Jane Fugal

Jane Fugal

BANGKOK - Thailand has issued rules making sex change surgery more difficult.

This includes that potential candidates must cross-dress for a year because some patients rush into the operation, a medical association said.

Transsexuals and transgender men are a common sight in Thailand, appearing in soap operas and working at all levels of Bangkok society, from department store cosmetics counters to corporate offices and red-light districts.

A transgender beauty pageant draws thousands to the beachside town of Pattaya every year. - Sapa-AP