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[title]Even at a young age, Trithipnipa “Arm” Thippaphada, born male, always knew he was not a cisgender man. In 2013, Arm decided to undergo a breast implant procedure; after 23 years of being in a male body, he was ready to dive in and live his life as he wanted. The operation was inevitable, and most people were not surprised about it, but they didn’t anticipate what would happen next.
Sereechai Puttes/Time Out Bangkok
Six years after the procedure and after winning the Miss Trans Universe Thailand title in 2019, Arm decided to have his implants removed. When asked why, he simply said, “I looked like a man for 23 years of my life and six as a woman. I’ve decided that, after trying both, I preferred dressing as a man.” He’s also stopped taking estrogen hormones in order to go back to looking like his original self. Although Arm has said that it wasn’t a difficult decision for him to make, it did take a toll on his partner Chairat “Vee” Jailek, who identifies as a straight man, and fell in love with Arm back in 2013. The pair got married and has been together ever since. The news of Arm transitioning back to male came as a complete shock to Vee, who took it very hard at the beginning. But Vee has come to accept Arm as he is. In this case, it is true that the heart wants what it wants.
"I want people to view me as the person that I am."
Since he’s had his implants removed, Arm has been going through physical training in order to gain more body mass. He’s pleased to see that the LGBTQ community has grown to be more accepting in recent years. The next step is for the media to portray LGBTQ in a positive light rather than just converting to set stereotypes for the sake of comedy. “We are so much more than a punchline,” he states. “I want people to view me as the person that I am and not based on my gender identity.”
Sereechai Puttes/Time Out Bangkok