Sex
News Archive
Mystery 'sex change' has curious flocking
to Myanmar monk-to-be
HLAING THAR YAR, Myanmar (AFP) - Thin Sandar, a chicken
seller in Myanmar, had always dreamed of being a man.
When she inexplicably grew a penis last month, the
21-year-old treated it as an awe-inspiring omen --
as have the thousands of stunned villagers who have
traveled to a pagoda to see him.
"On the morning of the full moon day of June
21, I noticed my thing (sex organ) was not the same
as before," Thin Sandar, who now goes by the
male name Than Sein, told AFP in an interview at his
home.
"And my breasts disappeared," Than Sein
added. "So I called out and showed it all to
my mom and dad. It was very strange."
Strange enough that he has attracted significant
attention in this deeply superstitious country, where
the unexplained can quickly be exalted to hold powerful
spiritual significance.
People privately concede Than Sein is a hermaphrodite.
Several medical experts have examined him, and he
awaits test results from the central women's hospital.
But few have come forward with a medical explanation
of the transformation as they await an official report
by the health ministry, whose experts have also examined
Than Sein.
"We can not say right now if she has really
undergone a sudden gender change," said a township
official who declined to be named, adding that Than
Sein's birth certificate shows that he was born a
girl.
"It can be confirmed when we receive the report
from the health ministry, although some medical checkups
have shown her to be a true man," he added.
Hermaphrodites, also known as intersexuals, are often
born with ambiguous genitalia, or have both testicular
and ovarian tissue in a single person.
Medical doctor Aye Sanda Khaing put it in layman's
terms in a local journal: "Her penis appeared
at the site of her clitoris," the doctor was
quoted as saying.
Regardless of the official findings, local villagers
and other curious Myanmar nationals are flocking to
the Aung Myay Thar Yar pagoda, in this new satellite
township 19 kilometers (12 miles) from Yangon, to
see Than Sein for themselves and make donations to
him or the temple.
Up to 400 gather at the pagoda each day, often in
a courtyard under colorful umbrellas to ward off the
sun's rays, waiting for the chance to talk with and
touch Than Sein.
"I have never heard of anything like this, so
I came to see him," 21-year-old housewife Thandar
Win told AFP.
"If I was not married, then I too would want
to become a man!"
When word spread of Than Sein's transformation, locals
raced to his home to see for themselves. Authorities,
sensing a possible security hazard -- and, perhaps,
an opportunity -- hastily arranged for him to be moved
to the pagoda to accommodate more visitors.
Than Sein appeared comfortable with the sudden attention
in the new surroundings. Wearing a checkered longyi,
the traditional Myanmar pants commonly worn by men,
he sat on a rug in the pagoda's side building, flanked
by his parents.
"I was so happy," father Kyaw Htay, 46,
said about his son's developments. "I wanted
other sons so they could offer themselves as Buddhist
monks, but I had only two daughters."
Occasionally Than Sein stepped out to talk with excited
visitors, who shook his hand, stroked his arm, and
wished him well.
A Myanmar state television crew has already interviewed
him and awaits the military junta's permission to
air the broadcast nationwide.
As he waits for the final test results, Than Sein
said he firmly believed he had been transformed, and
would enter the monkhood for a period of time and
seek spiritual contemplation and guidance before deciding
whether to marry and raise a family.
"Whenever I went to the pagoda I prayed to become
a man in my next life," he said, referring to
the Buddhist concept of rebirth.
"Now I'm happy because my dream won't have to
wait until my next life, it's already come true."
I would'nt mind growing a bigger
dick myself. Course no boobies, thank you.
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