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Why are there more transgender people in certain countries?
This is a question which has cropped up for anyone interested in transgender issues. Countries like Thailand seem to have a much higher percentage of transsexuals compared to places like the USA and UK. The question is one which has been discussed by many but it doesn’t have a clear answer.
One theory on why there are more TS in certain countries is because of tolerance. For example in Thailand it is more acceptable to be transsexual. However tolerance doesn’t seem to explain it, surely in the west we would at least suspect some people that we know to secretly be TS, but this almost never happens. Therefore the tolerance argument is probably not the reason, people are more tolerant because it is more common.
The next theory is religion. Thailand is Buddhist and it is believed by some that being transgender is a sort of half way point in reincarnation. When a woman dies, she then becomes a katoey (Thai term for the third sex) in her next life, before she can then be reincarnated as a man. Others in Thailand believe that when a man cheats on his wife, he is reincarnated as a katoey in the next life because of his bad karma. Buddhism is a religion which rewards those that practice ‘good karma’ by reincarnating them as something good, and punishes those that generate bad karma by making them into a being or animal with a worse existence. Being a transgender is considered to be a hardship, it is easy for TS to find many sexual partners but difficult to find a lifetime partner.
However the religion argument also doesn’t seem to work. Brazil has a large Catholic base and many transgenders. Christianity certainly does not have much respect for transsexuals or even homosexuals. Countries which do not have a strong religious element such as the UK have a very low trans population.
The most complex but likely answer to why there are more transsexuals in certain countries is DNA. This is an enormous argument which often relies on speculation because there just isn’t enough data to analyze. However there seems to be some possibility that DNA patterns could be the answer. There seems to be a higher amount of transgender people in Asian countries. From India all the way to Samoa there are countries with a high percentage. Certain countries have less like China, however this could be because of the stricter laws. In the west there are many closet cross dressers, but China may have many closeted transsexuals.
The next argument is that some races have different bone structures which means transsexuals can pass easier. In the west transgender women have a harder time passing because they are more noticeable. This is a difficult argument to accept because it is normal for TS to transition at a late stage in life in the US and Europe. Minds are opening up and it is becoming normal for younger people to transition, which may help this argument in the future. For now it is a none starter as the world of changing gender is most popular in the west for cross dressers who are usually men that enjoy dressing up part time.
Social ridicule is a reason not to be yourself. Anyone that has watched a few TV comedy shows will of seen men dressed as women for a joke. However countries like Thailand also have a rich comic culture mocking ‘men in wigs’. Trans women are mocked globally because people simply do not understand it. Therefore ridicule has no baring on why certain counties have more TS than others. It is certainly easier to be yourself in certain countries, but this is more likely a case of what is common becomes normal.
This is a question which has cropped up for anyone interested in transgender issues. Countries like Thailand seem to have a much higher percentage of transsexuals compared to places like the USA and UK. The question is one which has been discussed by many but it doesn’t have a clear answer.
One theory on why there are more TS in certain countries is because of tolerance. For example in Thailand it is more acceptable to be transsexual. However tolerance doesn’t seem to explain it, surely in the west we would at least suspect some people that we know to secretly be TS, but this almost never happens. Therefore the tolerance argument is probably not the reason, people are more tolerant because it is more common.
The next theory is religion. Thailand is Buddhist and it is believed by some that being transgender is a sort of half way point in reincarnation. When a woman dies, she then becomes a katoey (Thai term for the third sex) in her next life, before she can then be reincarnated as a man. Others in Thailand believe that when a man cheats on his wife, he is reincarnated as a katoey in the next life because of his bad karma. Buddhism is a religion which rewards those that practice ‘good karma’ by reincarnating them as something good, and punishes those that generate bad karma by making them into a being or animal with a worse existence. Being a transgender is considered to be a hardship, it is easy for TS to find many sexual partners but difficult to find a lifetime partner.
However the religion argument also doesn’t seem to work. Brazil has a large Catholic base and many transgenders. Christianity certainly does not have much respect for transsexuals or even homosexuals. Countries which do not have a strong religious element such as the UK have a very low trans population.
The most complex but likely answer to why there are more transsexuals in certain countries is DNA. This is an enormous argument which often relies on speculation because there just isn’t enough data to analyze. However there seems to be some possibility that DNA patterns could be the answer. There seems to be a higher amount of transgender people in Asian countries. From India all the way to Samoa there are countries with a high percentage. Certain countries have less like China, however this could be because of the stricter laws. In the west there are many closet cross dressers, but China may have many closeted transsexuals.
The next argument is that some races have different bone structures which means transsexuals can pass easier. In the west transgender women have a harder time passing because they are more noticeable. This is a difficult argument to accept because it is normal for TS to transition at a late stage in life in the US and Europe. Minds are opening up and it is becoming normal for younger people to transition, which may help this argument in the future. For now it is a none starter as the world of changing gender is most popular in the west for cross dressers who are usually men that enjoy dressing up part time.
Social ridicule is a reason not to be yourself. Anyone that has watched a few TV comedy shows will of seen men dressed as women for a joke. However countries like Thailand also have a rich comic culture mocking ‘men in wigs’. Trans women are mocked globally because people simply do not understand it. Therefore ridicule has no baring on why certain counties have more TS than others. It is certainly easier to be yourself in certain countries, but this is more likely a case of what is common becomes normal.
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