Soopakorn Srisakul’s photo series Mistress reveals the everyday lives of Thailand’s transgender sex workers, particularly those employed in the red-light district of Nana in Bangkok. “Because of their unusual appearance and lifestyle, so far removed from the norm of most everyday happening, even if one were to start off with a neutral perspective regarding their life, one really cannot help having some kind of presumption,” the artist writes on his Bēhance portfolio page. “That is, unless one becomes an integrated part of their life, intimately and investedly.”
Srisakul’s camera observes the daily routines of several cabaret dancers and sex workers, including his girlfriend who is a transgender call girl.
Thailand’s definition of gender is more fluid than in the West, and sex workers are “tolerated” more so, too. But the community still faces discrimination and legal issues. A female-identified person is not allowed to change their sex on birth certificates or passports, and would be sent to a male prison if incarcerated.
See more from the Mistress series, below. Please note that some of the images are NSFW.
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul
Photo credit: Soopakorn Srisakul