Gender and Sexuality as Dipicted in the movie ‘Beautiful Boxer’

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Recommended: Social construction of gender and sexuality

Beautiful boxer is a Thai movie revolving around Toom, the protagonist and his struggles throughout life for a sex change. Toom does not want to gain glory by defeating opponents in the ring. He wants to earn enough money to support his family and to get a sec change surgery. Toom’s life goes from his teenage years as a traveling monk, to tough days in boxing camps, to explosive matches where he knocks out most of his opponents across Thailand and Japan. This movie is based on a true story of Parinya "Nong Toom" Charoenphol, a bold star, model in Thailand and “one of the most controversial figures to emerge in international sport” (Hodgkinson).
In Thailand, homosexuals are commonly known as kathoey which refers to a man who feel s he is a woman or a woman who feels she is a man. At the time when Charoenphol had her Sex Realignment Surgery in 1999 (Hodgkinson), Thailand was not that open to kathoey much and they were abused even on trying to promote homosexuality (Sinnott 8). In that environment, it was very much difficult for oneself to accept ones sexuality, but Charoenphol was brave enough to come out of the closet to reveal his identity and not be hidden behind the walls like several others on the name of societal norms.
Beautiful Boxer conveys the inner life of the Toom's struggle to assert her gender identity. We see Toom struggling through the film for a sex change. After seeing the girl, who acts in the play in the fair, putting lipstick and using it himself his life changes completely. He starts believing that he is a girl trapped in a boy’s body. Toom’s first appearance as a girl in front of his family offends his father. Toom’s mother takes it lightly as she thinks he is just a kid. His father is very concerned about hi...

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...s.google.com.bd/books?id=EpioePGTS30C&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:178049307X&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CrAxU-zeMMeTrgep14DQDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=true>.
Chughtai, Ismat. “Lihaaf [The Quilt]”. Manushi (No. 110). 36-41. Print.
Hodgkinson, Will. "'I Don't Think about Gender. I Think about Winning'" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 Aug. 2005. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
Siedman, Steven. “Social Theories of Sexuality: Marxism and Feminism.” Social construction of Sexuality. Ed. Jeffrey C. Alexander. New York: W. W. Norron and Company. 13-24. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
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Sinnott, Megan. "Gay vs. ‘Kathoey’: Homosexual Identities in Thailand." IIASNewsletter 22 (Nov. 2002): 7-8. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
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