Pattaya, Thailand- It was Friday night in Pattaya, a Thai beach resort better known for its wild entertainment scene than its beaches, and the main attraction was the 10th Miss Tiffany's Universe beauty pageant. Thirty delicate contestants floated onto the glitzy stage in long, flowing dresses, kicking off a two-hour contest of beauty, talent and brains that culminated after midnight with the crowning of Thanyarat Jirapatpakorn as this year's prettiest lady boy in Thailand.
The annual beauty pageant, an outgrowth of the nightly Tiffany's transvestite show in Pattaya, is Thailand's most celebrated tribute to "katoeys," or lady boys.
"The Miss Tiffany's Universe contest is something cute and colourful," said Viroj Tangvanich, chairman of the Rainbow Sky Association, a gay advocacy group. "Also, it supports Thailand's image as a gay paradise."
Although Thailand doesn't have gay-pride parades or legislation promoting equality for the gay and transgender community as in some parts of the West, the kingdom is famous for its katoey performances on television shows, in movies and at entertainment venues.
"In this respect, Thailand is number one," Viroj said.
"The Miss Tiffany's Universe contest is an effort to make the brand of Tiffany's famous worldwide and to strengthen our position in this field," said Alisa Phanthusak, assistant to the managing director of Tiffany's Show Pattaya Co Ltd, which launched the pageant in 1998.
The Tiffany's transvestite contest, which has become a much-publicized annual event, has contributed to tourism development in Thailand and increased the popularity of the company's unique cabaret, she claimed.
In addition to tourism, katoeys nowadays have become a powerful force in the world of Thai entertainment. They are ubiquitous as characters in Thai TV comedies and soap operas.
Many Thai movies - such as the highly successful Satree Lek (Iron Ladies), Hoe Taew Taek (Coming Out) and the recently released Me, Myself - have katoeys as the main characters and focus on katoey story lines.
The katoey stereotype obviously has great commercial appeal.
"Certainly, using katoeys can be the selling-point for movies," said Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, director of Satree Lek, a comedy about the trials and tribulations of a transvestite volleyball team.
Yongyoot said most people see katoeys as humorous, making their outrageous characters popular in Thai film comedies.
But for some observers, Thailand's katoey mania might have a negative side.
Vanlop Piyamanotham, a clinical psychologist and adviser at the university counselling centre at Bangkok's Srinakharinwirot University, said he sees the commercial use of katoeys as adding to the trend of young men opting for the "third sex."
"Weird things can be sold," Vanlop added, giving the example of pornographic movies.
The psychologist noted that in the past, Scandinavian pornography focused on sexual intercourse between man and woman, but when that became boring, moviemakers tried to find new things to boost excitement and sales, so new movies were released presenting sexual activity of adults and children, older people, or the disabled.
Laws were eventually passed to stop such films because they were seen as having an adverse impact on society, Vanlop said.
In Thailand, with katoeys now being featured in beauty pageants, TV shows and movies, Vanlop said he worries that the publicity is encouraging many Thai men to imitate lady-boy behaviour.
"Thai society allows katoeys to show off, so we have become a country with the most katoeys in the world," Vanlop said.
But people in the katoey business, such as those at Tiffany's, argued that the shows offer job opportunities that katoeys won't find outside the sex industry because of societal discrimination.
"These people have a lot of potential," Tiffany's Alisa said. "We just give them an opportunity to work."
One katoey beauty queen said workplace discrimination is rife.
"When applying for a job, I always become the last choice because I am like this," complained Chanya "Som" Morano, who won crowns as Miss Tiffany's Universe 2000 as well as Miss Queen of the Universe.
"I have been disappointed so many times," Chanya said.
