or people close to them; once it crossed this boundary, it became unacceptable.64
Furthermore, in a survey by a third party on several websites regarding the “ladyboy”
phenomenon, 58 percent of respondents felt that the phenomenon reflected a
pathologically distorted value system, while 52 percent felt it could mislead youth
values, and 44 percent expressed intense antipathy and disdain.65
Local Terminology
Terminology around being transgender is a developing sphere. The transgender
rights movement in the West is driving the development of terminology in
this sphere. In the Chinese-language world, the general population and the
transgender community all use local terms or borrow terminology from the West
to refer to a diverse group of transgender people.
跨性别Kuaxingbie (transgender): directly translates as ‘across gender’ and
is mainly used amongst civil society and rights advocates when referring to
transgender individuals. Not commonly known among the general population.
变性人Bianxingren (transsexual): Refers to a person identifying as male
or female who has undergone surgery to change his or her gender. The term is
relatively neutral and carries no derogatory meaning.
人妖Renyao (crossdresser): In modern times, the term 人妖(renyao) has
diverse connotations. Often referring to transgender “drag queens” in Thailand,
it is now increasingly used to refer to women who dress as men but whose
gender identity is female. Under some circumstances renyao is used specifically
to refer to a person who is biologically male but who, through the use of
hormones or surgery, has acquired feminine breasts and outward characteristics
while retaining male genitals.
妖(yao) in Chinese carries the meaning of “demon” or “goblin” (in myths and
legends, referring to a horrible spirit with magic powers harmful to humans), as
well as the meaning of enchanting.66 The term reveals deep-seated prejudice
against this group.67
伪娘Weiniang (ladyboy): Originating from Japanese ACG (anime, comics
and games), it refers to a male character who masquerades as a female.68 In
2010, a Chinese televised singing contest called Super Boy included a
64 Gao Qing. “Small group under group observation: The individual expression and social cohesion of ‘ladyboys’”. [被集体围观的小众：“伪娘”的个
性表达与社会纠结]. Chinese Youth Research (September 2012): 79-84.
65 Huang Rong. “Folk memory of the ‘ladyboy’ in the media sphere -- gender performativity and mind-body conflict”.
66 Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Linguistics Lexicon Editorial Department, Dictionary of Modern Chinese. [现代汉语词典]Beijing,
Commercial Press, 1966, p. 1460.
67 Zhan Shasha. “The term ‘renyao’ and ‘renyao students’ in the Chinese-language classroom.”[ “人妖”一词以及汉语课堂上的“人妖学生们”]
Philology, (April 2012): 31-32.
68 Wang Weisi. “Internet buzzwords -- weiniang.”[ 网络雷词伪娘考]Journal of the Jilin University of Broadcasting and Television, No. 9 [105] (2010):
45-46.
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