Review of Beautiful Boxer (2003) by Sokari E — 05 Jul 2007

A truly beautiful film based on a true story of champion Thai Kick boxer, Parinya Charoenphol.

The film chronicles his life as a young boy through his transgender process to becoming a woman, all the while studying and becoming a champion in the art in order to save up for his operation. In the IMDB the reviewer refers to the ?collision of testosterone and oestrogen?. The overlaying of genders and inner struggle with something that initially as a child and teenager he does not understand but eventually reaches the point of realisation and chooses to be what his inner self tells me which is to be woman. The change is slow and one day he decides to wear make up in the ring and as time passes wears more and more till his body and mind is both female and male then transitions to fully fledged female as she bids goodbye to her male self and becomes the beautiful woman she had always dreamt of. Wonderful, gentle, caressing!