Sunday, May 1, 2011

Ladyboy Bathroom Wars: To Stand or to Sit?

One of my first direct experiences with discrimination against Ladyboys dealt with a conflict at Uttaradit Rajabhat University over the use of male and female bathrooms.  Females complained that Ladyboys were starting to use their bathrooms and the Ladyboys complained that they were being sexually harassed and abused when they used male bathrooms.  In fact, a couple of Ladyboys reported being hit or sexually touched while trying to use the male bathrooms.  Something had to be done.  Many of the Thai administrators were old-school males and thought it was funny.  I disagreed, I was horrified by what was happening, so I started a Bathroom Committee for Ladyboy Dignity.  I rented a hotel room in downtown Uttaradit and invited six Ladyboys for a night of serious discussion about how to rally Ladyboys and concerned students at URU.  We had wine and somtom, did some role play in our pajamas and had a comfortable sleepover/political meeting that night.  We ended up persuading the university administration, including the playboy president, to create a third bathroom option for the Third Sex.  I savored this success and have been a part of the university Ladyboy movement ever since.

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