'They make fun of me but shut up once I start fighting' - The life of a transgender kickboxer

Rose is respected in her home town of Phimai, but faces challenges elsewhere in Thailand. Photo / Lindsey Newhall

A transgender kickboxer in rural Thailand is fighting for glory and acceptance of who she is.

Rose, an 18-year-old kickboxer, is from Phima in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand. She has been fighting since she was seven, putting an estimated 200 to 300 fights under her belt.

Rose fights men in kickboxing matches. Photo / Lindsey Newhall

As a trans Muay Thai fighter, one of only a handful active in the sport, Rose told Fightland she receives mixed responses from her male opponents.

"My opponent and I will usually see each other for the first time an hour or two before a fight. Sometimes, whoever I'm matched up against will take a look at me and then refuse to fight. I don't know if they say no to the fight because they hear I'm a good fighter, or because I'm kathoey."

Kathoey is the Thai term for a transgender person and Rose's identity plays a role in her kickboxing life, sometimes to her advantage.

Rose is popular with gamblers in Thailand, who capitalise on opponents and other gamblers underestimating her abilities.

"Sometimes I get made fun of when I enter the ring," she says. "If the gamblers haven't seen me fight, they make of me. Then they shut up once I start fighting. The gamblers who know me will find someone who is making fun of me and say, 'Oh, you don't believe in her? Then I'll take a bet against you.'"

But she says their attitudes change once she gets into the ring to fight. She often wins.

Rose is often underestimated in fights, making her popular with gamblers. Photo / Lindsey Newhall

Rose says she is respected in her home town where she grew up with her twin brother Lak and older sister Gael, also a fighter.

"Everyone's nice to me here," she says. "The people in my hometown know me. They respect me as a fighter."

Source: Fightland

Thai-English interpretation by Frances Watthanaya.