II. Findings
During the course of 2014 Asia Catalyst, Beijing Zuoyou Information Center and
Shanghai CSW&MSM Center designed, researched and documented the working
conditions, access to services and experiences of discrimination and police abuse by
female presenting sex workers in Beijing and Shanghai. Beijing Zuoyou Information
Center and Shanghai CSW&MSM Center undertook the bulk of the field interviews
with both organizations interviewing 70 sex workers, 35 in Beijing and 35 in Shanghai
over a period of several months.
The interviewees were relatively young, with 39 (56%) in the 25-30 age group. Most
of the interviewees were originally from outside of their current cities of residence,
with only two being native to either Beijing or Shanghai. Ten of the interviewees were
married, and three were divorced. More than half (57%) were high school graduates.
All of them had been born male. Detailed demographic information about all the
interviewees can be found in Appendix 1.
Gender Identity
66% (46 individuals) of the people interviewed had gender identities that differed from
the sex they were assigned at birth, with 43% (30 individuals) identifying as female,
and 23% (16 individuals) as a third gender. In the course of the interviews, some
interviewees strongly affirmed that they were women and felt that being a woman “was
closer to their inner world.”69 Their daily activities and feelings conformed to their gender
identity in spite of social pressure and bias.
Xue’er comes from a village in Anhui: “From the time I was very small, I considered
myself a girl. Because my home was in a village and very feudal, this was not approved
of. Back home I always wore boys clothing, and I only began dressing as a woman after
I left.”70
Because she was unable to obtain any information regarding being transgender,
Tingting, a 24-year-old transgender sex worker, for a long time thought she was
homosexual:
69 Interview with Jiaojiao, Shanghai, June 23, 2014.
70 Interview with Xue’er, Shanghai, July 19, 2014.
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