candid Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 I have been here for 8 years and have long since stopped staring or being startled when seeing ladyboys. The perceived stereotype is that which one finds on Pattaya Beach late at night, and in other entertainment areas such as Patong, Nana etc. However, the glamorous ones such as seen at Tiffanys, Alcazar are many and work hard at their calling. I have also seen many in banks, car hire offices and the best looking lady in my lawyers office is, in fact, a man. I have also seen Katoeys in rural Thailand, who appear completely accepted in their society. I have seen 2 who were "married" to foreigners, and one who owned property here and in Hong Kong. Apparently she had many Chinese suitors. In these 8 years, I have only ever seen one Katoey who I would say was over 50 years old. To be honest, the looks had gone and she looked more an old man than an old woman. So, I wonder, where do they all go? What happens to them when their looks fade to such a point that they leave the tourist towns and go ---where? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ulysses G. Posted September 15, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted September 15, 2012 (edited) Apparently, some get married to Thai Visa members who used to be straight and live happily ever after. Edited September 15, 2012 by Ulysses G. 5 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Their "thing" gets more wrinkled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnvic Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Their "thing" gets more wrinkled. Everyone's does. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenervoussurgeon Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 According to a piece i read ,many just revert back to being men and get married ,that is the reason many do not have the chop . , i have only seen one or two old ones in pattaya over the years ,both looked very rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 they generally dont age well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnvic Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Some people seem incapable of posting without insulting others. Please do us a favour and just read the forum. Your contributions (deleted) are not needed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancid Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Most end up on TV don't they? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiangmaikelly Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 they generally dont age well How many older lady boys do you base that opinion on? Or is it just what you have heard from other people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiLai Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 According to a piece i read ,many just revert back to being men and get married ,that is the reason many do not have the chop . , i have only seen one or two old ones in pattaya over the years ,both looked very rough. Yip, i have heard this too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiangmaikelly Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 According to a piece i read ,many just revert back to being men and get married ,that is the reason many do not have the chop . , i have only seen one or two old ones in pattaya over the years ,both looked very rough. Yip, i have heard this too. Yip where did you hear this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoDogz Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Like all other old biddies...everything sags and wrinkles. Several years ago we were on an island off Koh Chang and I remember thinking to myself then...so this is where all the old ladyboys end up. There were a lot at this particular resort working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsquared Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Interesting..........I hadn't given it much thought either. But when you consider the amount of effort they put in to make themselves more feminine, it must increase exponentially with time. That is it must take much more effort as they get older, so they may just fade back into their maleness.....who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LennyW Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 So, I wonder, where do they all go? What happens to them when their looks fade to such a point that they leave the tourist towns and go ---where? So you think they are only like that for the sake of the tourists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forethat Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) Search and you shall... My post with a question... http://www.thaivisa....s/#entry4956429 ...answered by JT http://www.thaivisa....s/#entry4956463 ...and BookMan Edited September 16, 2012 by Forethat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tywais Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Thai Airways now hires up to the age of 60. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThailandBert Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Judging by the staff in the restaurant I ate in the other day they all go and work there. Every single one was an old katoey. The food and the service though was cheap and excellent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman34014 Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 They look just like their Mother when she got old ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thequietman Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 they generally dont age well Easily remedied.................... just get the iron out and steam those wrinkles away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thequietman Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Interesting..........I hadn't given it much thought either. But when you consider the amount of effort they put in to make themselves more feminine, it must increase exponentially with time. That is it must take much more effort as they get older, so they may just fade back into their maleness.....who knows? yes, agree. cement mixers and trowels are expensine here as is grouting and adfill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss1960 Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 too many cheap jokes here... so i try to bring in some serious thoughts, as the thread is in general and not in farang area... So my first advice to all of you is, if you are seriously interested in what ever questions about Katoeys / Ladyboys, go out and talk with them.... and if they feel that you are really interested and not only trying to satisfy a morbid curiosity, they will answer all your questions... and I am speaking from experience Second is that - not in general but from those ladyboys I did meet and learn to know over time - is that the age the same way every person ages... according to what is in their genes... Some ladyboys are lucky to be naturally feminine, don't need to take loads of hormones and don't need loads of cosmetic surgery... and they will age pretty feminine and still look like older women tend to look... but others, who had all kind of (mostly cheep) surgeries and took loads of hormone, will have health and mental issues and tend to age very bad... and yes, suicide is unfortunately not unknown then... But is it different from normal women? Look at some pics of celebs in their 50ies / 60ies and look how their surgeries tend to start make them look like zombies... they - as some Katoeys - did everything money can buy in order to look perfect while young... and I am sure most of them - same as the Katoeys - now really regret what they did in their past... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiLai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 According to a piece i read ,many just revert back to being men and get married ,that is the reason many do not have the chop . , i have only seen one or two old ones in pattaya over the years ,both looked very rough. Yip, i have heard this too. Yip where did you hear this? Many different places, articles online / friends / TV shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlyAnimal Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 My gf's uncle is a ladyboy, although he never had surgery etc as he lives rurally and is older anyway. I don't know what he was like when he was younger (in his 50s now), but these days he doesn't dress up much. I think after years of it, he prefers to just relax and not spend as much money on makeup etc. instead he usually just dresses up for redshirt rallies etc when he can be the real center of attention. As I think he mainly dresses up now for fun, and he knows when it's appropriate, when it's not and when it'd just be a waste of effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotsira Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I always thought that katoeys are more from the later generation of Thailand, in that there weren't that many around 40-50 years ago. So in the next 20-30 yrs from now there will be many more older katoeys around. I think it's due to social acceptance and medical improvements that weren't available back in the 50's and 60's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommoPhysicist Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 They do the same as other women do when they get older, less dressing up, less going out, more sitting at home. In fact they do what all other people do as they get older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaidDown Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 As a direct answer to the op's question 'What happens to Katoeys when they get older' They put more candles on their birthday cakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtin Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 They dye their hair red. Or not . I know one of each. The one who doesn't doesn't cut the hair, speaks normally, works when (s)he can find some. Lives next door. The redhead visits my MIL occasionally, speaks shrilly, and potters around on a motorbike. Both part of normal village life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 they generally dont age well How many older lady boys do you base that opinion on? Or is it just what you have heard from other people? while i don't have that many lady boy "friends", i do know quite a few and they have been floating around in one guise or another for the majority of my 17 or so years in Thailand, and the vast majority have not weathered the storm well. As i have seen, many have lives where excessive lifestyles in terms of drink and drug, and the hard living. Many have ups and downs where they have become some tourists plaything only to be discarded once the glamour or the new toy wears thin. Too many repetitions of that cycle can be soul destroying perhaps more so for the ladyboys than the ladies. I am well aware that there are ladyboys outside the hospitality and service industry, but beyond one very talented graphic designer, i have no personal experience with them so, chose to accept or disregard what i say, i really couldn't care less. Given you are admittedly old as the Thai soil and have been in-country since i was knee high to a grasshopper, perhaps you could provide your own impressions, or do you limit sharing your experience where it does not pertain to whether or not it is safe to eat the beef? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiangmaikelly Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 they generally dont age well How many older lady boys do you base that opinion on? Or is it just what you have heard from other people? while i don't have that many lady boy "friends", i do know quite a few and they have been floating around in one guise or another for the majority of my 17 or so years in Thailand, and the vast majority have not weathered the storm well. As i have seen, many have lives where excessive lifestyles in terms of drink and drug, and the hard living. Many have ups and downs where they have become some tourists plaything only to be discarded once the glamour or the new toy wears thin. Too many repetitions of that cycle can be soul destroying perhaps more so for the ladyboys than the ladies. I am well aware that there are ladyboys outside the hospitality and service industry, but beyond one very talented graphic designer, i have no personal experience with them so, chose to accept or disregard what i say, i really couldn't care less. Given you are admittedly old as the Thai soil and have been in-country since i was knee high to a grasshopper, perhaps you could provide your own impressions, or do you limit sharing your experience where it does not pertain to whether or not it is safe to eat the beef? The older lady boys that I know own restaurants and wedding shops. I didn't meet them till they were already old so I don't know if they were attractive when young. The older ones in have seen in the entertainment business were comics. I don't know if they are lady boys outside of the club I would think they are. There are a lot of them in the West. I understand they open up ice cream shops in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) they generally dont age well How many older lady boys do you base that opinion on? Or is it just what you have heard from other people? while i don't have that many lady boy "friends", i do know quite a few and they have been floating around in one guise or another for the majority of my 17 or so years in Thailand, and the vast majority have not weathered the storm well. As i have seen, many have lives where excessive lifestyles in terms of drink and drug, and the hard living. Many have ups and downs where they have become some tourists plaything only to be discarded once the glamour or the new toy wears thin. Too many repetitions of that cycle can be soul destroying perhaps more so for the ladyboys than the ladies. I am well aware that there are ladyboys outside the hospitality and service industry, but beyond one very talented graphic designer, i have no personal experience with them so, chose to accept or disregard what i say, i really couldn't care less. Given you are admittedly old as the Thai soil and have been in-country since i was knee high to a grasshopper, perhaps you could provide your own impressions, or do you limit sharing your experience where it does not pertain to whether or not it is safe to eat the beef? The older lady boys that I know own restaurants and wedding shops. I didn't meet them till they were already old so I don't know if they were attractive when young. The older ones in have seen in the entertainment business were comics. I don't know if they are lady boys outside of the club I would think they are. There are a lot of them in the West. I understand they open up ice cream shops in London. thanks for replying, you have been fortunate to encounter a few with their feet on the ground. It must be said of course, that Ladyboys, like all women in Thailand have the ability to chose different paths, however i would say that their lives hold a few more pitfalls then those of normal women. The ones that end up in the sex trade are unfortunately the most identifiable, and are likely what the OP had in mind when asking where they go. They are certainly who i had in mind when i said generally they don't age well There are those however that tread a more conventional path chasing careers etc much like everyone else. As with all things, it is often merely a the accident of circumstance that directs them. Any ladyboy from decent family with an excellent education, ambition and a level head can grow old gracefully if they chose. There is no need to ask where they went as, they havent gone anywhere, they have been there all along living their lives just as you or i would. Edited September 16, 2012 by tinfoilhat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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