I spent last night with Lacey, Miss China from Miss International Queen 2020, and Yaya, Second-Runner-Up and Miss China in Miss International Queen 2019. While it was a fun night, we all were brought together because of unfortunate circumstances related to COVID-19: it was the last night of Tiffany's Show cabaret where Yaya performs. In operation since 1974, Tiffany's Show is the world's largest transgender entertainment venue, and it also hosts the Miss International Queen transgender pageant. I competed in the pageant this year as Miss USA. Tiffany's Show is now closed for at least a month because of the risks of large public gatherings and a steep decline in tourist audiences. But before it did, Lacey and I saw the show with two other friends from China, Kudos and JoJo. Afterwards ...
Thailand
Three Transgender Leaders Changing the Face of Thai Politics
Until recently, Tanwarin Sukkhapisit was known primarily as a film director who pushed the limits of LGBT representation in Thai cinema. But just a few days ago, she was sworn in as Thailand’s first transgender member of parliament. While Thailand has long been known for its highly visible and diverse transgender population, it’s only in recent years that transgender people have become more visible in the political realm. Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, along with Shane Bhatla, the Transgender Program Manager at Out BKK, and Pauline Ngarmpring, who recently ran for Prime Minister, are three transgender leaders re-shaping advocacy at a crucial time for Thai democracy. The election held in March 2019, the first since a military junta seized power in 2014, proved to be a watershed moment for ...
Celebrating the Power of Transgender Stories On IDAHOT 2019
Today, May 17, as the world marked IDAHOT 2019 (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia), I spent the day in Bangkok surrounded by my new transgender family. In just two months of travel, I've already befriended an amazing community of activists from across Southeast Asia. This blog, TransWorldView, is where I'll be sharing their stories and my experiences as I continue to travel the world solo as a transgender woman from the United States. This journey truly began twelve years ago, in 2007. Back then, as the only transgender woman at Swarthmore College, I spent many of my days feeling desperately alone. I was shy, awkward, and didn’t go out to many parties. I had some gay and lesbian friends on campus, but I didn’t really fit in with them; they were loud, ...
Songkran Festival Part 2: A Thai family barbecue
I never thought I’d find myself drinking homemade wine from a bucket on the side of the road, but it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made since arriving in Thailand. The wine I was drinking is called “Sato,” which is made from fermented sticky rice and yeast, and it was delicious. I fell in love with Sato on the third night of the Songkran holiday on the Thai island of Koh Panghan. Songkran, the Buddhist New Year celebration, is a time when Thais celebrate family, honor tradition, and welcome in the new. However, unlike any family holiday I’d ever been part of in the US, this was a holiday time when people seem to feel free to be their full selves. As I explored in my last blog, I’d already spent my first few days of Songkran enjoying Songkran’s infamous water fights with my ...
Songkran Festival Part 1: Water Fights and Queer Dance Parties
During the Thai New Year celebration known as Songkran, I’ve learned there’s no better way to show love to your family and friends than by dousing them in water. Songkran is a Buddhist festival of unity, cleansing, and rebirth. It begins April 13, and officially lasts five days. As the longest holiday of the year when most businesses, schools, and government offices close, it’s a time for families to come together, and for Thais to let loose and have fun! I celebrated Songkran with a transgender woman named Plamy and her friends and family. Plamy, as I wrote about in my last post, owns a restaurant named Thai E-san on the Thai island of Koh Panghan. Plamy has become a close friend, and while I had previously shared a dinner with her mother and father, I was a bit nervous about ...
Interviewing a Thai Transgender Restaurant Owner
In Thailand, nothing builds new friendships better than a shared meal. And where better to meet new transgender friends than a transgender-owned restaurant? Koh Panghan is a small, tourist-dominated island off the East Coast of Southern Thailand, where most people come for the infamous parties, retreat centers, and Western comfort food establishments that dominate the island. I struggled at first to find Thai queer community or authentic Thai food at first. That was, until my transgender friend Irish (yep, that’s her name, but she’s actually Filipina) invited me to a restaurant named Thai E-San. When I arrived, Irish had already ordered and was chatting with Plamy, Thai E-San’s transgender co-owner. Irish then introduced me, and suddenly, Plamy sat down with us and proudly announced ...