The third gender. Thailand. Vietnam

I started working on my project in Thailand in 2014 where 1 out of 100 Thai men is a transsexual. I decided to take portraits of these people in order to show how they actually look like and what they think about. I wanted to change a Western perception of ladyboys as people who works only as prostitutes and usually rob foreigners at nights. Ladyboys are said are quite dangerous and that view clouds people’s judgment. People are even afraid to look at them and Thailand. I wanted to change that bias by taking their close-ups and listening their stories. I found out that they are the same people as others and have the same problems as other people. While I in Thailand my work touches issues such as plastic surgery since it relatively cheap and having had surgery doesn’t close the doors to find a job, in Vietnam to have a reassignment surgery illegal. To compare with Thailand in Vietnam transsexuals are very rare to be found on the streets. They are not tolerated by society. Just only a few of transgender in Vietnam dared to have had a reassignment surgery while others either simply cannot afford it or afraid of doing so because of the fear of their family. In Thailand people decide to undergo a reassignment surgery because it helps them to find a well-paid job. The more money they invest in operation the more money they except to earn in future and even marry a foreigner having a body of a real woman. I photographed a lot of people in Ho Chi Minh and all of them I was told wore clothes that were made themselves. I am glad that as well as revealing their personal stories my project became a fashion story also. In Thailand transsexuals are totally accepted by they family as long as they support them. Transsexuals in Thailand are able to find a well-paid job especially in cabaret show or in go-go bars. In Vietnam having a surgery closes the door to find any job. Having appearance of the woman and at the same time male’s ID brings a great shame on them. So far there is no way to issue a passport of a new gender. Even to wear woman’s clothes in daily life is a huge challenge for many transsexuals in Vietnam.