#and the way she expected namsom to just take it and pretend that nothing happened | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pharawee · 2 months

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I'm so happy we finally got more of a backstory and a happy ending for Namsom and Kor in City of Stars, even if some of the flashbacks were super painful to watch.

There's this part when that horrible, hateful aunt is being intentionally cruel and transphobic, and I think the translator did a really good job of substituting cultural differences and a lack of gendered pronouns by having the aunt intentionally misgender Namsom:

Still, I don't think the subs quite manage to bring across how incredibly rude and hurtful and transphobic (and homophobic too btw) she really is.

Because in Thailand/Theravada Buddhism sons often ordain for a few weeks or months to honour their parents/family. This isn't expected of daughters. See where this is going?*

(*That being said, some conservative temples/monasteries might not want trans or queer people in general to ordain either because they view queerness as a distraction and/or a bad karma.)

Then there's this bit where the English subs again intentionally use the wrong pronouns but in the Thai original the horrible aunt calls Namsom a slur (tut/ตุ๊ด - which afaik is used for [effeminate] men only) along with kathoey (กะเทย - which is NOT a slur, even if that horrible woman meant it that way) - making it very clear what exactly she thinks of her.

And later, when Namsom tells Kor that she is kathoey (and negl that scene almost broke my heart for so many different reasons 😭), she shows him her ID card.*

Currently there is no way for trans folk in Thailand to change their legal sex, meaning that whenever they have to show any kind of ID (which afaik happens quite often in professional environments) they automatically out themselves. The marriage equality bill that's currently underway will hopefully change that soon. 🙏

(*This was also a plot point in My Ride when one of the moto-taxi drivers discovered that his crush was trans when he found her purse - and he didn't care either. 🥰)

#city of stars #city of stars the series #jane watches stuff #queer stuff #i was about ready to throw hands when that disgusting aunt opened her filthy mouth #and the way she expected namsom to just take it and pretend that nothing happened #shows how normalised she thinks her behaviour is #kudos to star hunter for adding namsom (and sand) and giving her the best of endings 💜💜#also pls let me know if you want any added cw tags #as an nb person i find this upsetting but also important so i understand 💜💜#to those of you who don't watch city of stars:#namsom is a character who is cherished and loved and gets a well-deserved romantic happy ending

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