Yes you heard it right. For teen boys who prefer to dress as girls at one rural high school in Thailand, taking a bathroom break no longer means choosing between "male" and "female" restrooms. There's now a "transvestite toilet." The Kampang School in northeastern Thailand conducted a survey last term that showed more than 200 of the school's 2,600 students considered themselves transgender, said school director Sitisak Sumontha.
So, when classes resumed in May, the school unveiled a unisex restroom designated by a human figure split in half; part man in blue and part woman in red. Below it are the words "Transvestite Toilet." The news of course was greatly received by the transgender students there as they no longer need to feel worry about being watched, laughed at or groped when going to the restroom. Most rural Thais are conservative in many ways, but the trailblazing toilet initiative at the school in northeastern Sisaket province reflects another aspect of Thai society: its tolerance of the country's very visible transgender community. The term describes a wide range of identities including cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals and those born with the physical characteristics of both sexes.
The school director Sitisak Sumontha, said the concept reflected a growing need at Thai schools and universities. Kampang is not Thailand's first educational institution to set up unisex washrooms, though Sitisak said he believed it was a first for a secondary school. A 1,500-student technical college in the northern province of Chiang Mai set up a "Pink Lotus Bathroom" for its 15 transvestite students in 2003. Deputy Education Minister Boonlue Prasertsopar recently said the ministry plans to count the number of transgender university students and added that the government is not trying to promote transgender interests but there is a need to do something if there are many of them in a university. Transgenders are regularly seen on TV soap operas and throughout Bangkok, working at department store cosmetics counters, popular restaurants, in office jobs and in the capital's red-light districts. Thailand also has transgender beauty pageants. [End of report]
I never thought to myself ever that I would hear a transvestite bathrooms to be build in a school but I guess I am wrong. But at the same time, I thought it was only right, as in the case of Thailand, which according to the report, have a significant number of transgender students, or students who considered themselves as transgender, to set aside a bathroom for them. I don't know what are the reasons why one decides to be or act like a transgender but whatever it is, they have the right to live the normal life with equal opportunities I guess. I know the term 'transgender' is subjective, many people have a different view of it, but my definition of the term which I think also can be applied on this case refers to individual who dresses and acts in a style or manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex.
Im sure they will feel a little bit awkward going into a male or female toilet because they will probably get laughed or tease at by other non-transgender students particularly if they are a boy, because from my experience, I find that boys who are transgender are more often being tease as compared to the girls. However, they should not worry about that anymore now as they will be able to go into the bathrooms with people of their own kind, and that will definitely make them feel much better. I tried to find out whether schools from other countries have such bathroom but I didn't find one, so I guess Thailand is the first country to do so. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if you know of similar bathroom in other countries, please correct me.
We should also remember that there are also transgender adults, not just students. I am just wondering whether they also have a transvestite bathrooms in the working place. Maybe not because adults are far more matured and understanding of one another, and there is no need for a transvestite bathrooms afterall. I think you can find transgender people in any country you go, so I just hope that the there will not be a campaign to start building transgender bathrooms in schools everywhere. I think in Thailand's case, it is such a unique situation because like I said earlier, there are significant numbers of transgender students in their schools, I don't know if it is the only school in Thailand to have that huge number of transgender students, my views are based from the report only. If there are only a small group of transgender students in the school, then there is no point having a transvestite bathrooms. I'm glad that the Thai society is starting to have a change of views in how they treat the transgender community there. They will now have more opportunity to live their life as a normal person without having to fear being look down by others but some level of prejudice against them will still exist I think which is affecting them on the global scale as well.
As far as Singapore is concern, I don't know about how big or small the population of transgender here so I am unable to make any conclusion on whether such bathrooms will be a need in the future. But it will be interesting to see the reaction if it were to ever happen though I highly doubt the possibility. At the end of the day, the main thing I guess is that the majority of the public needs to understand and recognise the existence of transgender people and treat them just as equally as we treat non-transgender people. By the way, I'm not trying to promote transgender interests by writing this post, so please don't get the wrong idea.
*The report was taken from Associated Press.
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