Last night, I was convinced this story about government-encouraged Korean bikini babes was the most unintentionally funny story I had read in weeks.
Well, the bikini imbroglio has competition.
This is just head-shakingly weird: "Mystery 'sex change' has curious flocking to Myanmar monk-to-be"
HLAING THAR YAR, Myanmar (AFP) - 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."

More select quotations from the story:
"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!"
This story is even more remarkable, given the nation from which the story comes.
Myanmar (Burma), of course, with its economy in disarray, is one of the least free countries in the world (Freedom House .pdf), governed by a ruthless military junta.
All of which proves that "miracles" such as this can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Will Franklin performs "miracles" at his blog, WILLisms.com.



Comments (8)
Test the woman's chromosome... (Below threshold)1. Posted by -S- | July 13, 2005 12:15 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Test the woman's chromosomes and then I'll think about the woman's situation.
Or man's, whichever the DNA reveals...some people (a few, a small few) are born with an odd arrangement of chromosomes, and thus, become oddly affected in both male and female and/or either in either extreme from a change in hormones present in their body.
However, some others are born one gender and are presented as another and/or in some combination of the above by confused parents/guardians.
More complex, hermaphrodites also appear: both gender sexual organs and/or some part of both (and often in combination with that first group of some persons born with odd chromosomal mix).
But, these are the minority of humans and particularly those that survive.
In this woman's/man's case, no one goes from no pen*s to a visibly apparent pen*s instantaneously, if, except, an apparent pen*s was already present but was not being acknowledged. The "breasts" thing is nothing unusual for many men, however -- the issue is lactation and that's only possible with associated hormones.
I wish I was joking.
1. Posted by -S- | July 13, 2005 12:15 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 13, 2005 12:15
2. Posted by -S- | July 13, 2005 12:17 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I note that the definition of "pen*s" isn't being offered by this woman, either. Not that I'm interested in any sexual sense, but that one person's observation about what "a thing" is (her words) and is not is not a reliable evidence of the existence OF an "pen*s"/"(male) sex organ".
2. Posted by -S- | July 13, 2005 12:17 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 13, 2005 12:17
3. Posted by bullwinkle | July 13, 2005 12:22 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
This proves miracles can happen, and that there's hope for the world yet. Not only does it mean that possibly the French can grow spines, it means that moonbats might someday evolve into some type of lower life form capable of some rudimentary form of reason.
3. Posted by bullwinkle | July 13, 2005 12:22 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 13, 2005 12:22
4. Posted by Zsa Zsa | July 13, 2005 12:59 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Uh... oh... What does her husband look like? That poor woman's gene pool really could use a boost!
4. Posted by Zsa Zsa | July 13, 2005 12:59 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 13, 2005 12:59
5. Posted by Aaron's cc: | July 13, 2005 5:17 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Can never be too rich, too tan or too Thin...
5. Posted by Aaron's cc: | July 13, 2005 5:17 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 13, 2005 17:17
6. Posted by Lew Clark | July 13, 2005 6:35 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
No surprise to me! We've been treated to pictures of the "babes" of emerging democracies. This is just one more example. South Korea is a democracy. They got babes. Burma is one of the most un-democratic countries in the world. They got..............
6. Posted by Lew Clark | July 13, 2005 6:35 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 13, 2005 18:35
7. Posted by TZ | July 14, 2005 12:04 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I'll finish it Lew;
...chicks with dicks.
Ha
7. Posted by TZ | July 14, 2005 12:04 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 14, 2005 00:04
8. Posted by Fiona | July 19, 2005 4:34 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
There seams to be a push from people to validate Than sien into either male or female. Talk of testing for chromosomes, want of a description of per (non-gender specific pronoun relating to per for person) pen*s to deside if we should validate per transition by our standards. Why is a rigid binary of gender important to us. I don't think it is purely physical characteristics or chromosomes that create gender. Nor do I belive in only two genders. However why should Than have to prove his masculinity to strangers and the medical faculty before he is validated as a man. Also why do we talk about hemaphrodites as a dirty abnormal condition. The incidence of intersex is 1 in 1000 births. Why do we force intersex people into one of the dominate genders, Male or Female. Kleinfletors Syndome is the name given to individuals with two or more X chromosomes and one Y chromosome often seen as XXY, XXXY or sometimes XXXXY. (there are many different froms of intersex not just klienfelters.) These people are classified by the medical faculity as males. Last time i cheaked XX is considered female. So despite the fact these people are genetically both genders, they are often forced to conform to a male gender. What would be so scary about letting people express their gender as it feels right to them. A lot of people have refered to Than as woman or he/she man/woman her why coop him into your boxes. He has chosen to call himself male. Why not refer to him as such? All it takes is a little respect for our fellow human beings.
I think the people who are confused are the ones trying to find a box to shove Than in.
Good luck to him.
8. Posted by Fiona | July 19, 2005 4:34 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 19, 2005 04:34