the third sex

The latest must-have accessory for ladyboys appears to be coloured contact lenses. It has reached the stage where a model with standard brown Thai eyes is something of a rarity, and during a shoot I now frequently find myself confronted by bright blue or hazel eyes, or even by a shade of solid brown that gives the wearer a foxy, rather opaque appearance; not particularly a pleasant one.

Although they are far from being a new idea in Thailand, cosmetic contact lenses have recently become much cheaper and are being made in a range of sometimes startling colours. Ladyboys being ladyboys of course have to go right over the top and they choose colours that contrast oddly with their natural skin and hair tones.

In person, they don’t look especially bizarre, but under photographic flash the lenses take on an extra bright quality. Also, there is no getting away from the fact that a lens is a lens, and it has no expression – so I am getting, literally, a glassy-eyed look.

Musing this over, I recall other fashion trends of the past few years. There was the craze for dyeing hair red or blond, or an in-between colour that was a Coca-Cola shade. One model even turned up for a shoot with her pubes dyed blond, which actually was very effective. The hair colouring was good, because it gives a real lift to the photographs

Then there were the talon-like fingernail attachments, often with vibrant colours or strange designs. Again, yes, quite good for photos, and they had the added advantage of hiding chewed nails and fingertips – details that are important in close-up, because scruffy nails and skin is a turn-off. Some years ago, when vampire films were all the rage, I would see ladyboys with vampire tooth-caps. Some of these were good quality, but I did ponder the wisdom of going to a dentist and having a perfectly good incisor tooth filed down to take an enamel fang.

And let us not forget the mania for tattoos, which in Bangkok has been going on for some years and which now must surely have reached its peak. It is at the stage now where, when I find a ladyboy who does not have some kind of tattoo, I involuntarily comment on the fact. The most common is a Buddhist prayer that is tattooed onto the left shoulder blade, but massive illustrations covering almost the entire back are becoming the semi-norm. Ladyboys never do things in moderation. Quite what they will think of these works of art 20 years from now is anyone’s guess.