The Mak Nyahs

“Objective and compassionate, Teh Yik Koon has written not only about her research on which the book is based, but a work imbued with humanity, supported with hard facts and figures from thorough research. Her book fills a large void in sexuality literature particularly on male transsexuality in Malaysia. It demystifies the mak nyah who is seen, at best, as a deviant or an aberration of society, or at worst, a religious blasphemy. This book would not only benefit students and researchers interested in the issue, but the general reader—for instance, parents concerned for their transsexual children—and those seeking answers to the transsexual question.” Ong Ju Lin Co-author of The Rape Report: An Overview of Rape in Malaysia “The transgendered communities of Southeast Asia are little understood, either within the academic community or in the societies at whose margins they are forced to live. Teh’s study of the Malaysian mak nyah shines a bright light on the lives of people who, apart from growing up with an identity that fails to match their body, turn out to be much like the rest of us. In reducing our ignorance about these people, this book should contribute to reducing the prejudice and discrimination to which mak nyahs are subjected to daily.” Sam Winter Transgender Asia Research Centre, University of Hong Kong This book explores the issue of transsexuals in Malaysia. Through numerous studies, interviews with relevant parties and accounts from the mak nyahs themselves, the book gives a profound insight into the world of transsexuals—the history and definition of mak nyahs, what it means to be a mak nyah in Malaysia, transsexuals in other countries, and the views of relevant parties regarding transsexuals in Malaysia, among others. For those who seek a deeper understanding of the mak nyahs, this book provides intriguing and enlightening facts and accounts, which help to broaden one’s perspective of this community who form part of the diversity of the human landscape.

This interdisciplinary collection examines the shaping of local sexual cultures in the Asian Pacific region in order to move beyond definitions and understandings of sexuality that rely on Western assumptions. The diverse studies in AsiaPacifiQueer demonstrate convincingly that in the realm of sexualities, globalization results in creative and cultural admixture rather than a unilateral imposition of the western values and forms of sexual culture. These essays range across the Pacific Rim and encompass a variety of forms of social, cultural, and personal expression, examining sexuality through music, cinema, the media, shifts in popular rhetoric, comics and magazines, and historical studies. By investigating complex processes of localization, interregional borrowing, and hybridization, the contributors underscore the mutual transformation of gender and sexuality in both Asian Pacific and Western cultures. Contributors are Ronald Baytan, J. Neil C. Garcia, Kam Yip Lo Lucetta, Song Hwee Lim, J. Darren Mackintosh, Claire Maree, Jin-Hyung Park, Teri Silvio, Megan Sinnott, Yik Koon Teh, Carmen Ka Man Tong, James Welker, Heather Worth, and Audrey Yue.

The book explores migration and queerness as they relate to ethnic/racial identity constructions, immigration processes and legal status, the formation of trans/national and trans/cultural partnerships, and friendships. It explores the roles that religious identities/values/worldviews play in the fortification/critique of queer migrant identities.

This volume analyzes and documents the groundbreaking work done by many organizations to bring issues of sexuality and rights to public attention, to expand the freedoms of women and sexual minorities and to highlight the unfair distinctions faced by those not conforming to gender and sexual norms across a range of expressions, behaviours and identities in Asia. This volume covers eight countries in South and Southeast Asia. The contributors address issues of power and social hierarchies by using the principles of justice, equality, non-discrimination, and access to rights and services. They cover diverse issues like sexual rights, sexuality education, sexual health services, transsexuals and other sexual minorities, HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as sex work and the representation of sexuality in popular culture. The contributors argue that neither gender nor sexuality can be addressed in isolation from human rights and demonstrate how linking sexuality and gender with human rights has an impact on people`s lives across intersecting issues and contexts. Moving beyond theoretical discussions of sexuality, gender and rights, this volume looks at what these ideas mean in practice and offers examples of the diversity of effective approaches that can be adopted in varied settings. Moreover, it illustrates how sexuality ties in with wider issues—health, personal relationships, economic well-being, equitable access to public services, and the freedom to think, speak and associate without fear of discrimination.

The third in a landmark five volume study of transgender realities, with a focus on crossdressing, this fascinating volume offers a tour through history and around the world. Within these pages are found the most famous crossdressers of history and information as to what it means to be a transgender person in the various countries of the world today.

This is the only book that systematically examines transgender sex work in the United States and globally. Bringing together perspectives from a rich range of disciplines and experiences, it is an invaluable resource on issues related to commercial sex in the transgender community and in the lives of trans sex workers, including mental health, substance use, relationship dynamics, encounters with the criminal justice system, and opportunities and challenges in the realm of public health. The volume covers trans sex workers' interactions with health, social service, and mental-health agencies, featuring more than forty contributors from across the globe. Synthesizing introductions by the editor help organize and put into context a vast and scattered research and empirical literature. The book is essential for researchers, health practitioners, and policy analysts in the areas of sex-work research, HIV/AIDS, and LGBTQ/gender studies.