State and Street Discrimination: Thai transgender women in Europe
Jutathorn Pravattiyagul is an Erasmus Mundus Doctoral Candidate in Cultural and Global Criminology. Jutathorn received a scholarship to study her BA in Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan. Her MA in International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Malmo University, Sweden. Her research interests include Transgenderism, Migration, Thai Transwomen’s Myth of Contemporary Beauty, Occidentalism and Orientalism, Stigma, Discrimination and Queer Study
The large number of Thai transgender women (kathoey) in Thailand, and their visible role in the Thai society, make visitors to the country assume that Thailand is open towards LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) as a culture of tolerance. However, the unfairness of the Thai state policies regarding transgender rights, such as on same sex marriage, social welfare, change of gender on identification card and employment discrimination, is the push factor for groups of Thai transgender women to migrate to Europe, according to their romanticization of the West along with Thai contemporary cultural values. In Denmark, Holland and the UK, where governments support equal rights for transgenders, Thai transgender women find better lives as they are allowed to marry, to work and to access social welfare. However, they still experience discrimination and transprejudice on street level in Europe.
Publications
- “Abusive Relationships: Thai Transgender Women and European Men” CRIMIMINOLOGÍA Y JUSTICIA, NÚMERO 7, AÑO 3 Noviembre 2014, YJUS, ISSN:T 2174-1697