Thai crossdresser enjoys his loved ones’ support
Thailand is often said to be one of the most open-minded countries in the world when it comes to going against gender norms. But for locals, coming out and finding acceptance can still be quite difficult. So it’s both brave and heartwarming to see a Thai crossdresser accepted by his family and friends.
Here’s the story behind the TikTok user who went viral for sharing his touching story of acceptance.
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A straight man who enjoys crossdressing
The 21-year-old man identifies as a straight man but enjoys crossdressing. He said that, as a child, he would sometimes try on his mother’s clothing. And as he grew older, he would sometimes try on his girlfriend’s clothes too.
Things took a turn when his girlfriend not only supported him but also saw it as an opportunity to have her boyfriend try on any new clothes she wanted to see in action. One of the rare perks you’d get if you dated someone your size who enjoys crossdressing.
The man said that it started out as simply wanting to try something new, but he has come to get a better understanding of women from it. Men often don’t need to pay too much attention or get a huge variety of choices when it comes to clothing – mostly just shirts and pants. But women have a much larger range and pay more attention to what they wear, the man notes.
Seeing people react when he dresses up
While he simply wears shirts and pants like most men throughout his daily life, one of the reasons he decides to cross-dress is to see the public’s reaction and create content around it.
Even without dressing up, the man says that people often mistake him for a girl once he grew his hair out. One of the commenters even said that he looks exactly like her friend, except her friend is a girl.
Translation: You so much like my friend that I’m shocked. Except my friend is a girl. LOL
This set the stage for public crossdressing escapades where he goes to conventions dressed as a woman or when he dresses as a maid at a maid cafe in Bangkok.
He even went to class for a whole day while crossdressing. He went fully expecting a quiet day of lectures but of course things wouldn’t go so smoothly. As luck would have it, the professor announced that there would be group work that day.
The man was shocked as he hadn’t expected to have to interact with people but the man got into a group and found that people were very accepting. One even asked if he should put “Miss” instead of “Mister” in front of his name.
He found the experience both heartwarming and eye-opening.
Pushing and exploring established gender norms
The man said that whenever he crossdresses, many people within his social circle see it as a new side of him. But not necessarily a bad one. In continuing to crossdress, he is gently nudging social boundaries and exploring established gender norms that continue to exist within Thai society.
While norms generally have a purpose, a reflection and reevaluation of them is required every now and again to see if they still fit with what sort of society Thai people want to build. With this man as an example, perhaps we will see more Thais coming out of their shells and see gender more fluidly rather than as a binary.
Cover images adapted from (Clockwise from Top Left): @ryucius, @ryucius
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