Fighting For Identity: The Life Of A Transgender Kickboxer In Rural Thailand

Photo: Lindsey Newhall

In her color-coordinated training attire and fashionably fit tops, Rose is easy to spot at her tiny dirt-floor gym in rural Thailand. Her hot pink top clings snugly to her compact, lean torso. Bra straps in a delicate petal pink peer through at the shoulders. Her iridescent satin shorts are customized with her fight name, Rot-Duan, embroidered in gold.

She gingerly wipes the sweat off her brow after her rounds on pads, careful not to smear her painstakingly applied eye makeup. Her twin brother Lak calls her up for clinching. A strong fighter in his own right, Lak treats his sister Rose, younger by only five minutes, like a man during training. He clinches full-force with her, doesn't hold back in sparring, gives her no special consideration based on her displayed gender. Lak's twin sister may wear makeup, giggle delicately, and sport a pink top, but Rose is biologically male. The two were born as twin brothers, and when Rose fights, she fights men.

Eighteen and just out of high school, Rose is approaching her fighting prime. She's racked up an estimated 200 to 300 fights since first stepping into the ring at a tiny seven years old. Everyone in the area knows who she is. Her brother Lak, their older sister Gael (also a talented fighter in the Isaan circuit), and Gael's husband Gaeng, a prolific fighter in Isaan, Bangkok, and even China, laugh that the youngest, shyest sibling is the most famous fighter in the family. Rose laughs along with them, then asks why. "Is it because I'm a good fighter?" she asks. "Or because I'm kathoey?"

Read more: http://fightland.vice.com/blog/fighting-for-identity-the-life-of-a-transgender-kickboxer-in-rural-thailand

What a waste of time reason this stupid article by Lindsey.

That's nice but if the boxing doesn't pan out it's always good to have some kind of fallback plan. Perhaps bookkeeping?

I think she looks quite cute in a funny sort of way. Wouldn't argue with her thats for sure.

What a waste of time reason this stupid article by Lindsey.

Of course it is a newsworthy story. If you don't like it hit delete and move on.

'She' looks good and deserves to succeed in what is a tough sport at which no doubt at the start 'she' had a hard time!

As to the comment from thesetat2003.....the story was worth reading whist your comment was not.

Reminds me of the Thai film Beautiful Boxer (2003), based on a true story.

Reminds me of the Thai film Beautiful Boxer (2003), based on a true story.

Good movie I thought.

Damn that is one ugly Katoey Can't even pass for a man

Chances she will be as successful as the Beautiful Boxer are not good. Someone tell her to take that bookkeeping course. Kay?

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I wish her all the best.....

say what you want but ... thailand has so many ladyboys, aka confused boys into thinking they are women..

is it

a ) all the pesticides and other chemicals sprayed in abundance on the produce

b ) antibiotics, growth hormone & others in the animals we eat ?

c ) CP pseudo food, warmed in the microwave in a plastic container leaching xeno-estrogens ?

d ) water supply not filtered as the female hormones end up in everybody ?

I don't think they're confused for the most part. I do see many people find the concept disturbing ... gender in head different than gender in crotch.

Beautiful Boxer was Nong Tum, very well-known in the ring in the mid-90s. He used to train in one of the gyms in Chiangmai just near where I lived at the time.

Nong Tum used to wear full make-up in the ring, and kiss his opponenets before the fight (one way to distract them). But he packed a good punch.

Yeah but it's hardly an occupation that is usually going to successful for anybody really. Again ... bookkeeping. Or plastics!