[Special feature] Transgender students suffer discrimination in silence
Posted on : Jan.27,2013 08:55 KST
Lack of education and consultation means that the internet is the only place where sexual minorities can interact comfortably
By Park Soo-jin, Hankyoreh 21 reporter
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/571418.html (http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/571418.html)
Joon-hee, a student at an alternative school, is biologically female. She started menstruating when she was in junior high and her body has all the physical features of a woman. Nonetheless, she has never considered herself a woman. Even as an elementary school student, when she was unaware of her sexuality, Joon-hee was interested in a girl from her church. She hated that she was developing breasts, so she started wearing baggy clothes in 8th grade to hide her feminine body. She always cut her hair short. Most of her clothes and bags are either black or gray. Joon-hee is planning to get shots of testosterone in the near future so that she can grow more masculine. Joon-hee was born as a female but her sexual identity is closer to a male, making her a transgender.
In February 2012, Joon-hee registered at a girl's high school. She became more concerned about her sexual identity after entering high school. She felt uneasy looking at herself in the mirror every morning in her school uniform's gray skirt. In September, as her second semester started, she moved to the alternative school where she now studies. She expected the alternative school to be looser on sexual identity issues, as it did not require students to wear uniforms.
However, due to her masculine hairstyle and dress style, she was constantly asked, "Are you a boy or a girl?" by her teachers. This would not have happened in her previous school, where everyone is considered female. Joon-hee would answer in a crawling voice answer that she is a girl, because she hasn't come out yet. She feels uncomfortable saying that she is a girl when she actually thinks of herself as a boy. But there are only two genders in Korean schools-male and female. This strict binary structure leaves no space for sexual minorities like transgenders.
Although sad, I like reading these types of articles. This one struck a bit of a chord for me because his family was just as unaccepting as my family is, yet he had the courage to keep trying to be himself. I never had that courage. I kept trying and eventually giving in to their demands. I'm still struggling to find that courage.