/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-THAILAND: Transvestite Boxer Back in Limelight

By Marwaan Macan-Markar Reprint | | Print |

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Mar 4 2003 (IPS) - Mention the name ‘Nong Toom’ here and most Thais seem to know who she is, this 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 transvestite, or ‘katoey’ as Thais call them, excelling in the most macho of sports in this South-east Asian country, Thai kickboxing or ‘Muay Thai’.

In 2000, after pummelling 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 transvestite 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,” says Ekachai outside a studio north of Bangkok, where filming has begun.

‘Beautiful Boxer’, which is estimated to cost 2.5 million dollars, is Ekachai’s cinematic debut. He has earned a name in this South-east 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’ – a term often used here – boxer.

For the real-life star, the film delves with 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,” says Nong Toom.

But in attempting to immortalise 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 like the police censorship board to edit out sections it deems unsavoury 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,” says 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 adds. ”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 – like dancers in go-go bars, 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,” says Ubonrat. ”And they are making an effort to make themselves acceptable.”

What works in their favour 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 later this year, Thai audiences get a chance of delivering 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.