Who are Venus Flytrap?

Venus Flytrap are Thailand’s first all-katoey pop group, and they are here to slap convention in the face and make every red-blooded male question his virtues. Hot-, Posh-, Cool-, Sweet-, and Naughty Venus: they could be the Spice Boys, but where else except the Land of Smiles do the boys look better than the girls? Oozing sex appeal and defining grace, these sirens of Siam have been unleashed onto an unsuspecting public.

“I came to Bangkok one year ago for surgery,” says frighteningly confident Naughty Venus Gina. “I heard about a project for a ladyboy group and I wanted to be a singer. I came to casting and I won a place in the band, and now here we are.”

With the backing of Sony BMG, the vixens are out to spread their message with angelic voices and outfits that make Paris Hilton look shy in comparison: “We want to show that we are not different,” says Posh Venus Sasha. “We are not abnormal.”

The music of Venus Flytrap

“It’s a mix of digital sounds, with European pop, techno-house, and electronic music,” says Sweet Venus Amy about the group’s debut album Nu-Able, which was released in December of last year. “It has many different sounds, with Thai lyrics, and one song in English.”

The girls (they refer to themselves as ‘girls’) had to dedicate themselves to the task at hand in the weeks leading up to Nu-Able’s release, as Posh Venus Sasha explains: “Before the launch last year, we had to show ourselves to the public, go on radio shows, perform in clubs, and train hard for singing and dancing.”

The first song to be released from Nu-Able was ‘‘Cause I’m Your Lady’. Sasha describes what it means: “It’s about a couple. When people are together, at first, they care very much for each other. After some time goes by, the guy might start to lose interest. This song is about the girl, asking the guy to hold her hand again, to take care of her. Our songs are about everyone, not just ladyboys. It’s inclusive. It means boys, girls, whatever, can listen and enjoy our songs.”

Venus Flytrap on ladyboys in Thailand

“We don’t care about who has, or has not, had surgery,” says Posh Venus Sasha. “If a person has surgery in a safe way, then it is good for them. We are men. We came from men, and we have to have surgery to become a woman.”

“People who don’t have money don’t need to rush to get surgery,” says Naughty Venus Gina. “They should wait until they have enough.”

“It is possible to be a ladyboy and not care about surgery,” says Sasha. “You can be a human too. People should not be serious about wanting to change. One misconception is that ladyboys become prostitutes to find money for surgery, but actually they must do it to support their families. Society is not open to ladyboys. They don’t want us to work in normal jobs. They push us too much, and that’s why we have to find money. We have to take responsibility for our family.”

What do Venus Flytrap want to achieve?

“Tata Young is our idol,” says Cool Venus Taya. “Everything she does when she performs is great. We love her singing and her dancing. She is the only Thai pop star to go inter, and that is what we want to do as well.”

“We want to show people that we are real performers,” says Posh Venus Sasha. “People will think we lip-sync, but this is not true.”

Naughty Venus Gina adds: “Everybody has their own personal judgment. For now, people are starting to accept us. We trust that our family will support us, and we want to be good people to aid the social situation.”

“Society is becoming more and more open,” says Sasha about the stigma that comes with being part a ladyboy pop group. “We prepared for a lot of negativity, but there has not been much, which surprised us. When people think about katoey they think of a cabaret. We want to make a new experience for ladyboys. We want to say to all ladyboys that you can do whatever you want to do.”

Techno’ tags: Ladyboy, Katoey, Venus Flytrap, Bangkok, Thailand