Ladyboys

At night the street around the corner from my hostel turns quiet, the shops all close down, only a few restaurants and bars are still open for us tourists. There are a lot of cheap guesthouses and hotels along the road and in the neighbouring streets, this is tourist central in George Town. Another thing is centred around here: At night when it gets dark, out of nowhere, a battalion of ladyboys emerges, in neat short skirts and full make-up. They are not interested in me, their clientele is apparently male. I just wonder, since most people staying in these cheap hotels are young travellers, mostly couples, how do they make their money? Who are their clients? Do they come driving in from some distance away? That would probably be much better for their reputation, less of a chance that they might be spotted engaging an evening of entertainment. Then I remember, there are a uncommon large number of older western men around here, the ones that run around without their wives. And I begin to suspect that the reason for the convergence of these travellers might be a different sort of entertainment than just the beach and the temples. Or are those just my stereotypes kicking in? 

Whichever it is, I find these ladyboys extremely interesting. The way they play with gender roles, which since we mention it I think should be abolished and replaced by a multitude of personality traits if you must categorise... I mean these days, why is it so important to know whether the person you are attracted to is male of female? Attraction is attraction! 

I wonder what brought these girls here... most of them seem rather Indonesian or Thai than Malay, but then again, what do I know. They have a grace about them which I find just beautiful. Although rumour has it that they can be very persistent once they latch onto a target. How gracefully that is performed I do not know. I wonder how they lead their daily lives, this is a Muslim country after all, even if it does allow it's inhabitants a large amount of self-expression. Do they try and hide their way of life? I doubt it, as you can spot them, minus the make-up and dress, during the day anywhere, no problem. A friend told me that cross-dressing is fairly accepted here. People look, notice, and don't ask questions they don't want to hear the answer to. I like that attitude, there are certainly a large number of people back in Britain that can learn a thing or two about letting people make their own choices.

Even the police seems not to mind them being here, after all it is a well-known area for ladyboys, but they are still here, prominently, and the police just passes by. As corrupt as they are said to be there may be an arrangement behind the attitude. Or they genuinely just don't care, who knows. 

I wonder, how much of a choice in career do these girls have. Is there any other way of life that is acceptable in this society? I certainly hope there is, but I have yet to meet someone to confirm this. I do suspect however that our society, as modern as we conceive ourselves to be, is still way behind accepting breaches of the boundaries of gender, established centuries ago. We think of our society as a world where everything is possible, yet they are still pushed into the darkness of little alleyways and doorsteps. In that sense I guess these girls are just too modern for the world at this point in time.