Transgender dancer Jin Xing’s ascent to the upper echelons of Chinese show business is extraordinary in a nation where it has become increasingly difficult for LGBTQ+ people to live openly.
The 57-year-old has been a transgender icon in China for years, admired by some of the country’s most marginalized as a rare example of both success and acceptance, even within officialdom.
But a recent series of sudden and unexplained cancelations by local authorities of appearances by her dance troupe has sparked fears Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s authoritarian drive is ensnaring the country’s most prominent openly transgender personality.
Transgender people in China often face social stigma and institutional discrimination, facing issues in looking for work or simply walking down the street without being stared at.
Jin, however, has managed to carve out a decades-long career that defies the norm. She sells out concerts, hosts TV talk shows and boasts 13.6 million followers on her Weibo social media account. More remarkably, she has managed over the years to secure the endorsement of Communist Party officials.
Chinese state media have called her one of “10 legendary figures of Chinese modern dance” and frequently publish glowing profiles.
For other transgender people, she embodies the hope that one day China may become progressive enough to accept them, just as it embraces her.
“I feel like it’s quite difficult to be her, being a transgender person but remaining so active in hosting TV programs and creating her work,” trans man Cyan, 23, who left China for Canada two years ago in search for a better life, told CNN.
“I find her very admirable,” he said, speaking under an alias for fear of retribution from the Chinese authorities.
But signs suggest official acceptance of Jin could now be waning.
Chinese authorities have ramped up ideological control over what they consider the undue influence of Western values, including a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community.
Late last year, authorities in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou canceled her Jin Xing Dance Theater’s show, citing insufficient documents. Subsequently, venues in other parts of the country also dropped her shows, without explanation.
Some from the transgender community are now worried that Chinese authorities are trying to send a message.
Sam Winter, an associate professor who specializes in Asian transgender issues at Curtin University in Australia, said Jin managed to rally support from the authorities because of her years of achievement – which was hard for officials to dismiss, and began at a time when China seemed to be liberalizing.
“But things seem to have changed. Maybe the earlier shift towards a more liberal atmosphere was the problem,” he said.
By , CNN
