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Ladies or Gents? Thai school has transvestite toilets
Visitors look at toilet bowls catered to different ages at the World Toilet Expo and Forum 2006 in Bangkok November 16, 2006.
A Thai school has taken a step towards helping transvestites resolve the dilemma of which restroom to use by creating toilets specifically for them.
The Kamphaeng School in Si Sa Ket, nearly 600 km northwest of Bangkok, has over 200 transvestites among its 2,500 students and many have been asking for a separate toilet.
"When they used male toilets, they would be teased. That's why they don't want to use it. They're a little scared so they would just go to female toilets with their female friends," school director Sittisak Sumonta said.
The transvestite toilet has three cubicles and was introduced last month. The sign on the door combines both the male and female icons found on ordinary toilet doors and the Thai word "bandoh", meaning transvestite.
The school director said the students were no longer allowed to use female toilets but could still use the male toilets if they wanted to.
Thailand is relatively tolerant of homosexuality and Bangkok is a global centre for sex-change surgery.
Transvestites or transsexuals are common in Thai offices, schools and on television, although the country remains deeply conservative at heart and still has many rules discriminating against non-heterosexuals.
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泰国的一所学校为异性装扮癖者设立了专门的厕所，帮助异装癖者解决了“如厕难”的问题。
位于曼谷西北将近600公里的四色菊甘榜中学里，2500名学生中有200多名异装癖者。他们中大部分都希望能有专用的厕所。
学校主管Sittisak Sumonta 表示，“这些异装癖的孩子使用男厕所时会被人嘲笑，所以他们不愿意使用男卫生间。他们有点恐惧，所以去女厕所时通常要女性朋友陪伴。”
这种厕所分为三小间，于上个月建成。门上的标志既有普通的女厕所特征又有常用的男厕所特征，并且用泰语写着“异装癖者”（bandoh）。
学校主管称，新厕所落成后，这些学生不能再去上女厕所。但如果他们愿意的话，还是可以去男厕所。
泰国比较容忍同性恋，而且曼谷是世界变性手术的中心。在泰国，办公室，学校，电视节目中都可以见到异装癖者和变性者。不过，泰国本质上还是一个十分保守的国家，存在着许多歧视非异性恋者的法令。
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