Ladies or Gents? Thai school has transvestite toilets

By Prasit Promthong

SI SA KET, Thailand (Reuters Life!) - A Thai school has taken a step towards helping transvestites resolve the dilemma of which restroom to use by creating toilets specifically for them.

The Kamphaeng School in Si Sa Ket, nearly 600 km (400 miles) northwest of Bangkok, has over 200 transvestites among its 2,500 students and many have been asking for a separate toilet.

"When they used male toilets, they would be teased. That's why they don't want to use it. They're a little scared so they would just go to female toilets with their female friends," school director Sittisak Sumonta said.

"When I saw that, I wondered if female students would feel uncomfortable or not."

The transvestite toilet has three cubicles and was introduced last month. The sign on the door combines both the male and female icons found on ordinary toilet doors and the Thai word "bandoh", meaning transvestite.

"Yes, it was inconvenient when we didn't have our own toilet. Then we had to use both male and female toilets when there were no people in them. It was a bit uncomfortable," said 17-year-old student Tanisorn Khantivong.

The school director said the students were no longer allowed to use female toilets but could still use the male toilets if they wanted to.

Predominantly Buddhist Thailand is relatively tolerant of homosexuality and Bangkok is a global centre for sex-change surgery.