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Thailand has its first-ever Tom Thailand. Khru Me – full name Methisa Suphaphoem – won The Tom Thailand 2026 on October 3 at Calypso Cabaret, Asiatique The Riverfront in Bangkok. Organisers billed the debut as the country’s first national pageant for toms and trans men, with talent performances and on-stage questions deciding who took the crown.
All 54 finalists performed a talent showcase before the field was cut to 10 for the question round. Khru Me came out on top, with Michelle, Georgia, Mee In and Aom named first to fourth runners-up respectively.
‘Tom’ is widely used in Thailand for masculine-presenting lesbians and women with a masculine gender expression. The competition was open to entrants aged 18-40 who identified as a tom or a trans man.
The road to the final began with auditions on July 25–26, which drew more than 200 hopefuls from across Thailand. Of those, 55 made the cut, with 54 competing in the final. Organisers say contestants received free workshops along the way, with guidance from pageant masters including make-up artist Winit Bunchaisri and singer Keng Thachai Prathumwan. Thinking, conduct and way of life were part of the judging criteria alongside appearance.
Behind the stage are Bunnada “Lek’ Thippibal, who holds the rights to the pageant, and pageant directors Wilailak ‘Nan’ Sirisakhon and Mae Not Maxim. Lek has said the idea began with a question: why wasn’t there a stage for toms? Nan, who has worked in nightlife for more than 20 years, estimated in an August interview that around 80% of contestants kept their identities and talents off social media out of fear. Giving them a stage was the point.
The timing makes sense. Thailand has a long pageant tradition – Miss Tiffany’s Universe for trans women dates back to 1998 – and became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriage on January 23 2025. Toms, though, have rarely had a national pageant stage to call their own. This debut gives them one.
There was cash on the line, too. At the June launch, organisers announced B100,000 for the winner, a trophy and vouchers worth more than B1 million. Mae Nut Maxim also outlined plans to develop contestants as tom singing artists, produce a series and short films about tom life and organise community events, including parties featuring tom singers and DJs. These were announced ambitions, with further details still to come.
Follow The Tom Thailand's Facebook page for updates on future projects and events.