Ladyboy/Kathoey/Third Gender

I happend to have an interesting conversation with a good friend of mine the other day talking about his trip to Thailand. Along delicious spicy food, tremendous views and exciting x-sports, he was beyond excited to share his experience with ladyboy/Kathoey/third gender with me. In Chinese culture, we are calling them something seems offensive and I assume it has to do with our conservative culture and viewpoint of life. In western culture, correct me if I am wrong, they are called transgender people. And this is my first time to realize that they can be called ladyboy and Kathoey, and we are having third gender. Below is what I found on Wikipedia about what  Kathoey is. 

''Kathoey or katoey is a Thai term that refers to a transgender person or an effeminate gay male in Thailand. Also commonly referred to as a third gender. However, while a significant number of Thais perceive kathoeys as belonging to a third gender, including many kathoeys themselves, others see them as either a kind of man or a kind of woman.'' 

Back to my conversation with my friend, he told me that a lot of these ladyboys were standing along the street in order to show off their body, but also let people who are interested to feel what they got on their body. But what really surprised me was that a lot of men who are interested in ladyboy or this kind of woman, indeed they do know that they are ladyboy. Here I am not going to go too far but what is recalled on my mind is something that I saw in Hangover 2. In addition to that, Kathoey is getting popular in Thailand and I found another article from CNN GO that in Thailand they do have transgender pageant and they crown a beauty queen. 

http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/life/miss-tiffany-universe-thailands-newest-transgender-queen-says-i-am-so-beautiful-887766

One of the ladygirls, 19-year-old third year communication student "Sammy" who won the prize said "People choose their way of life. It's not for others to force their views or values on them and everyone should learn to accept people for who they really are, not what they perceive them to be. Look at their heart. I am a ladyboy, a transgender, a transexual and I am so beautiful." What she said remind me of Carl Elliot's article that we read at the very beginning of this semester, that some people believe that they become what they really are after they have their legs cut off. Here, correct me if I am wrong or if I am missing anything, I think that not just that there is something has to do psychologically, or the gene thing, I think it also has to do with the culture that these people are raised in. For instance, if culture of ladyboy is not as popular as it has been in Thailand, I assume that Sammy probably wouldn't have made the decision she made, though I am not say that she made a wrong decision. All I am saying that one's decision-making has a lot to do with society, environment and culture, which is also what Steven Pinker mentions in his article.