Martina
Forum Replies Created
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Claire, you are absolutely right.
Putting things into perspective, back in March, the Central Administrative Court ruled that Thammasat University had no right to fire Kath and gave them 60 days to reinstate her, although she did not get the monetary compensation she wanted. She is working there now. See article below:
Last night, I met with my friend, Cathy, for coffee and mentioned the Kath story. It was she who told me that Kath had been reinstated as a lecturer at the university. Cathy confirmed that Thailand continues to be a TG paradise for her, as it does for me. Journalists and their editors have a talent for publishing articles that make alarmist generalisations and we should be wary of taking them too seriously.
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Yesterday I walked to the local shopping centre in Chiang Mai where I live. I wore a nice dress, low heels and took an umbrella for the inevitable rain shower at this time of year. I looked for something new, unsuccessfully, in a clothes shop and had a coffee at Starbucks and then went home. No one stopped me, no one threatened me or tried to make fun of me. That has been the pattern for the last 20 years that I have been living in Thailand and as a generalisation, it is mostly the LGBTI paradise that people, including me, claim I feel much more vulnerable in Australia and like many avoid going out except to organised functions.
I worked at a university in Bangkok for three years and TG students, both male and female, were there in numbers and dressed in the university uniform according to their gender preferences. There was talk of making some toilets unisex but that idea was considered an unnecessary step. (I remember once getting in a lift with a pretty girl whose deep voice belied my expectations!) The only downside came from outside the university, when a royal edict was issued saying that if a member of the royal family was handing out degrees, graduates were to dress according to their birth gender.
Nevertheless, the article is correct in stating that there is no legal framework to protect LGBTI people from random discrimination or for them to establish their preferred identity. Society is largely on-side but government authorities are slow to follow. There were rumours that the new Constitution, a product of the last coup, would address this issue; I have read the English translation and although it loosely calls for equal rights of expression it does not talk about specific groups of people. Therefore, I wish all LGBTI activists every success in getting the appropriate legislation passed. This may be a big ask as Thailand is currently ruled by a very conservative military dictatorship with little hope of anything approaching a true democracy for many years to come. Elections will be held next year, but the latest constitution ensures the military junta will never lose control.
Tomorrow evening, I am going out to meet my friend, Cathy, for coffee and a chat; but I will not be fearful.
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Were you born under the sign of Gemini, Emma? Split personalities are nothing new; I flit between boy and girl modes on a daily basis and these are two very different people. Martina is much more outgoing to the point of being an exhibitionist, especially when she’s had a couple of drinks, whereas Martin is a total introvert who suffers other members of the human species ungladly and only as necessity demands. Parallel universes can be very useful though, so please enjoy yours. (Notice I did not mention “schizophrenia” and we should not go there, but if that does come up on your file, then you really are mad! :woohoo: )
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Some men are gentlemen; most are not. I have no hesitation in obliterating the worst kind from Facebook and Flickr; they are just a waste of time, driven by their dicks and intellectually lacking. One guy wrote to me on Flickr telling me how beautiful and sexy I am. I told him that the book is a lot worse than the cover as I am 70 years old and really not interested in that “sort of thing” any more. Never heard from him again ha ha! In any case, I have always been strictly heterosexual and never had any interest in exploring further.
One time, staying at a Bangkok Airport hotel the night before flying to Sydney, I dressed for dinner, an awful buffet thing, and as I was finishing my plate of food, a guy came to my table and asked if I would have a drink with him. I replied with a firm “No thank you!”, which was perhaps a bit too firm as he had been very polite in his request. But I was flattered.
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Sounds like a great idea. Personally, I would present in male mode for boarding and then become a girl once in my cabin, presuming that P&O are not going to get stuffy about me wandering about the ship en femme. I know that will not suit many others, so I hope you can reach a workable solution for everyone. If P&O don’t want our money, we should be able to find another cruise company who can.
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Brilliant plan Emma. You can lead the revolution in short skirts and high heels! Hobart really needs a good shake-up! I had no idea being a trannie there was a criminal offence until this century!
Have to ‘fess up that (you guessed it!) I am an engineer (mechanical) albeit now retired. Perhaps we should start up a survey to see how many of us are engineers, but that may be an idea for another thread.
I have heaps of rellies in Tasmania and just starting to wonder if we are related ha ha! My father was an engineer in the navy and if your dad was in that stream, I bet they knew each other.
Anyway, I know you will have a great time in Hobart, because you will make it so. Cheers!
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No problem. Plenty of room in the car See you there!
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Hi Simone. Yes I still have it. It would be a size 18 or perhaps 20 in Australian terms. (I am a 16) After I complained to the supplier that I had been misled over the size, they refunded my money and what’s more told me to donate the dress to charity! If you wish, I can simply bring it to the Transformal and give it to you there. As it did not cost me anything, it is yours to keep. It would be improper of me to ask any money for it, but if it really does fit you, you can if you wish buy me a glass of something at the bar. Probably a bit dangerous at this late stage to post it to you, but can do that if you want. Just let me know what you want to do.
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That may be useful to me too. Thanks for the info.
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Thank you Tina. I had already thought of that but, as I have other dresses in the pipeline, I would prefer to give them to someone who might want them. Otherwise, I will just give them to the local charity shop.
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Hi Caty,
I live mainly in Thailand which can be very hot at times. If I get a rash, it is usually from the breast forms and the solution is to wash them with ant-bacterial hand soap, dry with a soft towel and sprinkle with talcum powder. Also wash the affected area on your skin with anti-bacterial hand soap but make sure you buy one with aloe vera in it. The anti-bacterial component kills the bugs while the aloe vera speeds up the healing. Similarly wash your bra with an anti-bacterial soap.
Hope this helps. -
As Jane says this is easily manipulated because the questions are so transparent. The internet abounds with quizzes like this and you can get any answer you want. I doubt there is any scientific proof for the results and therefore not much credibility in any of them. They are just a bit of fun really.
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I have to admit to some distress at hearing this news which I stumbled over today. I knew Christine quite well. A few years ago, we had dinner together and discovered we had been at the same university at the same time, but had never crossed paths there. When comparing notes from our student days we figured out we had both dated the same girl! I am sure Seahorse will miss her very much as she was always such an active member. I will shed a tear on her behalf.
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Thank you for sharing that information Adrian. The fact that it was a positive experience for you will encourage others to follow a similar path. Knowing what to expect is always half the battle.
I recently visited Sri Lanka but remained rigidly as a boy through the whole journey. My reason for doing so was that my on-line reading indicated that Sri Lanka is definitely not user-friendly for LGBT people. Homosexuality is illegal. Wikipedia says:
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Sri Lanka may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Sri Lanka has an authoritarian climate for sexual minorities. Homosexuality is illegal under Article 365A and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for any of the protection given to married couples. However, the Government has announced that the Constitution of Sri Lanka bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
My experience in Nepal was similar in that there seemed to be a no tolerance policy towards LGBT people supposedly on the grounds that they are habitually child molesters (which of course is a stupid generalisation). That was some years ago but I doubt there have been any major changes.
So it is good to learn that the main part of the Indian sub-continent is not so daunting. Would love to hear more of your experiences in India, Adrian.