Thailand, one of the most visited Asian countries, depends on the tourism economy because it is a successful industry. It is one of the most exotic places to visit from food to clothes. The country preserves its culture. It is known for its beautiful sacred temples, popular shopping areas, relaxing spas, fine cuisine and home to some of the best hotels in the world. It is a land of liberation and freedom. The term “Thai” means freedom. In translation, the name of the country is the land of the free. It is a rewarding country because it borders other must-visit destinations such as Laos, Singapore and Malaysia. They are prosperous when it comes to tourism, but visitors have noted that transgender people are quite common compared to other countries. Many foreigners associate Thailand with ladyboys, a term for a transgender woman. A transgender “denotes or refers to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond to his or her birth sex.” The question of why there are so many transgender people in Thailand is simple. Locals were interviewed to find out if ladyboys are common in Thailand. Collecting their responses, it is clear that Thailand gives the possibility of being free in sexuality, hence the meaning of the country's name. Thanks to freedom, if they are able to express themselves more, the more strangers will see their expression. People aren't exactly against it either, considering that Thailand has laws to support transgender people, known as the Gender Equality Act. It was passed on March 13, 2015. It bans discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation; the first law in Thailand to include LGBTQ people. Thailand has started to present itself as a place where all types of gender identities and sexual orientations are welcome. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay LGBTQ history dates back nearly 700 years and is documented. “According to a report on being LGBTQ in Asia, Thais began identifying what is now known as transgender as early as the 14th century, but Western influence and ideas, such as the criminalization of homosexuality, made their way into Thailand during the 19th century. It was only after the Second World War that the LGBTQ community began to become truly visible in Thailand” (UNDP 2014). The capital of Thailand, Bangkok, is the center of the ladyboys and gay community. However, there has not been full acceptance and prejudices still exist in Thai society. One of the factors that influence society is religion. “Over 95% of the Thai population practices Theravada Buddhism, which does not necessarily welcome this community with open arms. Many Buddhists believe that transgender people must pay for the wrongs they committed in their past lives” (Iverson 2017). As time passes, citizens of Bangkok and big cities begin to overlook and are quite tolerant towards the transgender and LGBTQ community. Realistically, it was during the Ayutthaya period that one of the scholars mentioned the lesbian relationship between the concubines. The royal concluded that they should be whipped 50 times if they acted with their same-sex lover; however, some royals did not hide their sexuality, which led to the familiarity of homosexuality. Moving forward to the present day, Thailand now has a higher acceptance rate of the LGBTQ community. In the 2015 survey, researchers “found that nearly 89% of Thais would accept LGBTQ colleagues, 80% wouldn't mind if a family member was LGBTQ, and 60% would support legalizing gay marriage” (Diego) . Thereacceptance rate has increased and has become normalized in social media. Despite Thais' fame for their freedom to express their sexuality, they are known for being one of the worst sex trafficking countries in the world. There is a high number of prostitutes especially in tourist entertainment places. The issue of sex trafficking dates back to the ancient times of the Ayutthaya era (1350-1767). Even though Thailand had abundant resources to profit from, transportation or prostitution was still more profitable and therefore legal. Mostly, Thai kings had a polygamous monarchy system, where they could have multiple wives to continue the royal bloodline. During that time, women were treated as property or as sex slaves responsible for any sexual service. As Thailand became more successful and grew, countries around the world began to recognize them for their prostitution business. Countries around the world, such as Great Britain, signed the Bowring Treaty of 1855. It created businesses with workers from southern China who eventually emigrated to Thailand. After the treaty, Thailand began to prosper, increasing the number of new clients seeking sexual services. Under the reign of King Rama IV, women were known as the “room women.” They were the women who could be sold by their masters. These women were expected to serve their master or any male guests the master had. Overall, Thailand has become a sex slave society. Most of the women sold to the industry came from the peasant class, from indebted families, had been kidnapped or punished for a crime. It led to the spread of sexual slavery during the Siam period. However, under King Rama V, slavery was abolished, but prostitution did not decrease. Women felt the need to raise their family and pay off family debt using this convenient route. It has become the most common reason why women are still in the sex industry today. Due to the lack of education and financial resources that women could receive during ancient times, women fell back on their easy path to survival. In the 19th century, the absolute monarchy ended in 1902, transforming into a constitutional monarchy. This change improved the restriction of the law; However, this has not stopped the rise of the growing sexual entertainment industry in the country. In the 60s and 70s the famous red light district was a rest stop for many American troops during the Vietnam War. Although Thailand has joined the United Nations and has been under pressure to make prostitution illegal, it has not stopped its expansion of commercial sex tourism. “We went from approximately 20,000 women working in the sex trade in the late 1950s to 171,000 engaged in that trade in 1964.” Another service provided by the company was temporary wifeing of soldiers, provision of sexual services, and domestic work in exchange for money and gifts. From the perspective of Americans and foreigners, this popular street and business have created the low social status and priceless value of Thai women. However, in 1996, "the Thai government implemented the Entertainment Places Act. The law allowed law enforcement to inspect these places and shut them down if they found that sexual services were being offered." On the contrary, the laws proved inadequate and many businesses remained incognito. For example, many companies were not registered and claimed their business as a restaurant, their workers as “waitresses” or “bartenders”. Even if laws were created,.