Shemale (also
she-male,
newhalf,
dickgirl) is a term primarily used in
sex work to describe a
trans woman with
male genitalia combined with female
secondary sex characteristics, usually including
female breasts, from
breast augmentation and/or use of
hormones. Many
transgender people regard the term
shemale as offensive, arguing that it mocks or shows a lack of respect towards the
gender identity and gender expression of transgender individuals; in this view, the term emphasizes the biological
sex of a person and neglects their
gender. Using the term
shemale for a
transsexual woman often implies that she is working in the sex trade.
[1] The phrase is commonly found on
porn sites.
The term
shemale has been used since the mid-19th century, when it was a humorous
colloquialism for
female, especially an aggressive woman.
Ladyboy
The term "kathoey" is not an equivalent of the modern[
citation needed] Western[
citation needed]
transsexual woman. Use of the term "kathoey" suggests that the person self-identifies as a type of male, in contrast to
sao praphet song (which, like "trans woman", suggests a "female" (
sao) gender identity), and in contrast to
phet thi sam (which means "
third gender"). The term
phu ying praphet song, which can be translated as "second-type female", is also used to refer to kathoey.
[3] Australian scholar of sexual politics in Thailand
Peter Jackson claims that the term "kathoey" was used in premodern times to refer to
intersex people, and that the usage changed in the middle of the twentieth century to cover
cross-dressing males.
[4] The term can refer to males who exhibit varying degrees of femininity – many kathoeys dress as women and undergo "feminising" medical procedures such as
breast implants,
hormones,
silicone injections, or
Adam's apple reductions. Others may wear makeup and use feminine
pronouns, but dress as men, and are closer to the Western category of
effeminate gay man than transgender.
The term "kathoey" may be considered pejorative, especially in the form "kathoey-saloey". It has a meaning similar to the English language "fairy" or "queen".
[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathoey
