Christine has written numerous (at least 150) articles, columns, op-eds, features & stories for well known T magazines, websites & e-zines; she also works as a part time fiction editor for Club Lighthouse Publishing, and is a co-editor of an award winning T-girl Magazine. In addition, she has written 8 adult books mainly in the T sub-genre which have been published by Club Lighthouse Publishing, for whom she has been the best selling author for the last 5 years.
Today our Correspondent in Thailand, Christine Burr, takes a break from the Thai scene and blogs about a common characteristic of closeted crossdressers worldwide. The extreme planning and precision that must be implemented to take advantage of windows of dressing opportunity that open with short notice. See what happens when “Tom” hears his wife planning an excursion for the coming Saturday.
There are myths and more myths about Thai Ladyboys. Most of these myths revolve around the assumption that everything is fine and wonderful with being Transgendered in Thailand. That Thai Ladyboys live a wonderful life; going about their everyday routines dressing and living as the females they were clearly meant to be. After all, isn’t […]
Thailand has a reputation of being tolerant to its trans people, known as “ladyboys.” But there have been barriers placed in the way of a ladyboy achieving success. While they can pursue an entertainment career you don’t see many ladyboy CEOs. New laws have gone into effect in Thailand that are aimed at stopping the discrimination that holds back the ladyboy population. Learn more in Christine Burr’s Dispatch From Thailand.
Is too much diversity a bad thing when the transgender community is fighting for rights? Does the umbrella of transgender confuse people when they find everyone one from Caitlyn Jenner to weekend crossdressers standing under it? Christine Burr is concerned that it could be the case that the non-trans public won’t be interested in helping us since they can’t figure our who “us” is, leaving her asking “What Next?”
Despite it being possible to have any and all necessary surgery in the US or one of the European countries, many trans women opt to come to Thailand–but why? Christine Burr has a number of reasons why people make the trek to Thailand to complete their transition.
Christine Burr, our corespondent in Thailand, has filed another dispatch concerning the plight of trans people in Asia. While advances in acceptance of trans people move forward in progressive western countries many of the Asian countries continue to oppress their trans citizens due to transphobia. Christine has five ideas to counter that transphobia.
Christine Burr covered some of the mishaps, accidents, and faux pas that can crop up in a crossdresser’s life when they are busy juggling two genders. Last time she wrote about the trans girl who lost her wig to a low hanging tree branch, getting locked into the bathroom stall when the bolt got stuck, or the one where the crossdresser forgot which restroom to use and walked right into the men’s. This time she has a theory about why CDs might run into more problems and she recounts a couple of wild things that happened to her.
Things don’t always go as planned. The best laid plans for an evening, or day, out and about en femme can be blown up by a mishap or accident. It doesn’t have to be a serious accident. Just a small misstep or memory lapse can get you a lot more attention than you were hoping for. Christine Burr shares some of the things that have happened to she and her friends while they were trying to blend in.
To many Thailand seems like a transgender paradise. A place where beautiful ladyboys live as pampered courtesans or acclaimed entertainment stars. This view of Thailand is not what the real Thailand is like. While trans people have been a visible part of the Thai landscape for many years acceptance of their existence is not the same as embracing their presence. Christine Burr reports on the discrimination the ladyboys face in the “Land of Smiles.”
Christine Burr was inspired by Angela’s Out & About post from several weeks ago and decided to tell about some of her adventures Out & About mingling with the general population. Christine is lucky in that she is not built like a linebacker so blending in with the other women is not as difficult as it is for some. Today she relates a few general encounters and one that she likes in particular.
Whenever our Correspondent in Thailand, Christine Burr, gets foreign visitors they all have one thing they simply must see, ladyboys. So Christine dutifully takes them to one of the upscale ladyboy cabaret shows that feature the most beautiful and feminine ladyboys. But some of her visitors want to see more of Thailand’s third gender than can be found in an upscale cabaret. Those visitors must be taken to another part of town.
Today Christine Burr, our correspondent in Thailand, talks with a former star of the ladyboy cabaret scene in Pattaya. Now she works as a makeup artist and is lucky to have a boyfriend who is devoted to her. For other ladyboys who make a living on the stage it doesn’t always turn out so well. Christine talks to Khun Bee about what happens to most ladyboys as they grow older.
A recent interaction with a group of ladyboys got Christine Burr thinking about transgenderism. The women were modeling wedding dresses at an event promoting various wedding salons to prospective brides. Christine started talking to them about what it means to be a ladyboy in Thailand. After listening to them and ruminating on transgenderism in general she has come to some conclusions.
Christine goes out with friends for dinner, two GGs and a Thai “ladyboy.” After dinner the conversation turns to what the ladyboys outside of Thailand are like, and Christine is surprised to learn that her friends see her as a ladyboy. For in Thailand anyone with who is differently gendered and expresses a feminine personae is labelled a ladyboy. See what else the friends discussed in this latest Dispatch From Thailand.
Pattaya, the beach resort in Thailand, has its share of ladyboys. Most of them are trying to better themselves and get legitimate jobs but there are only so many spots in show biz. Other’s are hoping to meet that wealthy foreign gentleman and move out of Thailand live as his wife. While that does happen from time to time the more likely ending is one of prostitution and crime. Christine Burr takes you on a visit to Pattaya today.
Last month Chris Burr met a young lady named Jira who told her about her life as a ladyboy. This month Jira is excited because she has gotten a new job. She will be working in a ladyboy cabaret with some of her friends. Today Christine introduced you to them and talks with them and Jira about Jira’s new show business careers.
A month or so back, I was in a well known chain of local coffee shops in Chiang Mai, about to enjoy my regular hot chocolate and over-indulge in a banana cream pie. The very pretty waitress who served me, gave me a lovely smile, and politely asked, “Where do you come from?” — a standard […]
“What are words for?” That’s a lyric by the L.A. band Missing Persons and it’s also the theme that Christine Burrows examines in her Dispatch From Thailand. Where to the words used to identify the TG community come from? How do they vary from culture to culture and what makes a specific term pejorative? Learn what Christine believes in “Katoey — and Other Dirty Words.”
Our correspondent in Thailand has filed another report. In this one Christine Burr says that because generally speaking the Thai people have liberal attitudes toward trans people you will find ladyboys all over the place. They work in hair salons, shops and restaurants, and of course in cabaret shows aimed at the tourists. Does it indicate that ladyboys are movin’ on up?
Our correspondent in Thailand has filed another report on Ladyboys in that country. During her time in Thailand Christine Burr has met many Ladyboys and she says that after a bit their stories start to sound the same. And the stories don’t have a happy ending. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Things are looking up somewhat and Christine hopes we’ll hear more about Ladyboys moving up.
Continuing on from my last column, where I looked at some of the (many) labels often attached to people from within our community, let’s now look at some of the key myths we are plagued with. Coupling labels and myths together, it’s no wonder that we are grossly misunderstood by the public at large — […]
Here at TGF we use “transgender” as an umbrella term to cover a spectrum of gender variant activity and expression. The terms used are seen by some (like The Artist D!) as “labels” that aren’t helpful. Maybe concern over labels is “in the air” since Christine Burr’s latest post turns out to be about labels used in the TG world and the myths surrounding them.
TG people have been around in Asia for more years than anyone can remember. From China to Thailand, from Indonesia to The Philippines, or from Japan to Korea, the “third gender” have been omnipresent for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Many Asian cultures have long accepted, or liberally tolerated, the presence of “new-halfs” or […]
It’s a new year and our correspondent in Thailand, Christine Burr, has some New Year’s wishes instead of resolutions. Her wishes are all for the improvement of the lives lead by Thailand’s ladyboys — and for the improvement of the lives of all transgendered people around the world.
Our correspondent in Thailand had an opportunity to get together with old friends and talk about this, that and the other thing. The “other thing” that came up was how they were all living parallel lives, being successful males in one life and secretly (or mostly secretly) expressing their feminine sides. Meet Marc, Trevor and Roland and see if they sound like your long lost sisters.
When Thailand’s katoi make the news they’re commonly called ladyboys and the story is either one of success in show business or the pageant world, or one of their involvement in some crime. There’s little in the Thai media that presents them as transgender women doing their best to be a part of society. Our Thailand correspondent has found a story that shows the katoi can do things that break the stereotypes. And it comes with pictures of ladyboys in bikinis.
