complicated love story

By: Chetan R Date: 2009-07-10 Place:Bangalore

Swathi and Sneha were men who became women in the hope of finding male lovers. They've now found each other and want to marry Two Bangalore men, convinced they were women, spent a fortune on sex change surgery. But neither found a husband. They now want to marry, and be Bangalore's first same-sex couple to be legally united. The recent court verdict legalised homosexuality, but it still doesn't allow same-sex marriage. Swathi (23) and Snehaprabha (25) didn't know each other when they were men. "I had always wanted to fall in love with a man," said Swathi, a man till three years ago. "But would that happen in our society?" After becoming a transsexual (one who has undergone a sex change), she fell in love with Sneha. Sneha, a man five years ago, had been similarly searching for a partner. "As we both sailed in the same boat, we started falling in love," said Swathi. That now makes them a lesbian (transsexual) couple. College change Swathi, who once dreamt of becoming a doctor, was a male till class 12. At 18, he decided to become a woman and spent over Rs 2 lakh on sex reassignment surgery. Similarly, Sneha underwent the operation five years ago. 'We live a painful life' You may now kiss the bride: Swathi and Sneha "We had to face a lot of humiliation when we changed our sex – even our families rejected us," recalled Swathi. "But we kept it secret till recently." Love happened three years ago while they worked as community mobilisers with an NGO called Samara. Hard life Each of them earns Rs 4,000 a month from Samara. They also earn a bit from prostitution. Besides economic stability, they are also struggling on the personal front since they can't marry legally. "We live a painful life," said Swathi. "We don't earn enough as we aren't treated like other women." Swathi and Sneha don't get good job offers. "That's why we have no choice but to be in the sex trade. If we were treated like normal women, we wouldn't be in that profession," Swathi explained. Activists fighting for the sexual minorities are coming forward to help the couple. "They deserve equal rights," said Akkaipad-mashali, an activist. "Though the Delhi High Court decision is welcome, we have a long way to go." He said he would take up their case as "there are hundreds of Swathis and Snehas fighting for their rights to marry and adopt children." The agony of bending gender Transsexuals go through tremendous psychological pressure both before and after their sex change, say doctors. "They are under pressure as they feel trapped in a body they don't want," said Dr Padmini Prasad, a leading Bangalore sexologist. "Hence, there are procedures to be followed before they undergo surgery. Psychiatric assessment is one of them." They are also tested for the new gender role. "In a few cases like this, they are in conflict both before and after the change," said Padmini.

Transsexual — Qualified for Beauty Contest or Not?

Transsexual — Qualified for Beauty Contest or Not? By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Is sex by birth a qualification for a beauty pageant?

It appears not, as a male-turned-female transsexual has passed the preliminary stage of the 2009 Super Model Contest.

Choi Han-bit, 23, was among 50 participants selected from a list of 1,200 candidates at the preliminary stage of the contest on July 2. She still has to pass another preliminary on July 28 to be included in the final selection, but if she does, Choi will be Korea's first transsexual super model.

A dance major at the Korea National University of Arts, Choi underwent a sex change operation in 2006, and was legally recognized as a woman by a court. She also changed her name from Han-jin to Han-bit.

After grabbing the public's attention, she said on her blog, "This is only the beginning. I have not lived in a vain hope. I just believed that I can be happy and I can do it."

But cyber world is divided on Choi's selection in the preliminary.

Some Internet users, including several unsuccessful contestants at the preliminary, say that a person who has artificially changed sex should not be allowed in the beauty contest.

They claimed it is not right for a transsexual, who has obtained a female body artificially, to take part in the contest that evaluates appearance.

But many others supported Choi, saying she is just the same as other "real female" contestants who underwent plastic surgery. They left messages on her blog, saying, "You made a courageous choice," and "I saw a picture of you before having the sex change operation, and you were beautiful then as well."

SBS MediaNet, the host of the pageant, said the sex change does not conflict with the contest's rules because her legal sex is female.

It also said that Choi disclosed to other contestants that she is a transsexual.

In 2005, before undergoing the sex change operation, she appeared in a television show as a man who was disguised as a woman.