ladyboys
Not the blushing bride or her beau but good decoration for the article anyway … and yes, they both have dicks!


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Following last weeks interview, Captain Outrageous e-mailed me this story. He gave me permission to run it in it’s entirety.

From Pattaya comes the story of a Thai man and a Thai ladyboy who got married earlier this month. The couple went through a traditional Thai ceremony in the home of the groom’s parents, in Sriracha, and amongst the guests present and adding legitimacy to the occasion was the local mayor.

To be honest, I’m not sure what the legal standing of such a union would be in Thailand. There is no law that allows same-sex marriages, but on the other hand there doesn’t appear to be a law prohibiting them either. I’m on shaky ground here, and the Thais themselves don’t appear to really know. I suspect that like so much else in Thailand the subject is vague in legal terms because no one has sought to bind it up with rules and regulations. The Thais don’t like to be regulated, and regard with considerable justification their strong Buddhist beliefs and devotion to the monarchy to be sufficient for their social behaviour.

What is apparent in following the wedding story, was that everyone seemed to think it was completely natural.

Bride Thanyatorn, who is nicknamed Lulu, wore a cream-coloured wedding dress. She is a waitress at a restaurant named Krau Bangpra Seafood, in the Bangpra district of Sriracha. Groom Somkiat is also a restaurant worker.

The couple had a three-year relationship before deciding to ask permission from their families for a traditional marriage. The groom gave 9,999 baht to the bride’s parents as dowry. About 100 guests turned up at the wedding ceremony and the evening reception, including the Bangpra mayor and a local city councilor. The couple will start their married life by living at the home of the groom’s parents.

Thai reporters who asked the couple about their relationship received only the kind of replies that a conventional bride and groom might give. It all came down to love and happiness, they said. Everything seemed so normal. The fact that the couple are of the same sex didn’t appear to phase anyone.

There are all kinds of lessons one can draw from this. That Buddhism teaches tolerance. That the Western concept of sin appears pretty wacky in other parts of the world. That love is love. That a stable family background is invaluable. That people really should be left to mind their own business without state or religious interference.