Nation, page 22
Issue No. 551, Jan 02, 2012
By Liu Tong (刘彤)
Translated by Song Chunling
Original Article: [Chinese]

In September, Chinese dancer Jin Xing （金星） posted on her Weibo account that she has been banned from judging a television program because of her transsexual identity.

Despite her professional skills, many people think transsexuals should not appear in the media, since they pose a moral threat among adolescents. In Jin’s opinion, this is pure prejudice caused by a lack of understanding and awareness. Her post drew wide support.

 
Jin used to be an excellent male dancer. At the age of 28, she realized her dream of a sex change by going under the knife. Since then, she had received many interviews and talked repeatedly about her life as a transsexual. Through this, Jin hopes the public can understand more about the lives of transsexual people.

 
Among the common objections to transsexuals are complaints about their revealing clothing.

 
According to Jin, many Chinese people only know about transsexual people through the negative publicity generated by Thailand’s tourism industry. However, she said, most transsexual people are leading an ordinary life as lawyers, engineers, and workers. They are not different from others -- neither in their appearance or clothing nor in their hearts and spirit.

Transsexual people are just those who realize their real gender. However many people choose to ignore these facts and dislike transsexual people instinctively.

Jin appears to be a very “strong” person in public -- both for her fame as a successful dancer, and for her great courage and spirit of freedom.  She has been leading the “Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theater” for 12 years.

While most think such people are unlikely to be the victim of discrimination, Jin was banned from a TV program. Some people even say Jin Xing devotes her time to her work and family in order to atone for the sex change she has committed.  Jin was very angry:  what atonement? Is it a crime to change gender?

Due to her own experiences, Jin is very sensitive about discrimination against disadvantaged groups such as children, the disabled and homosexuals. She concluded that most of the prejudices and biases are based on gender and regional differences.

When Jin heard this year that her friend Liu Hong (柳红) was running as an independent candidate, she decided to participate next time “I’ll stand for disadvantaged groups.”

Through her weibo account, Jin also criticized Li Yang, China’s most famous English teacher, for beating his American wife.  Li Yang blamed the family conflicts on cultural differences between China and the U.S.

However, as a mother of three with a foreign husband, Jin says that “(Li Yang) lacks responsibility towards his family and has greatly hurt his children.”

Jin said she put her family ahead of her career, but after her first priority, which is freedom.

Jin said her life has been in the performing arts and the highlight of her performance is being a mother and a wife.

"It's an unexpected bonus gift for my life,” says Jin, who has adopted three Chinese children and is married to a German national.

Apart from her work, she devotes all her time to her family.

Jin is very straightforward and genuine; she doesn’t like people to call her “Ms. Jin” (teacher Jin) but prefers “Sister Jin” or “Jin Xing.”

“My mother told me that I am only a dancer, without which I would be no one .”

When asked what advice she can give against discrimination, Jin emphasized the importance of education and knowledge, so that people can overcome their prejudices.