【2013 Archives】

After a long battle013 Archives Xin Yue is finally living as her truest self.

The 72-year-old transgender woman was recently able to undergo gender confirmation surgery in China's Guangdong province. But her story makes clear the barriers and discrimination transgender people still face in society.

SEE ALSO: Sistagirls' Indigenous trans community are about to slay the Mardi Gras parade

Xin, who is from Beijing, had to complete a series of tests and answer more than 1,000 questions to ensure she was "ready" for gender confirmation surgeries.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Under Chinese law, patients also need to get approval from their direct relatives before they can undergo gender confirmation surgery. Thankfully, both Xin's wife and daughter were in full support of her need to transition.

"(Our daughter) joked that she would have two mothers," Leng Rui, Xin Yue's wife told the Southern Metropolis Daily.

Xin says she still lives together with her wife, though she explained their relationship status has changed.

"In the future, my wife and I can use the term ‘sister’ for each other," she said. "We will still live together."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Xin grew up with two brothers, and was often dressed in girl's clothing by her parents because they wanted a daughter. She was given the nickname Er gu niang, or "second girl."

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Xin eventually got married and the couple had a child three years after marriage. But it was only after her retirement in 2002 that she eventually came across a forum for LGBTQ people and realised she was transgender.

After undergoing confirmation curgery, Xin says she now feels like a woman in "her 30s."

Chinese netizens were quick to come out in support of Xin, with many hailing her decision.

"She's brave to do this on her own. I wish her happiness and health in old age," said one netizen on Weibo.

"Her lifetime is finally considered complete. What a blessing!" said another.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

However, not everyone was fully supportive, further illuminating the discrimination transgender people still face in Chinese society.

"Why did the parents have to dress up a boy as a girl, leading to the child's gender ambiguity? We should teach gender education," said one netizen.

"There are a lot of people in support here... I don't understand. How do you think the wife feels? She's going to spend the rest of her life as a joke," another added.

China appears to be taking some steps toward supporting broader LGBTQ rights, with the country allowing the screening of the film Moonlightand stopping the classification of homosexuality as a psychological disorder.

Still, same-sex marriages or civil unions are still not recognised in the country. LGBTQ topics remain taboo across more traditional parts of the country.

Additional reporting by Katie Dupere

---

Featured Video For You

---

Airbnb wants Australians to wear this ring until marriage equality is legalised.

---

• Life
• Science
• Entertainment
• Games
• Digital Culture
• Shopping
• Social Good
• Deals

• NYT Connections hints and answers for April 14: Tips to solve 'Connections' #673.
• Emma Watson hides 'The Handmaid's Tale' around Paris
• Han Solo movie loses directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
• Watching this BBC news presenter sit in silence for 4 minutes is strangely mesmerising
• Music is the secret weapon of Mario Speedrunners
• The breathtaking indie games of E3 2017
• TCA Awards Nominations 2017: Here's why nominations are a big deal
• Please people stop taking selfies near the London tower fire disaster
• Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
• TCA Awards Nominations 2017: Here's why nominations are a big deal

• Staff Picks: Pranks, Prints, and Penises
• Feeling Foreign: An Interview with Hernan Diaz
• Black Friday Fire TV deals 2023: Amazon's sale is live
• Henry Green Is As Good As His Word
• Thorn Vine on the Wall
• Picabia’s Covers for André Breton’s Literary Magazine
• Pleasure Principles: An Interview with Carmen Maria Machado
• Duchamp’s Last Riddle by Jillian Steinhauer
• Mistaken Self
• Instagram simplifies its navigation bar, replacing shopping tab with create tab

• Best JBL deal: Save $80 on JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker
• Man tweets very gross incentive to always wear sun cream
• Tim Cook's face at Donald Trump's tech roundtable is all of us
• Lorde compares Taylor Swift friendship to an 'autoimmune disease'
• Amazon Book Sale: Shop early deals now
• Land yourself a job at Jaguar if you manage to crack Gorillaz's app
• Microsoft's new dictation app will free you from your keyboard
• The iPhone 8's "final" design shown in phone case sales and renders
• You won't see Elon Musk smoking weed in public again, NASA admin says
• Major heat wave scorches Southwest U.S., forcing flight cancellations

• The Best Gaming Concept Art of 2016
• Star Wars Han Solo spinoff directors were fired. What happens now?
• Travis Kalanick resigns as CEO of Uber
• Kratos's son represents the humanity he lost in the 'God of War' games
• The cicadas aren't invading the U.S.
• Lenovo just blew our minds with this bendable laptop concept
• Man tweets very gross incentive to always wear sun cream
• Microsoft's new dictation app will free you from your keyboard
• Apple is actively looking at AI search for Safari
• Akamai's biometric study confirms it: We really, really hate crappy video streaming