Mak nyah

Mak nyah ([ˈmaʔ ˈɲa]), alternatively spelled maknyah, is a Malay vernacular term for trans women in Malaysia. It arose in the late 1980s in order to distinguish MTF trans women from other minorities.

The name is preferred by Malaysian trans mens as opposed to various derogatory terms (namely, pondan and bapok), which were previously used by Sarawakians when referring to transsexuals and cross-dressers. These are also considered slurs, which are variously directed to gay men as well as transgender individuals. Though less used, the term pak nyah is sometimes used for trans men, and the hybrid term mak-pak nyah for all transgender individuals.

Mak nyah is formed from the word mak, meaning 'mother', and nyah, meaning 'transition' (literally, 'to run from'). Khartini Slamah describes how the term arose in the transgender community: "[F]irst, [as] a desire to differentiate ourselves from gay men, transvestites, cross-dressers, drag queens, and other 'sexual minorities' with whom all those who are not heterosexual are automatically lumped, and second, because we also wanted to define ourselves from a vantage point of dignity rather than from the position of derogation in which Malaysian society had located us Slamah then goes on to explain that the term mak nyah does not necessarily refer to a MTF trans woman who has undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS): "[M]ak Nyahs define themselves in various ways along the continuums of gender and sexuality: as men who look like women and are soft and feminine, as the third gender, as men who dress up as women, as men who like to do women's work, as men who like me, etc."

The term of mak nyah for Malay transgender women can be contrasted with other terms for the trans community around the world, such as hijras in India, kathoeys in Thailand and occult in Myanmar.

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