10 Clues That She is a Ladyboy or Katoey
Written some time ago, this post is still one of the most popular on Thailand Musings so I thought I would resurrect it from the archives for your enjoyment and comments.
Have you heard the term katoey or ladyboy before? These creatures have been encountered by many first timers (and even some second and third timers) in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya, much to the chagrin of the unsuspecting mark. What is a katoey? It is quite simply a transsexual or transvestite and they are quite common in Thailand.
The thing is that many of the Thai ladyboys are actually quite beautiful and unless you know what to look for can be easy to miss, even if you are close up and personal with them. Of course copious amounts of alcohol doesn’t help matters, so here I’ve put together the top 10 ways to spot a ladyboy or katoey when you’re in Thailand. Avoid reading this list at your own peril.
1. Look at your new friends hands and feet. Thai girls typically are small and their hands and feet are very small and petite to match. If the girl has lumberjack hands or size 12 heels on there is a distinct possibility she is a he.
2. Look for an Adams apple. Girls don’t have them, not ever.
3. Too much makeup. Thai girls generally wear very little if any makeup. If the girl has a thick layer of foundation on and enough makeup for a Vegas dancer then she is probably a ladyboy.
4. Tall. Thai girls are generally short, 5′ 4″ or less. If the girl is near to 6′ tall then either she is a model or a katoey. If she’s flirting with you (a foreign tourist), then the odds are she is NOT a model (unless you look like Brad Pitt), you are very likely being targeted by a ladyboy.
5. She is more beautiful than you can believe. If the girl is tall and beautiful and is NOT a model then it’s a good bet she is a ladyboy. Katoeys work very hard to make themselves as beautiful as possible, even going to the length of having surgery done. Eyes, lips, breasts, and even the cut and tuck, though from all accounts most katoeys are cross dressers without the final surgery.
6. If she has facial hair she is a katoey. Don’t laugh, I’ve actually seen guys dancing with girls that have a 5 o’clock shadow. Thai girls are for the most part hairless, even on their arms and legs and certainly on their faces.
7. Thai girls are very feminine, quite likely some of the most feminine women on the planet. If your girl is muscular or has a hard athletic body there is a chance that she is a katoey. This can be sometimes confusing because Cambodian girls are typically more muscular than Thai’s, but they are also generally very short and dark skinned.
8. If the girl has a penis (not TOO hard to figure out is it) then she is a ladyboy. Many katoeys will go for a grope of your crotch shortly after meeting you and this is the perfect chance for you to return the favor. Sometimes it isn’t as easy to tell if there is a bulge there or not as some ladyboys will go as far as to tuck or even tape their privates up underneath their crotch.
9. If she won’t undress in front of you or wants to have sex in the dark all the time she may be a katoey. Thai girls are shy in public, but can be quite forward in private and most have very little shyness when it comes to sex. I’ve heard stories of guys who had no idea they were with a ladyboy until the next morning which is actually believable if the girl wants to suck you off all night or do it from behind or if you’re that drunk. If there is a question in your mind do a quick grope or throw some surprise light on the subject, it may be YOU who ends up with the bigger surprise.
10. Take a look at her friends. Ladyboys tend to run and hunt in packs like wolves. If her group of friends are obvious katoeys themselves then your little lady may be one as well.
I’m sure this list isn’t comprehensive and there are other ways to tell if your prospective hookup is a katoey or ladyboy. Please leave a comment if you have other ways that you use to figure out if she is really a he or if you have some interesting or fun stories about the katoeys and ladyboys of Thailand.
If ladyboys aren’t your thing then check out this site dedicated to Thai girls.
Special thanks to Conan Stevens for providing the inspiration for this ladyboy article.
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simple, real simple. Asian ladies have round faces and Asian males have narrow, oblong faces.
So I just had some intimate time with a girl (20) who was not overly feminine (as in exaggerating her femininity) who clearly had a vagina and was 5′ 2″. However I noticed her hands were quite big, almost the size of my hands (though I have small hands) and her feet were probably a size 6 US mens. No adam’s apple/penis, but after she had showered and her makeup was off she looked a lot more masculine. Am I just being paranoid? She wasn’t aggressive at all like ladyboys are rumored to be but the hands and feet thing really got to me…
The 100% way to know if they are a boy or girl is nothing to do with stupid little tests like looking at their face/arms/hands etc etc.
By LAW the sex of a person is written on their ID. Ask for their ID and it will either say “Mr or Miss – name”
That’s it that’s all there is to it.
Enjoy
Ever heard of fake IDs? Or the Thai using their friends / brothers / sisters ID? Ill stick with the elbow test thanks!
see if ‘she’ can park the car.
There is only one fool proof way to determine whether your new friend is a lady or a man (even if they have the snip), ask them to extend their arm as far out as possible and the angle of the elbow will extend beyond 180 degrees. This is the case for all women, not just Thai women. If you just want to do a quick check without asking them, just take a look at their hands. If they seem too large, then its best to move on (thats if you are not looking for a lodyboy). This is just a preliminary test so its not 100%. The elbow test is the slam dunk of tests!! Be careful out there!!
I saw a post somewhere which suggested that checking the elbows was a way of telling because women can hyper extend their elbows whereas men can’t. I’d be wary of this, I’m a normal 6’2″ white straight British guy and my elbows can hyper extend so in my opinion, I wouldn’t use this as a determining factor.
Take a look at this picture of ladyboys, tough to spot the difference! http://peteinphuket.com/nightlife/bars/49-guess-the-ladyboy.html
This is a great list to follow – the list which should be printed at Bangkok Airport BUT then I am sure that the ‘mistakes’ that some men make are always mistakes…
We have Bangla Road in Phuket and the tourists are always looking for a list and then sometimes it is fun to look at the tourists and wonder whether they know.
a lot of fun
can you tell the difference – I found this one – http://www.bangkokdiaries.com/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-thai-lady-and-a-thai-ladyboy/
I did have a go – http://timinphuket.blogspot.com/2010/02/meeting-people-who-are-not-all-that.html
…
That’s true. Thai ladyboys are very attractive. During my first time in Thailand I couldn’t tell the difference. A friend told me the rule of law is to never stare at them with sexual intentions, I wonder if that is true anymore.
Katoeys are (almost) always more aggressive to show their fondness for a guy in any environment, not only inside a bar, than even hardened bar girls.
If a genuine (bar) girl wants a person to bar fine her, or, buy her a drink, she’ll first make eye contact & then somewhat modestly smile at a guy first, to gauge his reaction. Your typical katoey will be much more suggestive & focus very strongly on his (?) prey.
Most women can hyper-extend their elbows, bend it a little bit beyond straight. No men I have ever met, except for one Yoga guy, could ever bend their elbow more then just straight. If you combine this with the other ways you mentioned, you should have a pretty good idea.
i spent 5 years in pattaya (ya,5!) besides the obvious ways of telling that “she is a man”, in general, the man has a longer and stronger face…this is with, or without make-up…u must take ur hat off to them for trying their best…sometimes its best to keep ur distance when it comes to the 3rd gender…
The excessive swishing is also a dead give away, Thai girls seldom over-do the swishy thing, ladyboys seem to invariably. pushing their hair back in a loose wristed manner and their voice.
Steve, Keep up the good work. This post has made me laugh so hard I have had to take a cigar break. I will be making my first trip to Thailand in June and my Thai wife of 17 years. She has bet me that I wouldn’t be able to tell the lady-boys from the women. So I thank you for this post. This will be required reading for my boys when they return home from school today. If I have time I will post their reactions.
Glad that made you laugh and good luck discerning the real from the fake girls. My son and his friends failed miserably when they tried to spot the ladyboys in this post: http://thailandmusings.thaivisa.com/thai-girl-or-ladyboy/