CULTURE AND SPORT

Transgender in the limelight

October 05, 2012 - 02:30 PM

A growing number of Vietnamese artists have been making the decision to cross the gender line.

A growing number of Vietnamese artists have been making the decision to cross the gender line, a choice that brings with it public criticism.

Lam Chi Khanh after transgender

Lam Chi Khanh was a fairly well-known singer from the southwest, when he decided that he was more comfortable being a woman. Afterwards Khanh announced to the public that the change was not a stunt to attract attention, but a reflection of her real identity. Khanh is just one of few a number of artists who have made similar choices in recent years, such as Cindy Thai Tai, Cat Tuyen and Di Yen Quynh.

Khang, who is currently engaged with her partner, said that she was even willing to leave show business in order to devote time to raising a family.

The first Vietnamese trans-gender artists dared to overcome the obstacles of public opinion to become women were the artists mentioned above, Di Yen Quynh, Cat Tuyen and Cindy Thai Tai. But they were followed by others, such as Ai Xuan, Le Duy, Franky Nguyen and Huong Giang Idol.

Some of those who chose to alter their genders decided to leave the public eye. Le Duy is currently living with her husband. They opened a wedding studio in Hanoi. Meanwhile, others, including Cat Tuyen, Di Yen Quynh and Ai Xuan moved abroad. Singer Cindy Thai Tai still lives in HCM City, pursuing her career.

Huong Giang, a candidate of Vietnam Idol 2012, is favoured to be the winner of the contest.

Many of these artists have said that their choices have helped them feel comfortable in their own bodies and lead a happier, more stable family life.

Hope for a trans-gender recogition law

“I heard about the pain and other difficulties of the process of becoming a woman from other artists who had already gone through it. I also heard that it can shorten your lifespan," said the singer Long Nhat.

Ai Xuan said that many of her friends were abandoned by their families and despised by society, some even committing suicide.

Cindy Thai Tai still remembers the bewildered looks from people after her surgery. According to Cindy, after a decade of living her new life, the hardest part was not the surgery, but the fact that her new gender has not been recognised. "Even though I am now physically a woman, I am not recognised as one legally," she said.

Cindy is now living with an eight-year-old adopted son.

Like Cindy, many other Vietnamese trans-gender artists are concerned with the fact that Vietnam does not officially recognise most transgender people.

Cindy said that she hopes that one day one day she will be acknowledged by the state as a woman, like Pham Van Hiep, whose name is now Pham Le Quynh Tram. He was the first case in the country legally recognised as being transgender.