Famous Chinese Dancer Was First Trans Woman To Be "Approved" By Country's Government
Jin Xing is one of the most famous dancers in China, but her accomplishments extend far beyond the dance floor.
The performer and talk show host was reportedly not only the first person in China to get official approval for sex reassignment surgery in 1996, but she's one of the first few trans women to be officially recognized by the Chinese government as well.
Xing recently spoke to a group of global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, sharing with the crowd that she attributes much of her success to the military discipline she learned while serving as an army colonel with China's People's Liberation Army.
The 50-year-old was also blessed with supportive parents, saying that coming out as trans to her mother went well, but it was her "very typical, traditional" father she was worried about.
"I talked to him and said, 'Your boy [is going to] become a girl,'" she shared. "My father was silent for one minute and took out a cigarette, and he looked at me and said, 'Finally matched. Congratulations.'"
Watch Xing share some of her story in the clip below.