBTQIA+ have flared up in Western countries, the third gender has a long tradition in Thailand. The number of "ladyboys", as transgender people are called in Thailand, is increasing year after year in the "Land of Smiles". Thai society has become more enlightened and open, not least due to the Internet, and more and more young men feel encouraged to "come out" if they believe they were born in the wrong body. Experts estimate that in a survey, up to 300,000 Thai men would state "female" as gender. Statistically, every twentieth of the 20- to 30-year-old Thais is transgender.
2023,
Clemens Maria Albert,
German,
Thailand,
Full title: "Transcendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma and Thailand" by Mariette Pathy Allen, with Zackary Drucker (Foreword), and Eli Coleman (Contributor).
"In collaboration with Dr. Eli Coleman, professor and director of the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota, Transcendents studies the phenomenon of gender variance among the spirit cults of Burma and Thailand. This book combines a raw, personal, photographic standpoint with an anthropological and sexological perspective on the genderfluid spirit mediums in Thailand and Burma."
According to Mariette's website, Mariette Pathy Allen has been photographing the transgender community for over 40 years. Through her artistic practice, she has been a pioneering force in gender consciousness, contributing to numerous cultural and academic publications about gender variance and lecturing throughout the globe.
2017,
Burma,
Eli Coleman,
English,
Mariette Pathy Allen,
Thailand,
Zackary Drucker,
Original title: "Człowiek w przystępnej cenie. Reportaże z Tajlandii" (Man at an affordable price. Reports from Thailand) by Urszula Jabłońska
A collection of reports from Thailand, stories about the situation of society, especially women, and references to young transsexual girls.
"This story takes place in red neighborhoods lighthouse (where the author tries to understand why prostitution in Thailand is illegal), slums (where she discovers that nearly two-thirds of adult Thais work illegally), fishing ports, and shelters for refugees.
The book presents a story about what it actually means to "buy a man". What makes him want to do it? Where is the border between help and trade? Who can afford freedom? And why exactly in Thailand, where slavery was abolished at the beginning of the twentieth century, and whose name means "country of free people"?"
We can follow the story of Nong Toom, a transgender Muay Thai fighter (Thai boxing), who no longer fights. And there are other ladyboys who tape their genitals to look more feminine...
2017,
Nong Toom,
Polish,
Thailand,
Urszula Jabłońska,
Full title: "Belonging: Portraits from LGBTQ Thailand" by Steve McCurry.
"Thailand has long had the reputation as one of the most gay-friendly destinations in Asia, particularly Bangkok with its nightlife and its relative openness and safety. While this may be true for tourists and expats, the idea of Thailand as a haven for LGBTQ people and for same-sex couples, heavily promoted by the tourist industry, does not necessarily extend to Thais themselves."
"While Thailand is home to the largest LGBTQ communities in Asia, the reality for them is less accepting. Discrimination and exclusion targeting LGBTQ people continues despite a nominally progressive stance on inclusion, and same-sex marriage remains illegal.
Against this backdrop, McCurry's lushly colored photographs take us into the vibrant LGBTQ community in Bangkok, and this beautifully packaged, affordably priced book gives us a series of close to one hundred moving and intimate portraits of people who are no longer welcome in the community in which they grew up, but who have forged a new life and a new meaning of family in the queer community."
2021,
English,
Steve McCurry,
Thailand,
Full title: "Male Bodies, Women's Souls" by LeeRay Costa & Andrew Matzner.
"The Thai term sao braphet song (a second type of woman) describes males who reject the gender of masculinity for femininity. Male Bodies, Women’s Souls: Personal Narratives of Thailand’s Transgendered Youth uses the narrative method, stories in the words of these second type of women to analyze these transgendered experiences.
This previously ignored perspective of the Thai sex/gender system gained through this theoretical and methodological approach offers students and general readers a rich, more readily accessible foundation of knowledge about gendered subjectivity and sex/gender systems.
2007,
Andrew Matzner,
English,
LeeRay Costa,
Thailand,
Full title: "I Am Ladyboy: Why Straight Men Want Me" by Sergei Tokmakov.
The book presents a fascinating world of the Thai transgender community. However, it is not a deep psychological or sociological analysis of the transgender community.
The author elaborates on the growing number of transgender Thai models and their popularity among foreign tourists. So it is a rather simplistic view of the author that seems to be intrigued and fascinated by Thai transgender women. However, it is still worth reading.
2016,
English,
Sergei Tokmakov,
Thailand,
Full title: "Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender".
"An intimate portrait of Thailand's ladyboys, the men who have chosen to become women. Funny, passionate, angry, and provocative, 'Ladyboys' is a no-holds-barred look at the secretive lives of Thailand's transsexual women.
Here, they offer intimate details of their lives that they've never publicly revealed. They talk about the choices they've made, their relationships, families, frustrations, and hopes. The stories include those of an exotic cabaret performer, a sex worker, and even a Muay Thai boxing champion."
2008,
English,
Pornchai Sereemongkolpol,
Susan Aldous,
Thailand,
Full title: "The Third Sex: Kathoey: Thailand's Ladyboys". The book was published in 2003 and republished in 2011.
"The kathoey, the Thai term for ladyboys, have long been part of the cultural landscape of Thailand. Though they're a leading tourist attraction, the glamorous and attractive men who are now women are also a modern expression of an archaic tradition.
Who are the ladyboys? Richard Totman introduces us to three individuals who started life as boys, but while at school decided to become kathoey.
In The Third Sex, we follow their rites-of-passage as they become fully fledged kathoey, as their adult lives are witness to attitudes towards trans-gender in Thailand and the Western world. The Third Sex is a perceptive, accessible guide to the cultural, historical, religious, biological, and psychological aspects of being trans-gender.
The description of the kathoey is part of a wider discussion on trans-gender.
2003,
2011,
English,
Richard Totman,
Thailand,
