Thailand has one of the most visible transgender populations in the world, and the reasons run deep into the country’s history, religion, family structures, and economy. The people you’re asking about are known in Thai as kathoey, a term that has existed for centuries and carries a very different cultural weight than similar identities in Western countries. Understanding why requires looking at several layers of Thai society that, together, create an environment where gender diversity is more openly expressed than almost anywhere else.
A Gender Identity With Ancient Roots
The concept of kathoey long predates modern ideas about transgender identity. Scholar Peter Jackson, who has studied sexual politics in Thailand extensively, notes that the term was originally used to describe intersex people and that its meaning shifted in the mid-20th century to include cross-dressing males and transgender women. Before the 1960s, “kathoey” was a broad category covering anyone who didn’t fit dominant sexual or gender norms.
Historical records from the region go back even further. When Chinese explorer Zhou Daguan visited Angkor Wat in 1296, he documented the presence of people he called “two-formed persons” in Khmer society, which shares deep cultural ties with Thailand. Gender-nonconforming people weren’t some hidden subculture. They were visible enough to be noted by foreign travelers more than 700 years ago.
This long history matters because it means Thai culture didn’t import the concept of a “third gender” from the West. It grew organically within the society, giving it a kind of cultural legitimacy that transgender identities in many other countries still struggle to achieve.
Buddhism’s Role in Tolerance
Thailand is overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhist, and Buddhist teachings shape how most Thais think about gender variance. The religion emphasizes karma, the idea that your circumstances in this life result from actions in previous lives. For many Thais, being born kathoey is simply understood as a karmic outcome, not a moral failing or a choice. This framing removes a lot of the moral judgment that religions in other countries attach to gender nonconformity.
Buddhism also promotes unconditional loving-kindness and the principle of judging people by their character rather than the circumstances of their birth. While this doesn’t translate into perfect acceptance (kathoeys still face real discrimination), it creates a baseline level of tolerance that’s higher than in societies shaped by religious traditions that explicitly condemn gender transgression. There’s no Thai equivalent of the fire-and-brimstone condemnation that transgender people face in many conservative Christian or Islamic societies.
Family Acceptance and Visibility
Thai families play a complicated but often supportive role. A 2024 study published in BMC Psychology found that about 74% of LGBTQ+ medical students in Thailand perceived their family support as good, while only 7% rated it as poor. That’s a striking number, especially compared to many other countries where family rejection is the norm for transgender youth.
The study also found that students who perceived good family support were significantly more likely to disclose their gender identity to parents and siblings. In other words, family acceptance and visibility reinforce each other: when families are supportive, young people come out, which normalizes gender diversity, which makes future families more supportive. Thailand has been running this cycle for generations.
That said, the picture isn’t entirely rosy. The same research showed that LGBTQ+ students were still more likely than their peers to report poor family support, and fear of negative parental reactions remained a common reason for concealing one’s identity. Transgender and non-binary individuals were more likely to have disclosed to their fathers than other LGBTQ+ groups, but a substantial proportion across all groups hadn’t come out to family at all.
Traditional Roles for Kathoeys
In parts of rural northern Thailand, kathoeys occupy specific social and economic roles that give them a recognized place in community life. Some work as spirit mediums, known locally as kathoey maa-khii, a role that provides both income and a support network. In northern Thai belief, kathoeys, women, and gay men are thought to have “soft souls” that make them more susceptible to spirit possession, which is considered a qualification for mediumship rather than a problem.
Even in everyday work, kathoeys sometimes bridge gendered labor divisions. In rural fruit-harvesting traditions, men climb the trees while women collect fruit in baskets below. Kathoeys are allowed to do both, occupying a flexible position that other community members cannot. These kinds of practical, embedded roles give kathoeys social utility and visibility in ways that don’t exist in most other cultures.
Entertainment and Tourism
Thailand’s entertainment and tourism industries have amplified the visibility of kathoeys both domestically and internationally. Cabaret shows featuring transgender performers are major tourist attractions in cities like Pattaya and Bangkok. Beauty pageants for kathoeys, particularly the Miss Tiffany’s Universe competition, draw national television audiences.
This visibility creates a feedback loop. Young people growing up in Thailand see kathoeys on television, in beauty contests, and in their communities. Gender transition isn’t some abstract concept they encounter for the first time as adults. It’s a known path with visible examples, which lowers the psychological barrier to exploring one’s own identity. In countries where transgender people are invisible or hidden, many people with similar feelings never connect the dots or feel safe enough to act on them.
Affordable Medical Access
Thailand has become a global hub for gender-affirming surgery, with Bangkok clinics drawing patients from around the world. The combination of skilled surgeons, lower costs compared to Western countries, and a large domestic market means that medical transition is more accessible in Thailand than in most places. For Thai citizens, the practical barriers to physical transition are lower, which contributes to the size of the visibly transgender population.
Legal Gaps Still Exist
Despite the cultural visibility, Thailand’s legal framework hasn’t kept pace. Transgender people cannot change the gender marker on their ID cards, which still reflect their sex assigned at birth. All subsequent documents, including passports, must carry the same designation. While transgender Thais can apply to change their first names under the Person Name Act, approval is at the discretion of individual officials. Some officials deny applications when they see that the requested name doesn’t match the applicant’s birth sex in the national database.
Workplace discrimination is also a real issue. The International Labour Organization has documented that LGBT workers in Thailand face barriers in accessing jobs, advancing in their careers, and obtaining social security benefits. Only a handful of Thai universities, notably Thammasat University and Srithana College, have implemented flexible uniform policies for transgender students. Most schools still enforce strict gendered dress codes.
This gap between social visibility and legal protection is one of the defining tensions of transgender life in Thailand. Kathoeys are everywhere in daily life, entertainment, and cultural tradition, yet the government still doesn’t officially recognize their gender identity on paper. Human Rights Watch has called on Thailand to develop legal gender recognition procedures that don’t require medical intervention, and in recent years the Thai government has begun engaging with civil society groups on the issue.
Why Thailand Stands Out
No single factor explains why Thailand has such a large and visible transgender population. It’s the accumulation of centuries of cultural precedent, a religious framework that doesn’t condemn gender variance, relatively supportive families, traditional community roles, accessible medical care, and a tourism economy that celebrates rather than hides transgender performers. Each of these elements reinforces the others.
It’s also worth noting that Thailand may not actually have more transgender people per capita than other countries. What it has is more visibility. In societies where transgender identities are criminalized, pathologized, or violently suppressed, people with the same feelings simply don’t come out. Thailand’s cultural environment allows more people to live openly, which creates the impression of unusually high numbers. The difference isn’t necessarily in how many people are transgender. It’s in how many people feel safe enough to show it.