01.00.01 | Models walking down catwalk | v/o Thailand must have some of the prettiest boys in the world....
And at late night beauty pageants like this one they they come from all over the country to find out who is the MOST pretty.
Here they are known as Kateoys....transexuals or men who want to be women. |
| Contestant wearing feather dress | There are always a few jokes - especially about some of the more daunting evening wear. |
| Judge taking notes | But it's all taken very seriously by the glamorous contestants......and their uncompromising judges. |
| Contestants being presented with flowers | In this hidden world of Thailand's transexuals, flowers are given to your favourite girl as a donation to charity......
Catwalks are often the place to fight it out for titles like Queen of Angels.....
But the battlefield for more public acceptance has shifted to a totally unexpected venue...... |
01.01 | Volleyball game | It's volleyball.....and the Kateoys are winning.
Meet the Iron Ladies, as they call themselves, Thailand's transexual volleyball champions.....
Despite their long hair and effeminate touch they took on the country's best MEN'S team ....and won..... |
| Commentary on winning shot | This is the last ball that gives the Kateoys the tournament gold medal. |
| Trophy presentation | v/o Their National Gold Medal made these boys who want to be girls Thailand's top male team... and the crowds, including a few Kateoy groupies, love it. |
01.01.42 | Team taking part in ITV interview | It brought them overnight fame and, with the media attention, a new platform to talk about Katoey rights.
They want people to know about their sexual leanings - and the Thai's, notoriously tolerant about such matters, love them for it. |
| Pitsanu and Danupon in their flat. | The team's two stars Pitsanu and Danupon share a flat in Bangkok's suburbs.
In fact, they have shared a lot....... |
| Pan of ornamental pig and team photograph | Both say they've felt like girls since they were children. And over the years they've both had a common passion for one thing - volley ball. |
| Putting on make up | There are about one million Kateoys in Thailand and though they are generally accepted, there are limits to that tolerance especially when it comes to finding work.
Danupon managed to get work in a library and Pitsanu made her money like many other Kateoys as a dancer in a cabaret show. |
| Both Pitsanu and Danupon sitting on a bed. Pitsanu talking. | We are more accepted, but not in some ways. For example, if we apply for a job and when we go into the interview with long hair and make up they don't consider our working ability but just our appearance. |
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| v/o Despite winning the gold medal, team selectors say the Kateoys cannot be considered for the national team because it would be bad for the country's image. |
| Danupon talking. | If they let us play in the international team abroad, it could cause embarrasment, that the country doesn't have real men or women to play and has to rely on Katoeys. But in another way, although we are Kateoys, we are not problems in society. |
01.03.38 | Katoey team practising. | v/o Pitsanu and Danupon started their Katoey squad two years ago. They practise where they can and travel round Thailand for tournaments.
Their sponsor says they have special qualities that make them a winning combination. |
01.03.47 | Interview with sponsor - unnamed. | In the nature of volleyball you need to attack hard, which is good for scoring, and receive softly. Males are just aggressive, but if you are a Katoey you will have the qualities of being hard and soft in the same person and this is their advantage. |
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Team members being made up and posing for photographers. | v/o Not everyone agrees.
Selectors say Kateoys would be bad for the national team's morale.
But the most powerful man in Thai sport says sex should not matter. |
| Interview with sports chief - Somchai Prasertsiriphand | I think we have to give the opportunity to all of them to participate. |
| Volleyball game | v/o But, as the sports authorities argue, the Kateoys just keep winning.
Here at an amateur match in Bangkok they again beat some of the best boy players. |
01.04.56 | Team seated at a restaurant table pouring drinks, laughing and talking.
| And like any other sports team, the end of the game is celebrated with a few hard-earned drinks.
In or out of the national squad they say they'll keep playing the game they love....
And besides - they say - it's a great way to meet the guys. |
ENDS |
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