Kathoey

Kathoey or katoey (Khmer: ខ្ទើយ, romanized: khtəəy; Lao: ກະເທີຍ, romanized: ka thœ̄i, pronounced [kàtʰɤːj]; Thai: กะเทย, RTGS: kathoei, pronounced [kàtʰɤːj]), commonly translated as ladyboys, is a term used by some people in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand who were assigned male at birth and present as transfeminine or effeminate. Transgender women in Thailand mostly use terms other than kathoey when referring to themselves, such as phuying (Thai: ผู้หญิง, 'woman'). In the context of Thai gender norms, many perceive kathoeys as belonging to a third gender.

In the face of the many sociopolitical obstacles that kathoeys navigate in Thailand, kathoey activism has led to constitutional protection from unjust gender discrimination as of January 2015, but a separate third gender category has not yet been legally recognized.