Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
25 used & new from £5.99
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Third Sex: Kathoey, Thailand's Ladyboys
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Third Sex: Kathoey, Thailand's Ladyboys (Hardcover)

by Richard Totman (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £12.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £4.00 (24%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, July 15? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
14 new from £8.89 11 used from £5.99

Frequently Bought Together

The Third Sex: Kathoey, Thailand's Ladyboys + Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender + Miss Bangkok: Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute
Price For All Three: £24.97

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender

Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender

by Pornchai Sereemongkonpol
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £5.99
Miss Bangkok: Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute

Miss Bangkok: Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute

by Bua Boonmee
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £5.99
Being a Girl (Nexus)

Being a Girl (Nexus)

by Chloe Thurlow
4.6 out of 5 stars (10)  £4.79
Confessions Of A Transsexual Porn Star

Confessions Of A Transsexual Porn Star

by Meghan, Chavalier
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £10.44
Alice in Genderland: A Crossdresser Comes of Age

Alice in Genderland: A Crossdresser Comes of Age

by Richard J. Novic
4.8 out of 5 stars (19)  £10.37
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 196 pages
  • Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd (31 May 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0285636685
  • ISBN-13: 978-0285636682
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 401,475 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
"A gentle and fascinating account." --"The Economist


'Literary Review', May 2003
amongst the personal stories, which Totman tells with sensitivity and insight, there are plenty of statistics... alternately entertaining and poignant.

See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
gender studies

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender
45% buy
Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£5.99
The Third Sex: Kathoey, Thailand's Ladyboys
37% buy the item featured on this page:
The Third Sex: Kathoey, Thailand's Ladyboys 3.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£12.99
Paradise Lust: An Erotic Travelogue
9% buy
Paradise Lust: An Erotic Travelogue 3.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.99
Miss Bangkok: Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute
9% buy
Miss Bangkok: Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Should have been better, 22 Mar 2004
By A Customer
My first reading of this book put me to sleep. This has never happened to me before when reading books about transgenderism. I needed several sittings to read through it. The subject matter was what kept me reading. Parts of the book I found to be quite well written - the stories of 3 young kathoey. In all, but one instance, the telling of the kathoey's stories was interesting. The one reflection where it could have been a lot better was about the 65 year old kathoey in Khoen Khan. I learned a lot about the Buddhist religion and kathoey in Thailand. All of this left me a bit sad though. The condition of kathoey being depicted as paying for previous sins in previous lives. This book should be read by all women with a trangender background who are thinking of moving to Thailand. Things are not as rosey as they appear. Once can even pick up on this when watching the films "The Iron Ladies 1 and 2". Thailand is not transgender heaven. The last chapter about aging kathoey should have not even been written - so little said - 3 pages or so. It appeared as if it was written at the Bangkok International Airport while the auther waited for the flight back to London. The author was in a position to really gather deep insight into the lives of kathoey and the society they live in (are tolerated in). I think he should have put more work into his book than spending time at the cabaret shows which he discusses to much length. Way too much repetition in the book. Oh well, he did lead me to another book - this one about the Hijra in India which I've ordered. Hope it is better. For me this book is a simple 3 - meaning okay.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars 'Ladyboys' as they really are., 20 Aug 2003
By Jed Bland (Derby United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This is not the sort of salacious account you might read in the newspapers.
Nor is it a superficial Western guidebook account of 'transvestite cabarets.'
Richard Totman lived with a Thai family for several months listening to the kathoey telling their own stories,
and adding an account of their long history as an intrinsic part of Thai culture and their relationship to the nation's religion.
But most of all, this a charming account of real human beings.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars In need of an editor..., 26 Sep 2005
From such a scholarly writer, this is a curiously unscholarly work. It appears to be a book written in a hurry, without being properly edited.

Chapters are something of a hotch-potch. First, a biographical account, then a chapter on prostitution in Thailand, then another biographical account, and so on. The author refers to himself and the reader as 'we'. Who might this 'we' refer to? Presumably to a 'western' readership, which, ironically, seems to exclude a Thai and Southeast Asian readership (which is odd, given that the book is also published in Thailand). 'We', the authore implies, will be surprised at what we read here: we might not be if we are Thai.

There is a huge amount of repetition in this book. The reader finds him or herself thinking 'didn't he just say that?' A check reveals that he did.

Reference to other writers seems hurriedly done. The anthropologist and American born but 40 years resident in Thailand, William Klausner - probably the person who has done more for describing Thai culture than anyone from outside of that country - is referred to as a 'travel writer'. Certain key Buddhist ideas are insufficiently researched: most authorities consider 'karma' to be 'intentional behaviour' but Totman seems to refer to it as a 'thing' which is accrued.

The author refers to his extensive living and researching in Thailand, for this book but he offers little of the data that must have piled up from all this work. His comparing and contrasting of katoey and monks seems spurious - he seems to argue that one group shores up the other. This is a bit like comparing and contrasting Northern European nuns with European drug adicts: it doesn't get us very far.

Gender references and the use of 'he' and 'she' are not entirely consistent, which is sometimes confusing.

This book is too long and would have been better as a more 'concentrated' essay. Like Wagner's operas, it also needed a good editor. There are many 'western' Thai commentators who have offered more informed and scholarly works: Mulder, Jackson, Reynolds, Klausner and so on. They also offer deeper insights, perhaps, than are offered here. It is easy, as a 'westerner' to be overwhelmed and enchanted by Thailand but its deeper meanings are probably more complex than this author suggests. After many years of researching, both Mulder and Klausner reveal the difficulty for an outsider to 'understand' Thailand and both the country and its people deserve a more cautious account than this.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and enjoyable read
After watching the Ladyboys of Bangkok in Manchester recently, I decided to purchase this book and I'm glad I did. Read more
Published on 13 Jul 2007 by Karen Prince

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Let Olay Amaze You

Olay Total Effects Day Moisturiser SPF15 50ml
Amazon.co.uk sells all your favourite ranges from Olay, including Regenerist and Total Effects.

›Discover Olay at Amazon.co.uk

  

Up to 50% off Dental Care

Braun Oral-B Professional Care 6000 Rechargeable Toothbrush - Pack of 2
Put a sparkle in your smile with up to 50% off selected Oral-B and Philips rechargeable toothbrushes.

›Up to 50% off power toothbrushes

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (75)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (464)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (165)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (84)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates