# Transvestites Banned from Thai Medical Schools

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 22, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208 "2008-05-22T04:17:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208/1 "2008-05-22T04:17:28Z")

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Story [here](http://www.dailyxpress.net/2008/05/22/city/city_2354.php). Apparently there’s been an informal ban for some time. I think they’re thinking of making it official.

Maybe they think transvestites belong in nursing school? 😃 (Don’t hate me. ☹ )

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**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208/2 "2008-05-22T04:28:54Z")

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I’m a bit biased because of my two months on the Equality Ride (google it), but those policies are downright civil when you compare them to some of the private schools in America…

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**Author:** ![Ducktail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@Ducktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ducktail)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208/3 "2008-05-22T06:15:01Z")

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Wait…isn’t Thailand the country that just created an entirely separate category in its military for transgendered people specifically so they could serve? Exactly what kind of stigma (or lack thereof) is there in Thailand, anyway?

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208/4 "2008-05-22T07:26:41Z")

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Well, from where I’m sitting (Spain), creating a separate category for transgendered soldiers is discrimination.

We’ve got male soldiers, female soldiers, at least one MtF soldier who switched while serving…

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**Author:** ![Ducktail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@Ducktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ducktail)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208/5 "2008-05-22T07:32:33Z")

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[QUOTE=Nava]  
Well, from where I’m sitting (Spain), creating a separate category for transgendered soldiers is discrimination.

We’ve got male soldiers, female soldiers, at least one MtF soldier who switched while serving…  
[/QUOTE]

I think the idea was that beforehand they couldn’t serve at all, and service in Thailand is mandatory, so it would show up as a blot on their records when they tried to go to school or get a house or something later in life. So they were making improvements, apparently.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208/6 "2008-05-22T07:40:17Z")

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Mandatory service always carries the possibility of not serving due to medical reasons: was there more social stigma linked to “mili not done due to medical reasons” (which could be asthma or flat feet or thick glasses) than to being transgendered?

Probably not. But they may have been short on healthy soldiers and not willing to just stop discriminating by reason of gender.

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**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transvestites-banned-from-thai-medical-schools/450208/7 "2008-05-22T07:59:02Z")

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[QUOTE=Ducktail]  
Wait…isn’t Thailand the country that just created an entirely separate category in its military for transgendered people specifically so they could serve?  
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that’s them. So transvestites can shoot you but not heal you. 😃