Thailand is known for having the highest number of gender reassignment surgeries conducted in the entire world. Many people from around the world travel to this country just to have their gender reassignment operations done without the stigma their home countries might have.
Thailand is also known for its annual military draft day. During this day, 21-year-old males are required to attend the yearly ‘lottery’ to know if they are qualified to join their country's armed forces.
But what happens when transgender women are summoned to the draft day?
According to a report by NBC News, transgender women are subjected to humiliating practices during the draft. Their treatment is made worse by how the Thai mainstream media portrays transgenders - colloquially referred to as 'ladyboys'.
According to NBC News, exemptions were made for physically and mentally unfit young males as their health conditions hinder their military performance.
The Thai Administrative Court also ordered transgender women to be exempted from this military obligation.
However, a transgender woman still has her genetic gender encrypted in her government IDs and legal documents. Because of this, transgender women are still summoned for the draft day to prove that they are not faking their status as a ‘ladyboy’.
This annual attendance is a seemingly stressful event for many transgender women.
NBC News reported that some of them felt embarrassed as they had to rip off their clothes to show their altered genitals. They have to do this in front of other Thai males who were also waiting for their eligibility to be confirmed.
This embarrassment caused deep depression among the transgender women, who were treated as a laughing stock during draft day.
Additionally, the Thai mainstreammedia contributes to the stigma against transgender women during the annual military draft day.
Transgender women claim that the mainstream media portray them in a humorous and humiliating way.
However, because they are obligated to present themselves before the military officers, they were left with no choice but to follow orders. Unfortunately, this embarrassing incident has caused some transgender women to commit suicide.
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