TransgenderASIA

Directory of researchers and educators in gender identity and transgenderism in Asia

We aim that this list becomes a progressively more comprehensive, but always up-to-date, directory of researchers. With this in mind, please contact us to add or change an entry. Names in alphabetical order.

Based in Manila , Philippines . A member of the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) and STRAP (Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines ). Currently a Graduate Student at University of Santo Tomas and Researcher. Experience of work with special children and advanced learners. A teaching certificate from Philippine Normal University and Bachelor degree in Psychology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila . More recently studied for a Masters in Clinical Psychology, again at the University of Santo Tomas . She was also a former Human Resources Manager. Her thesis, the first by a Filipina using Philippine sample was entitled 'Psychological perspectives and development of the transsexual woman: a phenomenological case study on male-to-female Filipino transsexuals', and involved in-depth study of the life histories of 15 Filipina transwomen. E mail goddess_nayrb@yahoo.com

Mehrdad Eftekhar Ardebili, Associate Professor of Psychiatry. Working with transpeople in Tehran Psychiatric institute and a private sex clinic.

Rustem Ertug ALTINAY.

Researching in the areas of transgender identity (particularly public figures in Turkey) and linguistics. Graduate of the Philosophy Department at Bogazici University, Turkey. Now (Aug 2009) graduate student at New York University (NYU).

In 2007 Dr Anne Beaumont gained her PhD in the Department of Sociology, University of Essex, UK. Her thesis title is ”Betwixt and Between”: A comparative study of the transgender experience in Britain and Thailand.

Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine, 3151 Social Science Plaza, Irvine, CA 92697. Interested in transgenderism in Indonesia (male-to-female and female-to-male). See home page at http://www.anthro.uci.edu/faculty_bios/boellstorff/boellstorff.php.

Transgender activist and researcher, Bangkok, Thailand. As at Late 2009 MSM Programme Coordinator at TREAT (Therapeutics, Research, Education, AIDS Training) in Asia.

Associate Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies at Purdue University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 700 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA. Interested in research on tombois and other female masculinities in Asia. Website at http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~blackwoo/

James Caspian is a psychotherapist, hypnotherapist and gender specialist counsellor in London and Sussex, England. Whilst living in Harbin, China in 2004 as part of his degree in Chinese he carried out research for his dissertation into transgender in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, travelling throughout the region interviewing transsexual people about their experiences and availability of treatment. He is a Trustee of the Beaumont Trust, a charity which educates about, informs and assists transsexual, transvestite and transgendered people. He is currently researching the psychotherapeutic uses of shamanism, and is planning to publish his transgender research in book form.

Research student at the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. Studying mental health issues in sexual and gender minority groups in Hong Kong.

Professor at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. Interested in comparative studies on the attitudes of non-TG people towards TGs.

Independent researcher living and working in Vientiane, Laos. Research into the kathoey of that country. r

Senior Lecturer, Te Kura Putaiao-a-Iwi, School of Social Sciences, Pataka a Tangata, Faculty of Applied Humanities, Te Wananga Aronui O Tamaki Makau Rau, Auckland University of Technology. Doctoral candidate at the University of Western Australia. She undertook fieldwork in South Sulawesi during 1998-2002. Sharyn's academic interests centre around notions of gender and sexuality in Indonesia. Sharyn is currently on a Huygen's scholarship to undertake further research at Leiden University in the Netherlands where she is continuing to write up her dissertation.

Doctoral candidate of Educational Psychology and Counseling Department of National Taiwan Normal University. Also a counseling psychologist in Taiwan. Made efforts in helping trans people have a better understandings about themselves. Also interested in researching the issue of gender identity and transgenderism, including (A).the attitude toward TG/TS in Taiwan; (B)The development of gender/sexual identity of TS between pre-transition and post-transition; (C) the role of psychotherapist in the development of TS, or the analysis of process of psychotherapy for post-transition TS. Focusing on transgenderism as dissertation topic.

Professor at Osaka Prefecture University, Japan. Researching into transgenderism in Japan.

Head of the Center for the Study of Sexualities at National Central University, Taiwan. Active in gender/sexuality related activism for 20 years. Co-founder of a support group for the differently gendered, called the Taiwan TG Butterfly Garden, which now has more than 150 members. A Transgender hotline opened in Aug. 2008, following the suicides of two of our members. The group is now working very actively with other LGBTI groups in changing public perception and legal status for the differently gendered.

Keiichiro ISHIMARU, PhD (e mail withheld)

Certified clinical psychologist and research fellow at National Institute of Mental Health, Tokyo, Japan. Working with transpeople from 2001 at a psychiatry clinic in Tokyo.

Humaira Jami is Lecturer at National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. She is PhD scholar and has extended her work on hijras of Pakistan from M.Phil to PhD level. She is trying to explore the process of becoming hijra, people's attitude towards them and hijras' reciprocal perceptions. She is also supervising research on issues related to hijras/TGs. Alternative e mail humaira.shahzad@gmail.com

Fellow in Thai History in the Australian National University's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. He was formerly head of the Thai National Curriculum Project in Canberra and Executive Officer of the ANU's National Thai Studies Centre. His research focuses on modern Thai cultural history, with emphases on religion and sexuality. Current projects include a history of gay Bangkok and a study of the impact of Thailand's economic boom and bust on Buddhism and other aspects of Thai religion. Peter Jackson's books related to gender and sexuality include Dear Uncle Go: Male Homosexuality in Thailand (1995), Genders and Sexualities in Modern Thailand (1999, ed. with Nerida Cook), Multicultural Queer: Australian Narratives (1999, ed. with Gerard Sullivan), and Lady Boys, Tom Boys, Rent Boys: Male and Female Homosexualities in Contemporary Thailand (1999, ed. with Gerard Sullivan). He has also published in the electronic journal Intersections.

Accidentally found himself in the university teaching profession and has been at the Universiti Sains Malaysia for the past 25 years. Apart from working as an installation and word artist, Latif has for a number of years now been engaged in projects that involve the socially marginalised. His dealings with the transgendered community centre around the attempt to not only empower sisters but also so try to motivate them to form support groups and engage in self-help initiatives. He worked on an application to the Swedish foundation SAREC (together with Dr,. Ulf Mellstroem of Linkoeping University) for a 3-year project entitled 'Male transsexualism in Malaysia: an autobiographical project' which was scheduled to start in 2004.

Research Assistant Professor in Sexual and Gender Diversity, Division of Learning, Development and Diversity in the Faculty of Education at Hong Kong University. Having completed his PhD research into Chinese people's attitudes towards transpeople and their civil rights, he is now researching into the life experiences of GLBTQ people in Hong Kong, including their experiences of prejudice and discrimination, and the effects upon their health and well-being.

Mark McLELLAND

Mark McLelland is a sociologist and cultural historian of Japan specialising in the history of sexuality, gender theory and new media. His recent publications have focused on the postwar history of Japanese queer cultures and the development of the Internet in Japan , especially the use of the Internet and other new media by minority communities in Japan and throughout Asia . Major Publications include the books: Queer Japan from the Pacific War to The Internet Age (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005); Male Homosexuality in Modern Japan : Cultural Myths and Social Realities (RoutledgeCurzon, 2000); Queer Voices from Japan (Lexington; with Katsuhiko Suganuma and James Welker, 2007); 2005: Genders, Transgenders and Sexualities in Japan (Routedge; with Romit Dasgupta , 2005). E mail markmc@uow.edu.au.

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Tehran. Also involved in work with transpeople attending a sex clinic. Researching in the area of transgenderism in Iran.

Assistant Professor, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 74 New Montgomery St. Suite 600, San Francisco, USA. CA 94105. Interested in research into drug abuse and HIV prevention research targeting MTF transgenders; mental health services and psychological well-being; cross cultural studies in social conditions and health consequences among transgenders.

Researcher, educator and activist for sexual and gender minorities in Indonesia. At the moment working with Tom Boellstorff (UCLA-Irvine) (tboellst@uci.edu) on an oral history project of waria (MtF) transgenders in six locations in Indonesia.

Registered Psychologist (PsyD) at New Leaf http://www.newleafservices.org in San Francisco, USA. Working with groups and individuals affected by multiple issues including HIV and substance abuse, as well as with transpeople.

Independent researcher, previously with the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Has completed masters degree in Buddhist Studies from Thammasat University with a thesis titled "Thoughts and Ethics of Sexuality in Theravada Buddhism." Now looking for possibility to conduct Ph.D research in gender and Buddhism.

Graduated the first master degree from Chiangmai University Faculty of Social Science, in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Majored in Social Development. Researched for a thesis entitled "Contesting Meaning of "Kathoei" in Cabaret Show". Also graduated the second master degree from Mahidol University Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Department of Health Social Sciences. Researched for a thesis entitled 'Fluidity of Thai Queer Sexualities and Their Experiences of Accessing Sexual Health Care'. Worked as Project Secretary; Thai Queer Resources Centre. At time of most recent update (24th August 2009) working as Project manager for project titled “Thai Kathoei: Media, Health, Rights, and Ways of life.”

Sass Rogando Sasot has been an activist since the age of 19. She's one of the founders of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the first transgender support and advocacy group in the Philippines. She has been invited by several organizations, schools, and universities in the Philippines, as well as in other countries. She describes herself as an independent transgender activist, gender theorist and human rights activist. Personal website : chasing sass

Clinical Psychologist in the Graduate School of Keio University (Division of Human Relations). Researching in the area of transgenderism in Japan.

Professor in Sociology at the Faculty of Defence Studies and Management, National Defence University of Malaysia. Interested in profiles of transpeople in Malaysia, the social, legal and religious problems that they face, and their HIV/AIDS awareness.

Independent scholar living in Vietnam (since 2004). Formerly an academic anthropologist and Director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Territory University, Australia. Research interests have been mainly focused on various aspects of the culture histories of Vietnam and the Vietnamese. Most recent research project was concerned with sex work and sex industries in Vietnam. He is interested in the cultural, social and historical dimensions of transgender. E mail ianw84@hotmail.com

Associate Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, and Associate Professor in the Division of Learning, Development and Diversity, Faculty of Education. Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Transgenderism. Member of the Board of directors of WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health). Research into gender identity diversity across Asia.

Graduate in M.A. (Southeast Asian Studies) from National University of Singapore. Interested in the study of transsexuality in Thailand, Thai history and anthropological studies. Honours thesis was about transsexual performers in Phuket, Thailand. Masters thesis was on transsexual beauty contests in Thailand, titled "Catwalking the Gender Tightrope: A study of the kathoey and transsexual beauty contests in Thailand".

Psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry at Istanbul Medical Faculty at Istanbul University, Topkapi, Istanbul. Human rights activist, feminist. Board member of CETAD (the Turkish Society of Sex Education, Training and Research). Board member of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. Founder of Ist-PSTP (Istanbul Psychosocial Trauma Programme). Member of Ethics Committee of the Turkish Psychiatry Association. Member of Gender Issues Task Group of the Turkish Psychiatry Association. Interested in psychological consequences of discrimination because of gender, sexual orientation. Other assessment, treatment and research interests include female sexual functions and problems; different post-traumatic problems, particularly women and children exposed to sexual / physical violence at home. Has also worked with torture related psychological problems and with disaster victims. Involved in training and increasing the awareness of mental health and medical professionals and public on trauma related mental health problems. Involved in establishing centers for dealing with these issues. Telephone numbers: (+90)2124142415 and (+90)212 2452131.

YU Lu is a PhD candidate in the Department of Education, The University of Hong Kong. She works in the areas of gender development, child and adolescent well-being and cross-cultural psychology. Much of her work focuses on children’s gender development in the context of Chinese culture. YU Lu’s PhD Dissertation is about “Chinese children’s gender related behavior, gender identity and psychological adjustment”. In this research, YU Lu first developed an instrument, the Child Play Behavior and Activity Questionnaire (CPBAQ), for the assessment of Chinese children’s gender related behavior during middle childhood; and then with this instrument investigated the characteristics of children’s gender atypical behavior (GAB) and its relationship with gender identity and psychological adjustment in Mainland China. As at August 2009, YU Lu has passed the oral examination for her PhD Dissertation and will obtain her PhD degree this year. After graduation, YU Lu would like to make more contributions to the studies of gender. E mail yulu@hku.hk. For the abstract of Yulu's PhD thesis please click here

Graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Master's degree in Japanese Studies. Currently a teaching assistant in NUS, her research interest include Japanese popular culture, minorities in Japan, gender and sexuality in contemporary Japanese society, and transgenderism and transsexuality. She is currently researching on female gender variants in present-day Japan. Alternative email: canis_minor@hotmail.com