Xie Jianshun
Xie Jianshun was a Taiwanese intersex man who gained considerable fame in 1953 when his condition was discovered by doctors of the Republic of China Armed Forces. He was considered by many to be the first Chinese "transsexual" when he underwent sex reassignment surgery and was frequently dubbed as the "Chinese Christine" due to both of them having been soldiers.[1] This caused major cultural impact on the Taiwanese people as many felt it put the nation on the same level of development as the United States. Despite this Xie did not want to transition to a woman but was encouraged to do so by medical professionals.[2]
Biography
Early life
Xie was born in Chaozhou, Canton on January 24, 1918.[3]
=Military service and diagnosis
Xie had a penis but a very slim vaginal opening as well as internal gonads which contained both testicular and ovarian tisue, doctors detirmed that they could still produce eggs and that Xie's testicular tissue was deteriorating.[2]
Surgeries and media attention
Cultural influence
Xie's emergance as the Taiwansese people's equivalent of Christine Jorgensen had great cultural impact on Taiwan, as many citizens felt that it helped put the nation on the same level as the United States.[4]
See also
- Intersex people and military service
- Sexual orientation and gender identity in military service
- List of intersex people
References
- ^ "Paper: The Chinese Christine: Xie Jianshun, Sex Change, and the Politics of Chineseness in Cold War Taiwan (133rd Annual Meeting (January 3-6, 2019))". aha.confex.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ a b Howard Chiang; Sexuality in China: Histories of Power and Pleasure; 138
- ^ https://taiwaninsight.org/2018/02/07/taiwans-place-in-global-trans-history/
- ^ "China Trans Formed: Transsexuality, Medicine and the Popular Press in Postwar Taiwan". citation.allacademic.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.