rxpharm Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 A story from The Nation. A beautiful transgender has caused a stir by registering as an election candidate for the Nan Provincial Administration Organisation."I'm confident that my experience and ability will be useful in the development of Nan," Yonlada "Kirkkong" Suanyos, 30, said yesterday. This is the first time a transgender has run for a political post at the provincial level. Although she is a new face in politics, she is famous as president of the Trans Female Association of Thailand. For many years, she has campaigned for the rights of trans-females. The PhD candidate owns a jewellery business and runs a satellite television station. Last year, she was named by a media organization as one of the most influential women in Thai society. "I believe transgenders and homosexuals will support me," she said. After undergoing a sex-change operation at the age of 16, she is physically a woman but her official documents give her title as "Mr". Some entertainment personalities have encouraged Yonlada's campaign for the Nan councillor post. Pongthorn Chalearn, a project coordinator for the M Plus Foundation, said Yonlada's presence in the Nan poll would enhance political diversity. "Men have long dominated the country's politics," he said. She would have a good chance of winning because she has solid support in the northern province, he said. Her mother used to be the head of the Ban Suan Tan community. Yonlada is contesting as candidate "No 1" in Constituency 1 in Tambon Nai Wiang. Her rivals are Pawat Sattayawong and Suchart Jitbanjong - both men. Candidacy applications, which opened on Monday, will close on Friday. Nok Yollada was Miss Alcazar 2005, and also a member of the short lived Thai lb singing group, Venus Flytrap 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdogg Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 A story from The Nation. Nok Yollada was Miss Alcazar 2005, and also a member of the short lived Thai lb singing group, Venus Flytrap Believe that Bobo, a popular P4P ladyboy known for a great personality was also in Venus Flytrap. Good luck to Nok! Vote early and often! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4:17 Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Got any naked pics and contact info? I keed, I keed. Just had to post that before someone else did. Seriously, this is a cool thing to see. One of the things that bugs me about people's perceptions of Thailand (who have never been there) is that there is little to no prejudice against transgendered people in general, and ladyboys in particular (I'm sure we've all read something similar in Lonely Planet, et al). But as anyone who has ever lived there knows, while there is certainly much less prejudice/more tolerance than in many other countries, being transgendered can still present many difficulties that non-transgendered Thais wouldn't face -- Thailand isn't quite the open-minded paradise that many guidebooks would have us believe (but then they are in the business of selling guidebooks). Case in point: the writer felt it necessary to add the qualifier "beautiful" in the lead graph ... ouch. A bit pedantic of me, perhaps, but language is a subtly powerful thing. Anyway, thanks for posting Rx. And good luck to her. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxpharm Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 As a follow up to the story - she actually won a seat on the PAO, which is the first time ever for a Thai transgender individual to have an elected position. Here is another story from http://www.bangkokpo...t-to-wear-dress about one of the challenges she faces, just starting at her new job. PAO transgender defends wearing skirtPublished: 5/07/2012 at 07:20 PM Online news: Local News Yollada "Nok" Suanyos, a transgender councillor on the Nan provincial administration organisation, says he has been criticised by many people for wearing a skirt to work and has called on the public to give equal rights to transgender people. "I don't want to breach regulations or offend our culture, but I've been living as a woman for some time now," Mr Yollada said. "So I've decided to wear a woman's uniform, with dignity and with respect for the regulations." The 30-year-old model-actress-singer and provincial official said he would like people to understand the difference between rights and duties. The duties assigned to a gender group were not compatible with their rights, he said. "I want to express myself, so that many more men will accept the transgender group and treat us like normal women. "There is no third gender under the law in this country yet. Many people who have already had a sex-change operation, like me, have been sexually harrassed, but the law does not protect us. "I think that wearing a dress is a symbol of showing our femininity and it would make men respect us," Mr Yollada said. Mr Yollada, a former transvestite beauty queen, graduated with a science degree from Thammasat University when he was 21 and later obtained a master's degree in political science. He gained widespread admiration for his unrelenting campaign for legal recognition of the third gender. Hopefully this will be overlooked as she proves her ability and performance to represent the people in her province. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strocube Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 This is good to see. Best of luck to her and her constituency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schalke04 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 She featured in the recent TV programmes on Ladyboys. Very well spoken and intelligent. An all too rare quality among Thai politicians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.