Like many of you, Kenric and I are very saddened by the news of Anthony Bourdain’s passing. We love his humor, complete lack of pretension, and sense of adventure. We can’t claim to be super fans, but we enjoyed all his shows. His thoughtful reflection at the end of every episode always got me thinking.

A Hole in the Cultural Experience

With travel fatigue hitting us really hard recently, we didn’t feel like doing much and were considering skipping the Ladyboys shows. But, I couldn’t stop thinking about the clip from Bourdain’s episode. I told Kenric since we couldn’t bring ourselves to watch a Muay Thai boxing match, we should at least go to a Ladyboys show. Not going to either of those while in Thailand leaves a big hole in the cultural experience. Whether we were inspired, motivated, or guilted by Bourdain, I don’t know. I just know it was a great experience of risqué fun.

For 45 minutes, I was transfixed by how beautiful these women were, and how at ease they were with their identity. When we were in Bangkok eating at a stall on Khaosan Road, we saw a Ladyboy who worked at a nearby food stall teasing a taxi driver about his belly. The taxi driver blushed and sucked his tummy in when she walked to her stall. It was very special to me because he sees her the way she sees herself; that the society here accepts and treats them as they see themselves.

De-stigmatize LGBTQ People

While I don’t know if everyone in this country feels that way, I can certainly tell that members of the LGBTQ community are not shunned here. I am also certain that Anthony Bourdain featuring the Ladyboys to his worldwide audience exposed them to parts unknown and will further de-stigmatize LGBTQ people. The world suffered a great loss today. May he finally find peace.

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