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Thai film strikes blow for
'lady-boys'
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Mention the name "Nong Toom" here and
most Thais seem to know who she is: a strikingly
beautiful woman with a curvaceous body and graceful
gestures to match.
This popularity stems from
her (then his) story that grabbed public attention in
early 1998 - a katoey as Thais call transvestites
and transsexuals, excelling in the most macho of sports
in this Southeast Asian country, Thai kickboxing or
Muay Thai.
In 2000, after pummeling the
men in the ring, Parinya "Nong Toom" Charoenphol decided
to fulfill a boyhood dream to become a woman. Now, at 21
years, she is.
It was a story waiting to be
grabbed for film given its uniqueness - this country had
never witnessed the presence of a transsexual in the
ring before. Nong Toom, in fact, would happily wear
lipstick during bouts.
In many ways, the story
of Nong Toom - beyond the curiosity it readily generates
- brought into sharp focus the struggles and triumphs of
an individual belonging to one of Thailand's pervasive
sexual minorities.
Thus, film director Ekachai
Uekrongtham has set his heart on exploring such themes
and more to project this "very humane account" in his
film, Beautiful Boxer.
"This is the story
of a very warm person who believed that he was born in a
wrong body and fights to get what he wishes," said
Ekachai outside a studio north of Bangkok, where filming
has begun.
Beautiful Boxer, which is
estimated to cost US$2.5 million, is Ekachai's cinematic
debut. He has earned a name in this Southeast Asian
country as an award-winning stage director.
Nong
Toom herself is a consultant in the film and is cast in
a minor role as a trainer to top kickboxer Asanee Suwan,
who will play Nong Toom in the film.
To give the
depth and seriousness the film requires, the narrative
of Beautiful Boxer will be woven around Nong
Toom's childhood in a home of a family living on the
borders of poverty in northern Thailand, his years as a
novice Buddhist monk and his life as the "lady-boy"
boxer.
For the real-life star, the film delves
into aspects of her life that convey the passion that
drove her in her journey from boyhood to womanhood.
"You cannot choose how you are born, but you can
choose how you want to be, and make society accept you
the way you are. That is the lesson of the film," said
Nong Toom.
But in attempting to immortalize Nong
Toom's struggles through film, director Ekachai is also
helping to clarify - or some may say push - the limits
placed by the authorities here on portraying
katoey in popular culture.
What helps is
the medium he has chosen - a movie for the big screen,
rather than television.
That is because in
Thailand, which has authorities such as the police
censorship board to edit out sections it deems unsavory
for local audiences, there is more space in film to
project katoey in sympathetic light than on
television.
Furthermore, Beautiful Boxer
comes after the nod of approval the authorities gave to
the 2001 hit film Satree Lek ("Iron Ladies").
That film, which became the second-highest
earner in the local cinema, was about the true story of
a katoey-led volleyball team that won a national
championship in 1996.
This month, the sequel to
Iron Ladies opens in cinemas across the country.
"The government is more sensitive to the way
katoey appear on television, because it is a more
popular medium," said Ubonrat Siriyuvasak, of the
communication arts faculty at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn
University. "Film is where new ground can be broken.
"The national broadcasting authorities are
against the katoey character being celebrated or
being projected as a serious character or in a lead role
on TV," she added. "This is because they are worried it
will promote imitations."
Currently,
katoey are a regular feature on television shows,
but often in comedies and in those, too, they have minor
roles. Television viewers rarely get to see a portrayal
of katoey where their individual struggles and
triumphs in life are depicted.
Yet katoey
move freely in this society, a mark of tolerance toward
this sexual minority. Besides occupations that
katoey have been identified with - dancers in
go-go bars, and workers in hair salons and in the
fashion industry - they work in banks, in department
stores and, in a few cases, in the civil service.
"There are katoey from all segments of
society, and they are becoming more visible now," said
Ubonrat. "And they are making an effort to make
themselves acceptable."
What works in their
favor is the law in Thailand, where homosexuality is not
deemed a crime, unlike some of the other countries in
the region. As significant for the katoey is the
ease with which they can get hormone pills, have breast
implants and, as in the case of Nong Toom, get
corrective surgery here.
When the film of Nong
Toom's life comes out this year, Thai audiences will get
a chance to deliver another message about how receptive
they are to a serious portrayal of such characters in
the country's cultural life.
A thumbs-up for
Beautiful Boxer will mean more space for Thai
cinema to shed light on a sexual minority that despite
the openness of society toward them, has no legal rights
and, as a result, remain vulnerable to abuse.
(Inter Press Service)
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