In the face of the many sociopolitical obstacles that kathoeys navigate in Thailand, kathoey activism has led to constitutional protection from unjust gender discrimination as of January 2015, but a separate third gender category has not yet been legally recognized. A significant number of Thai people perceive kathoey as belonging to a separate sex, including some transgender women themselves.
Transgender women in Thailand mostly use terms other than kathoey when referring to themselves, such as phuying (Thai: ผู้หญิง, 'woman'). These people are not traditionally transgender, however are seen as a third sex, being one body containing two souls. Kathoey or katoey ( Khmer: ខ្ទើយ khtəəy, Lao: ກະເທີຍ ka thœ̄i, Thai: กะเทย RTGS: kathoei Thai pronunciation: ) is an identity used by some people in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, whose identities in English may be best described as transgender women in some cases, or effeminate gay men in other cases. Nong Tum is perhaps the most internationally recognised kathoey for her portrayal in the film Beautiful Boxer.
