Posted on 07/13/2005 8:30:19 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Mystery 'sex change' has curious flocking to Myanmar monk-to-be
Tue Jul 12,10:53 PM ET
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."
She's a man baby.
Reminds me of a story in National Lampoon some years ago titled "My Penis".
This person may have had a common birth defect where the male sex organs are not fully descended from inside the body befor birth. Then when puberty and hormones cause biological changes, and viola! Guess what you're a GUY!......
And in other news,the pilot of Michael Jackson's jet has suddenly filed a flight plan to fly to Myanmar.
The medical term is called EMB.
Early Morning Boner. Although it is considered an adolescent disorder, it have been known to affect those even over 40. (ahem)
"Her penis appeared at the site of her clitoris"The little man came out of the boat.
As Hillary nods in approval......
Good to know that we're not the only country on earth with freaks.
Someone should make sure that Michael Jackson gets to read this story.......
Sheesh! Talk about goin' thru the "change"...
When word spread of Than Sein's transformation, locals raced to his home to see for themselves.
Wonder if someone took pictures.
I met her in a club down in old soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola
C-o-l-a cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said lola
L-o-l-a lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Well I’m not the world’s most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Well I’m not dumb but I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Well we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said dear boy won’t you come home with me
Well I’m not the world’s most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for my lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her and she at me
Well that’s the way that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be that way for my lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It’s a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Well I left home just a week before
And I’d never ever kissed a woman before
But lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said dear boy I’m gonna make you a man
Well I’m not the world’s most masculine man
But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
People are coming to see "him"? Is he whipping it out and showing people?
"Thin Sandar, who now goes by the male name Thick Powertool."
Thanks, for the only post resembling a reasonable explanation for all this.
You learn something new every day!
Oh those wascally hormones!
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