Conceptualizing Thai Genderscapes: Transformation and Continuity in the Thai Sex/Gender System

Abstract

In Thailand, genderscapes, or the terrain of gender and sexuality, continue to evolve quickly, with alternative genders proliferating. I argue that genderscapes provide a provisional conceptualization of contemporary Thai gender and sexuality. The lines between tom : woman : kathoey : gay : man are neither clear nor fixed, but coalesce around these five key formations. These categories are grounded via the repetition and ritualization of routine practices in everyday life as they appear to others but also remain fluid in that gender performances exceed their intentions and interpretations. Genderscapes also account for historical transformations and the localization of foreign influences. Local gender variation, rather than being usurped by modern Western forms, continues to expand. Furthermore, genderscapes remain flexible to the social positioning and ideological stances of individuals. In this chapter, I underscore that genderscapes are inhabited and conditioned by one’s class position and shaped by social evaluation and moral legitimacy.