They don't realize that many successful people - designers, stylists, doctors, singers - are katoey.

CNN: A PROBLEM OF IMAGE

For many heterosexual Thais, sex with a katoey, while not openly approved, carries little of the stigma of going with a female prostitute.

CNN: A PROBLEM OF IMAGE

Trapped in the wrong gender, sometimes desperate to make the change from male to female, katoey are often prone to depression, anger and rash behavior.

CNN: A PROBLEM OF IMAGE

No surveys on the number of katoey have been done.

CNN: A PROBLEM OF IMAGE

Mention the word katoey and Thais immediately think of the slightly soiled image of the feminine end of the gay spectrum - the man dolled up as woman, the limp wrist and exaggerated postures of the lady-boy.

CNN: A PROBLEM OF IMAGE