Ladyboys turn elegant backs on man’s world

THE Miss International Queen contestants looked more feminine than many women could dream of, even though they were all born boys.

The 24 cross-dressers and medically altered transsexuals caked on makeup, sprayed their hair into hurricane-proof bouffants, and donned glamorous gowns and skimpy bikinis for the international beauty pageant.

Transgenderism is common and widely accepted in mostly Buddhist Thailand, particularly in Bangkok and towns like Pattaya.

A two-hour drive south of Bangkok, the beach resort is known for its anything-goes sexuality, prostitution and transvestite cabaret theatres like Tiffany’s, where the first Miss International Queen pageant was held at the weekend.

The contestants, from 11 Asian countries, Germany and France, primped backstage as they answered questions about themselves.

Arisha Rani, a 29-year-old Indian beauty with curves Jennifer Lopez might envy, said “from childhood, I was always wearing my younger sister’s clothes.”

Dressed in her evening gown, the only visible scar on Rani - who has had all the necessary procedures to physically become a woman - is a line across her throat, where doctors filed down her Adam’s apple.

The €5,400 prize went to college student Treechada Petcharat, who passed the test - no one could guess she was once a boy.