Thailand military:the lovely conscripts

[Stephe]

GlobalPost, MA, USA
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/t...n-transgender#
.
Thailand military: the lovely conscripts

Thailand's military struggles with a flood of transgender draftees.

By Patrick Winn - GlobalPost

Published: October 8, 2010 06:44 ET in Asia

[Photo: < http://bit.ly/cgLW98 > A Thai transsexual listens to
speeches as thousands of Red Shirt supporters of former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra take over the streets of Bangkok's
main shopping district on April 4, 2010.
(Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)]

BANGKOK, Thailand -- It was conscription day in the outskirts of
Bangkok. One by one, a young man's name would crackle over the
loudspeaker and he would rise from the throng seated on the grass
and strip for inspection.

Hiding amidst the 1,000-person crowd was Prempreeda Pramoj
Na Ayutthaya, auburn locks hanging at her shoulders, face
obscured by an umbrella held by her mother. When her name was
called, she squeezed her mom's hand and stood, legs quivering, to
step through the sea of stunned boys.

"I felt panic. Maybe at first they thought I was some guy's
sister who'd come for support," Prempreeda said. "But when I
walked to the front, everyone realized, 'Oh, that's not a girl!'
and made a huge noise."

"I think of that day like a bad dream," Prempreeda said.

Of the half million young Thai men facing military
conscription lottery each year, most fear being drafted into
grunthood. Best case scenario: Two years in a dull outpost.
Worst case: Patrolling the southern Thai-Malay borderlands, where
Islamic insurgents are notorious for beheading troops.

But few fear the draft more than Thailand's transgender
"kathoeys." Genetically male, mentally female, they regard
conscription as a threat to their very being. Buzzing off a
kathoey's long locks and forcing her to go soldiering in the sun,
Prempreeda said, is the cruelest of punishments.

"No transgender would ever want to be in the army,"
Prempreeda said. "They'll cut your hair off. They'll destroy
your femininity. You will do everything you can to avoid it."

No one knows exactly how many male-born Thais live as women,
though academics acknowledge the obvious: the phenomenon is
unusually widespread in Thailand.

In the United States, studies suggest that only about 1 in
2,500 men live their lives as women. But in Thailand, according
to a University of Hong Kong researcher, as many as 1 in 165 Thai
males become kathoeys.

Thailand's outsized transgender population presents a
dilemma for the military, which considers kathoeys eligible for
conscription at 21 like every other male citizen.

In practice, long-haired, perfumed draftees with hormone-
induced breasts are very rarely drafted. Instead, they are
dismissed as unfit for service, often for having "malformed
chests."

The most common reason for dismissal, however, is also the
more damning: "mental disorder." Worse yet is "permanent
insanity," a ruling written into the permanent record of kathoey
Samart Meecharoen in 2006.

The 26-year-old Bangkok receptionist, who goes by the Thai
nickname "Sweetwater," is an accidental activist. After the
"insane" label wrecked a promising job interview, she sued the
Ministry of Defense with the help of a gay rights organization.
Most employers force male prospects to submit a document proving
they've stood for the national draft.

"Don't they understand this ruins our lives?" said Samart,
who is still awaiting her lawsuit's outcome. "It's stuck to our
record. Even if we're opening a bank account, or trying to get a
visa to some foreign country, people see that I'm supposedly
insane."

Though Thailand's Defense Ministry can still legally dismiss
kathoey conscripts as mentally ill, Samart's case has pressured
the military into refraining from the most career-damaging
classifications, at least in recent years.

A September memorandum obtained by GlobalPost reveals that
senior military officials are now recommending a new all-purpose
phrase to reject transgender draftees. Translated, it reads,
"This person's body is not consistent with their birth sex."

The decision is not final. But many kathoeys are rooting
for this phrasing. Those already judged "insane" or "deformed"
are also hoping to scrub unflattering rulings from their
permanent records.

These days, teenage kathoeys fearing conscription will
likely turn to ThaiLadyBoyz.net, the largest Thai-language
message board on transgender life. More than a place to swap
make-up tips and emoticon-laced heartbreak rants, the site offers
an online strategy session for prospective draftees.

Among the message board's topics: "Went for draft already?
Please tell our girls there's nothing to fear!" and, among the
most popular, "Will I have to take my shirt off?" Tales abound
of officers asking kathoeys to strip down in front of giggling
crowds during public inspections.

"Dress very beautifully, but politely," wrote
ThaiLadyBoyz.net user DonutSheHot, a self-proclaimed kathoey who
has already withstood the draft. "Nothing too slutty, though.
That's risky."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/t...ender?page=0,1
.
Prempreeda followed the script, dressing professionally but
feminine enough to assure officers she's a genuine kathoey. Then
20, she had grown breasts after taking imported German hormones
since the age of 17.

"The army doctor, this young guy, brought me into a small
curtained room," she said. "There were people climbing up to the
second floor to look inside, hoping to see some sexy scene. A
lot of people attend these events just for fun. Of course,
transgenders are the highlight."

Prempreeda was prepared for the worst. The doctor asked
that she slip out of her top, only to find she was wearing a
sports bra underneath.

"He laughed at me," she said. "It was obvious he was using
his authority to see my breasts." The next potential draftee in
line was kathoey too, she said, and the doctor clucked, "'You're
not being sexy like this girl.'"

Prempreeda's medical diagnosis: deformed chest.

"I could live with that," she said. "I don't have to use my
breasts at my job."

Now 31, she works as a researcher and private consultant.
"I'm lucky, actually. The chairman of the draft board was very
kind when I asked him not to ruin my career."

Despite the tension between kathoeys and officials, both
generally agree that transgendered men have no place in the
military. Unlike in the United States, where homosexuals eager
to serve are dismissed when discovered, the Thai army has never
been confronted with kathoeys campaigning for the right to
enlist.

"That would be weird," said Anucha Simplacert, a 23-year-old
designer living in Chonburi province. Like many kathoeys, she
avoided conscription by signing up for relatively non-strenuous
army reserve courses in high school. "Everyone knows that if you
have big boobs and long hair, you don't get to be a soldier."

Even Samart, the modern face of kathoeys' anti-
discrimination movement, is unable to imagine a kathoey serving
the army in any regard. "It will never happen," she said.
"We're not interested."

A fellow kathoey activist, Nada Chaiyajit, suggests that
they could possibly work as military nurses, clerks or
accountants. "But we all know they'll never give us guns to go
fight," she said.

Beyond reforming the military draft, kathoeys have also
pressed the government to change the title "mister" before their
names to "miss" on official documents. This proposal, once
considered by the legislature, remains stalled. Repeated
attempts to single out homosexuals in constitutional anti-
discrimination laws have failed. Gay marriage remains unlawful
and politicians have shown little interest in taking up the
cause. The occasional nightclub will even post signs declaring
"No bar girls (prostitutes) or kathoeys."

The military's branding of kathoeys as "insane" or
"deformed" cracks the myth that Thailand is a paradise of gay
acceptance, Prempreeda said.

"Paradise how? We don't have many hate crimes or violence
against us," she said. "But in terms of law and policy, we're
still fighting and it's taking a long time."

[peggygee]

Thank you for the post.

And in a related story:

Australia - Defence drops ban on transgender soldiers


Chief of the Defence Force Angus Houston issued an instruction Monday revoking the policy that effectively banned transgender service members. The ADF is believed to be the last government agency that specifically fired employees for transitioning gender.

The individual whose recent gender transition lead to the reform work was not available for public comment, but the referral service that assists gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender service members, DEFGLIS, was aware that commanders had been anything but understanding.

While the ADF works on a new policy to address those problems, slated for December, Air Chief Marshall Houston called on commanders to show more understanding. Monday’s signal instructed commanders to “manage ADF transgender personnel with fairness, respect and dignity … and existing medical review provisions; and ensure all personnel are not subjects to unacceptable behavior”.

It comes 18 years after the ADF repealed the ban on gay and lesbian service members, and two years after it started recognising same-sex relationships for family entitlements. Yet Australia still trails Canada, Israel, Czech Republic, Spain and Thailand, which not only allow transgender soldiers to serve but also support them through diversity programs.

http://theipowa.org/?q=content/austr...ender-soldiers

[peggygee]

This may also be of interest:

How can I have my VA and DOD records changed to reflect my new name and gender identity?



T ransgender A merican V eterans A ssociation
http://www.tavausa.org/

How can I have my VA and DOD records changed to reflect my new name and gender identity? A10. Name. Veterans may change their names in the VA databases (national and local healthcare facility) by forwarding a letter request with a certified copy of the court ordered name change to both the regional VA office that holds one's records and one's primary healthcare facility.

Retirees may do the same with DoD by providing their parent service's personnel command retiree section and the DFAS Columbus Retired Pay Office a certified copy of the court ordered name change. A new retired ID card can be issued and a DEERS name change entry made at any military Pass and ID office by presenting a certified copy of the court ordered name change.

Note that the DD-214 cannot be changed once issued; however, if one legally changes name in the military records prior to discharge or retirement, the original DD-214 will be issued in the new name. Gender (VA). Veterans may change their gender markers in the VA databases (national and local healthcare facility) by forwarding a notarized copy of the surgeon's letter that confirms accomplishment of SRS/GRS/GCS to both the regional VA office that holds one's records and one's primary healthcare facility. Gender (DoD).

Veterans may request a change of gender marker in DoD records by submitting a Form DD 149, Application for Correction of Military Record parent service's records correction activity (e.g., the Board for Correction of Naval Records). Include as a minimum a certified copy of the court-ordered name change and a notarized copy of the surgeon's SRS/GRS/GCS confirmation letter.

Expect the process to take a year or more.
The corrections activity, acting in the name of the Service Secretary (e.g., Secretary of the Army), will task the appropriate military personnel command to issue a Statement of Service in your new name and gender. The Form DD 214 -- which does not show gender -- will NOT be changed or amended because the name at time of discharge or retirement is considered to have been correct at that time.

Issue of the Statement of Service can take up to an additional six months. Retirees can send a copy of the Statement of Service by letter to the Retired Pay Office, DFAS Columbus, requesting the gender marker to be changed 'wherever recorded in DFAS databases.' This is important because DFAS issues a periodic master tape that overrides any data in the DEERS database.

Changing the retiree's DEERS gender marker can be done at a military Pass and ID office by presenting the surgeon's letter and the Statement of Service showing your new gender. If the retiree is unmarried, the Pass and ID personnel can make the change. If the retiree is married, attempting to change the gender marker would result in a same sex marriage; so the change is blocked.

Advise the local personnel to call their DEERS Help Desk (Research and Analysis), which can override the block on same-sex spouses. If the retiree's spouse has also changed sex (i.e., an MTF/FTM couple), the local office can change both gender markers before pressing the Enter key. Patience and a sense of humor are advised when coaching local military personnel through this procedure.

http://theipowa.org/?q=content/how-c...ender-identity

[dderek123]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...g-transsexuals

Nothing sick or abnormal regarding transsexuals

• Published: 29/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Ask any transsexual in Thailand what happened to him on military conscription day, and he will painfully tell you how he had to bear with humiliation, ridicule, and - quite often - sexual harassment.
As part of the physical examination, for example, transsexuals are required to take off their shirts and have their bare breasts measured in full public view. The sight is considered "hilarious" and the photos of bare-breasted "katoeys" often appear in newspapers the following day.
A few years ago, the military provided transsexuals with a special room for physical examination to protect the respectability of the draft ritual. But the harassment of the transsexuals continued.
"Three officials followed me into the room. I was told to take off my shirt, they stared at my breasts, touched them, and laughed at me. Imagine my humiliation. But I couldn't do anything," one transsexual lamented at a recent meeting, co-organised by the National Human Rights Commission, the Thiranart Kanchana-aksorn Foundation, and the transsexuals' movement to redress the situation.
The pain did not end with the conclusion of conscription day.
Since transsexuals are legally male, they are required to show the conscription exemption papers to their prospective employers. How much chance do they have when the official papers routinely describe transexuals as mentally ill?
Samart Meecharoen, aka Namwan, was not only described as mentally sick, but as "permanently mentally sick".
When shock turned to anger, Namwan decided to channel it into a mission to save the younger generation of transsexuals from the same violation.
With support from rights groups, Namwan took the case to the Administrative Court two years ago, suing the military for rights violation and calling for a court order for the military to delete the depraving clause.
Although the case is still pending, Namwan's daring challenge has effectively woken the military up to the 21st century. For the past two years, no transsexuals have been described as mentally ill in their draft exemption papers, said Col Krissana Bowornratanarak, the military's legal expert.
As an interim measure, the transsexuals have been put in the category of "men who are too weak to serve" at the time of drafting. Consequently, they are required to report themselves for two more years before being discharged from conscription.
Meanwhile, the military are busy fixing the conscription regulations to standardise the reasons for relieving transsexuals from draft duty. The draft regulation, already approved in principle by Cabinet, is now under scrutiny by the Council of State, the government's legal arm. It proposes two reasons to discharge transsexuals. One, for having gender identity disorder, which is translated in Thai as pid pokkrati or being abnormal. And two, for being mentally feminine as judged by the conscription committee.
But the transsexuals insist that who they are is not "an illness". Diversity is part of Nature, and so is sexual diversity, they argue.
They are also particularly unhappy with the Thai translation which perpetuates the social stigma of transsexuals as freaks, thus subjecting them to endless discrimination and harassment.
They want the military to use neutral terms free of social stigma. For example, a different gender identity from sex at birth. If not, they will continue to suffer job discrimination for life, they say.
"But we haven't used the 'pid pokkrati' phrases out of prejudice," insists Col Krissana. "Our rules must have authoritative medical reference. And the term we use is from the Department of Mental Health, Public Health Ministry," he explains.
Indeed. When only heterosexuality is accepted, what exists outside the mould is condemned as an illness, an abnormality, comments feminist scholar Kritaya Archawanitkul.
How to make the medical authorities stop seeing transgender as a sickness? How to convince the Council of State to listen to the transsexuals' voice? How to make the predominantly heterosexual world more open-minded?
They might not know the answers. But one thing is certain. The days of silent resignation of the transsexuals are over.

Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor (Outlook), Bangkok Post.
Email: sanitsudae@bangkokpost.co.th

Relate Search: katoeys, National Human Rights Commission, Thiranart Kanchana-aksorn Foundation, Samart Meecharoen, aka Namwan, Col Krissana Bowornratanarak

[russtafa]

I wouldnt mind being in the thai military

[Paladin]

This is old news. What people should be more concerned about is the 6 & 1/2 year martial law that has been imposed there.