Putting the transgenie back…
by Matt | August 5th, 2008 |
While most Americans, and even gay folks in the U.S., have no idea what it means to be transgender, Thailand has not only known its meaning, but for ages allowed gender reassignment surgeries and castrations for men of any age.
Bloomberg reports that will be changing. New rules from national health officials will prohibit castrations for boys under the age of 18. Gay rights activists were at the forefront of the push for a change:
Paiboon Marvin started wearing dresses and makeup before he became a teenager. Now 16, he wants to be castrated as the next step toward becoming a woman.
Until recently, that wouldn’t have been a problem: Boys of any age in Thailand could have their testicles removed for as little as 5,000 Baht ($150) with no questions asked. Now Paiboon may have to wait two years because the procedure will be outlawed for those under 18, after pressure from gay rights activists who say youngsters may follow a trend and regret it later.
But, perhaps, putting the genie back in the bottle will prove difficult:
Even so, some doctors in Thailand are unhappy with the proposed age rule.
Boys should be allowed to “express their feeling,” says Thep Vechavisit, 55, who has castrated patients as young as 17 with parental consent and is preparing a lawsuit to challenge the new guidelines.
“They’re in a very stressful situation, psychologically and socially,” says Thep, who charges 5,000 baht for a castration at his Pratunam Polyclinic in central Bangkok.
Paiboon, who first had to overcome opposition from his mother, can’t wait. He’s turned to the Internet to find a surgeon prepared to operate in secret.
“It’s my own money, my own body,” he says. “It’s nobody else’s business.”
One Response to “Putting the transgenie back…”
Yeah, it’s doubtful at best anything such as that would hold up in an economy based upon the trans community.
By liv on Aug 5, 2008