Ladyboys vs Shemales

[DownLoLarry]

Are ladyboys and shemale same same or different?

I think it may have to do with geography. I've never heard anyone in Thailand talk about going to a Shemale Bar.

While in New York, the term ladyboy is not used too much.

One guy told me he thought of shemles as Amazon types while ladyboys more petite. Or arethey synonyms?

[Jimslim]

I think it may have to do with geography.

Yeh its an entirely Asian term you never hear that in the west .

[alaskanbear]

In the phillip they call them shemales I very rare here in the states do I here the term ladyboys I feel the same when I think of a Ladyboy I think of very petite lady

[KenW]

In my limited experience of the world, I have only ever heard of them called Shemales in the porn industry. That is, in and as titles for old fashioned video tapes for rent or sale at adult shops - where in Oz such shops always had gay and TS or TG sections. I guess now that's all DVD and download.

TS - transexual

TG = transgender

So even in the marketing in the shops it was never Shemale. Only on the video boxes/covers and blurbs.

In Asia I have only ever heard them referred to by indigenous language names (e.g. Thai = kathoey; Vietnam = be de; Indonesia, various terms but the main one is banci; Philippines many too, but mainly bakla.) or by our term ladyboy.

[Hefe]

Like KenW said.... My understanding is that "ladyboy" is the literal translation of the Thai "kathoey" to English & the PI girls have adopted the term more & more as blokes travel back & forth using it, & the huge amount of tourists to TH have become familiar with the term through the Tiffany shows & their ilk. Never heard it refer to non Asians except on some recent porn site usage, so it may eventually become more universal like that, but I think it is almost exclusively Asian.

Shemale is the porn industry name for TGs, the girls don't like being called by that, here in the States anyway, & only guys new to/ unfamiliar with the scene use it, easy to id an amateur who uses it.

The PI usage of ladyboy is interesting because I think some of the girls want to distinguish themselves as different than "gay", or "bakla", which have somewhat different distinctions than the way we use the term gay. But I think most of the PI girls still refer to themselves as gays.