Thai-Filipino "Lady Boy" Turf War

About

The Thai-Filipino "Lady Boy" Turf War refers to a violent clash between Thai and Filipino sex workers in Bangkok, Thailand's Red Light District in March 2024. The conflict was reportedly set off by a group of transgender women from the Philipines after they berated and robbed a local Thai transgender worker, with a mob of several hundred Thai women returning to assault the Filipino workers while they were being taken into police custody. Videos of the conflict were shared on social media on March 4th and March 5th, 2024, predominantly on Instagram Live and X / Twitter.

Background

In early March 2024, X^[1] users shared videos supposedly showing a group of Filipino transgender sex workers berating a Thai worker in Bangkok's Red Light District. On March 4th, X user @__reyq posted a clip cited by other X users as the start of the conflict, showing a Thai woman dressed in red being berated by a group of other women (seen below).

อีตัวต้นเรื่อง พี่เสื้อแดงคือใจเย็นจัด แต่ล่ะตัวคือน่าหยุมมาก ดับมั่นไปสิ EDT ! #สุขุมวิท11 pic.twitter.com/WZ7O9eISql

— ꧁༒ 𝑅𝑒𝑦 𝑄 ༒꧂ (@__reyq) March 4, 2024

Also on March 4th, X^[2] user @luna_baby__ shared a video of the initial fight supposedly showing a larger number of Filipino workers attacking Thai workers, writing, "The Filipino ladyboys arrived in large numbers and insulted the local Thai ladyboys, surrounding them and attacking the Thai ladyboys at the entrance to Soi Sukhumvit 11 😣." The post gathered over 2,000 likes in two days (seen below).

The Filipino ladyboys arrived in large numbers and insulted the local Thai ladyboys, surrounding them and attacking the Thai ladyboys at the entrance to Soi Sukhumvit 11 😣 pic.twitter.com/wqHPGRMPt2

— Sea has💙🩵 (@luna_baby__) March 4, 2024

Developments

On March 4th, 2024, Thai sex workers began mobilizing on Facebook and X, calling on their peers to arrive at Sukhumvit Soi 11 where the Filipino workers were reportedly set to be taken into custody for the previous assault and for lacking appropriate work permits.

X^[3] user @Thaireactionvid posted a screenshot of one such Facebook post, writing in Thai "I'm confused. I've already left. Thai ladyboys hit up with ladyboys very seriously. Last night there were 2 Thai ladyboys who were attacked by almost 20 ladyboys. Now they are clearing things up. Live at the hotel, you guys are crazy. This lady loves peace but is in constant battle in Soi Sukhumvit 11 right now" (seen below).

By March 4th, a group of Thai sex workers and their allies had gathered outside the hotel where the Filipino workers were set to be removed from before being taken to the police station. According to X^[4] user @SpaceWanny, over 1,500 Thai women were expected to congregate. Initial attempts to extract the Filipino women were met with violence (seen below).

ซีนนี้พี่กะเทยไทยทำถึงมาก ถึงหัวกะเทยผินเลยค่าาาา แถมด้วยซาวน์เอฟเฟคประหนึ่งเชียร์มวยลุมพินี จารึกเอาไว้ 4 มีนาคม 2567 วันมาค่ะกะเทย #สุขุมวิท11 https://t.co/Up3WBDgzTH pic.twitter.com/EP1mhd9RZJ

— 🆆🅰🅽🅽🆈 (@SpaceWanny) March 4, 2024

On March 4th, X user @felonyfuckbuddy quoted a video of Thai women mobbing and attacking Filipino women while overwhelming their own police force, writing, "There is currently a gang war going on between Thai and Filipino ladyboys." The post gathered over 70,000 likes in two days (seen below).

There is currently a gang war going on between Thai and Filipino ladyboys https://t.co/nYaZWa1uha

— Lloyd (@felonyfuckbuddy) March 5, 2024

On March 5th, 2024, X^[5] user @sighyam posted a thread recounting the events that led up to the fight, gathering over 54,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Online Reactions

Many internet users made jokes about individual members involved in the mob violence in Bangkok. On March 4th, 2024, X^[6] user @_Tn_1991 posted a compilation of other popular fight videos featuring transgender Thai women, gathering over 16,000 likes in two days (seen below).

On March 5th, 2024, the Instagram^[7] page @upupupha posted a slideshow equating the fight to the Marvel movie Avengers, likening different Thai women to superheroes. The post gathered over 4,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Also on March 5th, TikToker @powdy_pang posted a video thanking the only person arrested during the clashes, a muscular smiling man. The video gathered over 300,000 plays and 19,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References