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A transsexual woman who identifies only with Gao won a court case earlier this year against her employer over a medical license she took after a sex change operation
The historic decision has fueled hopes that the old taboos about gender identity in China are slowly being removed.
Gao worked as a product director on the Dangdang e-commerce platform. At first, as a man, she underwent sex change surgery in July 2018 to become a woman and was later fired for taking two months off work to recover.
A court ruled that the dismissal was unjustified. Dangdang appealed the decision.
While the matter was pending, the employer sent Gao a letter – addressed to Mr. Gao. It basically said that if she went back to work, she would have to hire a bodyguard and probably not be able to use the bathrooms, whether male or female.
Read more in English at Shanghai Daily.
