What’s an “Ah Kua”?
Posted: July 21, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized 6 Comments »Ah Kua is local Chinese dialect (pejorative) for effeminate man. Gay men and transgender women all suffer from the “ah kua” label in Singapore.
The Ah Kua Show draws its inspiration from the infamous “ladyboy” cabaret shows in Bangkok and Pattaya. When I was a child, my parents used to travel to Bangkok on vacation to watch the “Ah Kua” shows there amongst other excursions. I was fascinated by the beautiful women, their extravagant feather boas and fancy footwork. But my mum warned me that they were really “men dressed up as women”. She also warned me against sitting on the toilet seats which were likely stained with the HIV/AIDS virus.
Back then and until today, Singaporeans would flock to these shows with an equal measure of attraction and repulsion. The reputation of Thailand as the capital of “ladyboys” and sex change operations is due in no small part to these shows. Unfortunately, the shows have also helped seal the reputation of Asian transgender women as “ladyboy showgirls”.
We are ladies, but definitely not boys!
The Ah Kua Show will reclaim the unique, individual voices of Southeast Asian women. We come in all shapes and sizes – some of us will never “pass” as women, and most of us look less than glamorous, but we all have one thing in common: feminine souls.
“We come in all shapes and sizes – some of us will never “pass” as women, and most of us look less than glamorous, but we all have one thing in common: feminine souls.”
Amen to that!!
BUT to leona and joliea, I disagree. There have been some individuals who have been working hard to have the compassion of a lady, but have been marked for their idiocity by the Man behind a prominent group. And one, has been said to be NOT a WOMAN. What you have been fighting for, has more or less have some results over the years. But another Man in another group do not share the same with you.
Have a feminine soul? Sorry, I no longer is worthy of it. Feminity soul is only applicable to people in that group. We are the outcast, and don’t fall under your or his banners. Both of you speak for us. Appreciated, but some of us remain in anguish because the treatment is not homogenous. Some of us will still be left out. We don’t feel excited or happy just because you fight for us. Nothing has changed or improved.
I lose my feminity and sense of belonging to any local TG group. I don’t identify with any. They are Women, I am not. Maybe I am just a gay with a BF.
Sista
(Fiona – not real name)
You may delete this post if you deem fit. But this post is what you need to know what a few minority think.
Relax, why not form your own group? After all, you’re responsible for your own life. Why do you want someone else to fight for you? None of us are paid to fight for anyone or anything – some like what we do, some don’t. It’s a fact of life. Your opinion doesn’t not affect me, neither should mine affect you. We’re not on each other’s payroll, and opinions are cheap. Some may be jealous of me, some support me, some hate me, some just don’t give a damn about me. I’m not standing for elections so it doesn’t matter.
If you are neither gay nor transgender nor anything else that fits a present category – welcome to the real world. In fact, I don’t even think you’re in the minority. I genuinely believe that there are lots of gendered expressions that TG doesn’t even encompass.
So sally forth and create your own “I not TG so what?” group!
Thanks Leona. You do know after all. (=
I never know how to feel about the Thai “kathoey” or the translation of “ladyboy” (I still think it’s mostly sensationalism) when it seems that most “kathoey” would be more accurately called just women. I read a study that showed most “kathoeys” saw themselves either as women or as “second type women” while very little of the rest of the population sees them that way.
I think something similar has happened in the west with drag queens. Most people can’t see the difference between a gay man and a trans woman, and assume trans women are just… well, I don’t know what they assume- but they certainly don’t see them as women!
I certainly hope that people globally can see that women- ALL women, “passable” or not, should have their female soul acknowledged.
I’ve come to realise that we cannot hope to change the world; we can only hope to change the way we see – and come to terms with – the world. And hopefully find some happiness within ourselves.