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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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New Youth Castration Law Divides Thailand

Boys seeking sex changes will now have to wait untl they're 18

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(Newser) – Until recently in Thailand, boys who wanted to change gender could have their testicles removed for just $150, no questions asked. But as Bloomberg reports, a new law pushed by gay rights activists will force Thais to wait until they turn 18 before undergoing a sex-change operation. Many doctors, though, are opposed to the legislation, insisting that castration qualifies as essential surgery.

Thailand has one of the world's largest and most visible transgendered communities: recently, one secondary school built new lavatories after discovering that 200 students were between genders. Gay activists worry that social pressures might push young boys to undergo castration, a decision they might regret later. But one doctor counters that if a boy has "a woman's heart in a man's body and doesn't want to keep his testicles, the change should be allowed."

Thailand has one of the world's largest and most visible transgendered communities.
Thailand has one of the world's largest and most visible transgendered communities.   ((c) adactio)
Contestants in the Miss International Queen 2007 transvestite and transgender beauty pageant cheer as they release endangered turtles Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007, in Pattaya, Thailand.
Contestants in the Miss International Queen 2007 transvestite and transgender beauty pageant cheer as they release endangered turtles Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007, in Pattaya, Thailand.   (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Transvestites from a Cabaret show smiles as they join Thai students and teachers in an anti-drug parade Sunday, June 22, 2008, in downtown Bangkok, Thailand.
Transvestites from a Cabaret show smiles as they join Thai students and teachers in an anti-drug parade Sunday, June 22, 2008, in downtown Bangkok, Thailand.   (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Natthakran Tunthadilok, a 19-year-old transvestite, right, walks with his classmate Chompoo Chantrachaichot during a lunch break at Suan Dusit Institute in Bangkok, Thailand.
Natthakran Tunthadilok, a 19-year-old transvestite, right, walks with his classmate Chompoo Chantrachaichot during a lunch break at Suan Dusit Institute in Bangkok, Thailand.   (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
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