Latin American Herald Tribune, December 21, 2016
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – With his successes in the national female bodybuilding championships and his growing popularity in the media, Vietnamese transgender bodybuilder Kendy Nguyen gives voice to a highly discriminated group in this conservative Southeast Asian country.
His name in the identity card is Nguyen Thi Trang, who was born in 1989 (now 27 years old) and is a woman, but since childhood he has behaved like a boy and it is impossible to recognize feminine traits in his muscular body.
“I am the first transgender to speak openly about it in the press and I believe that I can help inspiring others to behave naturally. There have been other cases after me and some have contacted me for advice,” he told EFE.
Despite the legislative advances in recent years, with the legalization for the gender reassignment from January 2017, Vietnamese society remains very conservative and transsexuals still face more discrimination than any other groups.
A 2015 report from the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE) showed that “transsexuals go through worse experiences than homosexuals or bisexuals.”
The report even indicated that more than 200,000 transsexuals in the country avoid going to the doctor when they are sick for fear of insults or discrimination when they are examined and for the same reason, they are reluctant to seek psychological support.
In addition, some are forced to undergo psychiatric treatment and many have trouble landing good jobs.
Kendy’s case has been less traumatic because since he was very young, he made his preferences very clear and none of his relatives were very surprised when he, in adolescence, confessed that he wanted to live as a man.
He told EFE that in his family, he found unconditional support from his younger brother and the quick acceptance from his father, but it was his mother who had the most trouble taking it all in.
“My mother has already accepted me but she, from time to time, makes jokes saying that I should look for a husband and have children,” Nguyen said.
Since 2012 his masculine appearance has been reinforced by his dedication to bodybuilding and by the hormonal treatments he began undergoing a year ago.
However, in the bodybuilding championships, he is forced to wear a bikini to cover his chest, as he participates in the female category.
“It’s not a problem for me to compete in the women’s category or follow the rules with the clothes, I just focus on doing my best,” he added.
The first openly Vietnamese transgender bodybuilder trains and works in a Ho Chi Minh City gym since professional bodybuilding does not bring him enough income.
Kendy explained that everyone in the gym knows about him and everyone is his friend but when he goes down the street, “nobody can talk bad about me because I pretend to be a normal man.”
He has a girlfriend and ensures that his transsexual status does not prevent him from maintaining a satisfactory relationship.
“I’ve had several girlfriends and I’ve told them (the truth) after the second or third date. It does not bother them. I think I’m attractive to women,” he says.
Despite leading a normal life, he still has female sex organs and is not at this time interested in undergoing gender reassignment surgery, which will be legal in Vietnam from January.
“I know that it’s easy to do in Thailand and it’s going to be possible here, but it’s a bit scary to be in the operating room and go through the whole surgery process, and even though my family accepts me as I am, I think it would be hard for them to understand if I really will undergo the surgery. Sometimes, I think it would be good for me, but for now I will not do it,” he concludes.
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December 22, 2016
The Bodybuilder Who Gives Voice to Vietnam’s Transgender Community
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
Latin American Herald Tribune, December 21, 2016
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – With his successes in the national female bodybuilding championships and his growing popularity in the media, Vietnamese transgender bodybuilder Kendy Nguyen gives voice to a highly discriminated group in this conservative Southeast Asian country.
His name in the identity card is Nguyen Thi Trang, who was born in 1989 (now 27 years old) and is a woman, but since childhood he has behaved like a boy and it is impossible to recognize feminine traits in his muscular body.
“I am the first transgender to speak openly about it in the press and I believe that I can help inspiring others to behave naturally. There have been other cases after me and some have contacted me for advice,” he told EFE.
Despite the legislative advances in recent years, with the legalization for the gender reassignment from January 2017, Vietnamese society remains very conservative and transsexuals still face more discrimination than any other groups.
A 2015 report from the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE) showed that “transsexuals go through worse experiences than homosexuals or bisexuals.”
The report even indicated that more than 200,000 transsexuals in the country avoid going to the doctor when they are sick for fear of insults or discrimination when they are examined and for the same reason, they are reluctant to seek psychological support.
In addition, some are forced to undergo psychiatric treatment and many have trouble landing good jobs.
Kendy’s case has been less traumatic because since he was very young, he made his preferences very clear and none of his relatives were very surprised when he, in adolescence, confessed that he wanted to live as a man.
He told EFE that in his family, he found unconditional support from his younger brother and the quick acceptance from his father, but it was his mother who had the most trouble taking it all in.
“My mother has already accepted me but she, from time to time, makes jokes saying that I should look for a husband and have children,” Nguyen said.
Since 2012 his masculine appearance has been reinforced by his dedication to bodybuilding and by the hormonal treatments he began undergoing a year ago.
However, in the bodybuilding championships, he is forced to wear a bikini to cover his chest, as he participates in the female category.
“It’s not a problem for me to compete in the women’s category or follow the rules with the clothes, I just focus on doing my best,” he added.
The first openly Vietnamese transgender bodybuilder trains and works in a Ho Chi Minh City gym since professional bodybuilding does not bring him enough income.
Kendy explained that everyone in the gym knows about him and everyone is his friend but when he goes down the street, “nobody can talk bad about me because I pretend to be a normal man.”
He has a girlfriend and ensures that his transsexual status does not prevent him from maintaining a satisfactory relationship.
“I’ve had several girlfriends and I’ve told them (the truth) after the second or third date. It does not bother them. I think I’m attractive to women,” he says.
Despite leading a normal life, he still has female sex organs and is not at this time interested in undergoing gender reassignment surgery, which will be legal in Vietnam from January.
“I know that it’s easy to do in Thailand and it’s going to be possible here, but it’s a bit scary to be in the operating room and go through the whole surgery process, and even though my family accepts me as I am, I think it would be hard for them to understand if I really will undergo the surgery. Sometimes, I think it would be good for me, but for now I will not do it,” he concludes.