You know a lot of things have changed in America
for the transgender community.
It's still got a long way to go, but we've come far.
How hard must that be in other countries
like -- like -- like Vietnam?
Jasmine: Going through what you've gone through,
do you think it's worth the risk?
Michael: As Jasmine Knox found out,
they end up having to go to the black market
for their hormones and even the surgery.
Ultimately they -- they end up risking their lives.
¶¶
Our goal is just to simply show the world a window
as to why people do the things they do,
where that desperation comes from.
¶¶
It's like they say,
when the system fails you...
...You create your own system.
¶¶
Jasmine: Vietnam, a country of 90 million.
Only a small slice publicly identify as transgender here,
but times are changing.
¶¶
We've got an invite to an underground talent show
where all the contestants are transgender.
Jasmine: So, we're backstage.
Everybody's just getting dressed up
and waiting to go on stage and perform.
Jasmine: In 2012,
Vietnam surprised a lot of people
when they legalized same-sex marriage.
But a mix of communist ideology and religious conservatism
has meant LGBT rights have a long way to go.
Is it a big deal to have this one night
where everybody gets dressed up and perform?
Jasmine: It's illegal to perform any sex realignment surgery
or to buy hormones that can be used to transition.
So, if a transgender person
wants to transition with the help of hormones,
they are forced to break the law.
The penalty if caught
is up to the equivalent of $1,700 fine,
which is as much as the average Vietnamese worker
makes in a year.
I'm here in Ho Chi Minh City
to learn about the challenges transgendered people face.
Jasmine: Now the show is about to start,
so we're gonna go upstairs and check it out.
¶¶
So I thought that show was amazing.
It was so awesome to get really up close and personal
with some of the contestants.
¶¶
Jasmine: But nights like this are rare
for Vietnam's transgender community.
For many, living day-to-day as they transition
can be a struggle.
So, I'm on my way to go and meet someone
who I've been told is in the process of transitioning.
¶¶
Hi, I'm Jasmine. I'm Hi.
Jasmine: This is Hi. How are you?
He is transitioning from female to male.
Jasmine: Could you tell me a little bit about your backstory
about how long you've taken hormones for
and how far along in the process you
are of transitioning?
So for you, this is worth all the risk
and it's worth enduring all the side effects
so that you can feel like
you're in the right body that you're meant to be in?
And how regularly do you take hormones,
how often do you have to take them?
So we're gonna go and pick up...
Here you are. ...the hormones.
Okay, good.
You'll drive slowly?
[ Both laugh ]
Jasmine: Testosterone injections trick your body
into taking on more male characteristics.
Because Hi has to do this underground
and without any medical supervision,
the only steroid available to him
is one most commonly used by weight lifters to bulk up.
Jasmine: They didn't ask any questions,
and they just handed them over.
These are them.
So it's essentially just testosterone.
So, does it give you instructions
of how to take it them?
Jasmine: Hi and his friend inject each other,
a common practice within the transgender community.
Whereabouts in your body do you inject it?
This. In your bum?
Yes. In -- yeah.
Jasmine: So, I'm sitting with Hi and his friend Bao
as they inject each other with hormones.
In Vietnam,
sex realignment surgery is illegal...
...And so is buying and injecting the hormones
that help the body take on physical characteristics
of the other sex.
So this all happens under the radar.
Jasmine: It makes me angry
that you guys have to do this to each other,
and you're not getting medical professional help.
Jasmine: Not all Vietnamese who are transitioning
use over-the-counter hormones.
I'm on my way to meet a hormone dealer named Sarah.
She is trans herself
and travels to Thailand
to purchase more specialized hormones.
¶¶
When it comes to sex and gender issues,
in neighboring Thailand,
the attitudes are much more open.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
The country has become a hub
for hormone cells and walk-in clinics
that offer cut-rate cosmetic and gender realignment surgery.
Sarah smuggles the hormones she buys there
back over the border
and sells them within the transgender community.
She's agreed to meet with us if we protect her identity.
Could you tell me a little bit about the process
of getting hormones into Vietnam from Thailand?
Is there any profit that you make from selling it?
These black market hormones and the underground surgeries
many trans people get here are expensive,
and many go deep into debt to pay for them.
Nee began working as a sex worker
to pay off a high-interest loan
she took from a local loan shark
to pay for her realignment surgery.
Because they are ostracized,
sex work is a common way to make a living
for many trans Vietnamese.
She has to pay back the equivalent of $90 a day
in interest alone.
And when a whole night's work only nets her $180,
it's a vicious cycle.
Going into debt is not the only risk.
Taking hormones outside of medical supervision
can have serious health consequences.
So I found a doctor willing to sit down with me
and explain some of the potential health problems
that can come up.
Most people don't know
about dosages or sterilization.
I feel it leaves so much room
for people to get infections
and to get really serious illnesses
out of misuse of hormones.
What are some side effects of the misuse of hormones?
Jasmine: For many, hormones are just
the first step towards transitioning.
For trans people who choose to have surgery,
it raises a new set of risks.
Because these surgeries are illegal here in Vietnam,
they are forced to go underground.
I'm at a hotel here in Saigon,
and I've arranged to meet with somebody
who had sex reassignment surgery performed here in Vietnam.
And I've been told that the surgery didn't go so well,
so I'm meeting up with him to find out what happened.
Can you talk to me about the process of your transition?
¶¶
Jasmine: When Anh made the decision
to have an illegal gender transition operation
here in Vietnam,
he knew he was taking a risk,
but he never imagined things could go so wrong.
And when was it during the surgery
that you realized things weren't going to plan?
Would you feel comfortable showing me your scars?
When questioning Anh about his reasons
as to why he wanted to change his gender,
it struck me as a bit concerning
that it was about religion
not allowing him to be a lesbian,
and he had to be a man
in order to be attracted to women.
Jasmine: It's actually not uncommon
in conservative religious countries
to force gay people to make this choice.
In order to openly love who they want,
they have to transition.
In Iran, for instance,
transsexuality is legal
if you have sex realignment surgery.
The Islamic Republic will even help you pay for it.
But here in Vietnam,
members of the trans community
are forced to seek out risky underground surgeries
that can scar them for life.
¶¶
I'd heard that botched breast surgeries
weren't the only procedures that were dangerous.
Jasmine: I'm on my way to go and meet with someone
who I've been told is having issues
with silicone injections in the face.
Members in the trans community have these injections
so that they can feminize their features
and look more voluptuous and plump.
How old were you when you first started getting silicone?
Would you mind showing me
the silicone that you got in your face?
Can I feel it?
It's -- its hard like -- like a rock.
Do you think going through what you've gone through
with the silicone injections,
do you think it's worth the risk?
Thank you for talking to me about this.
I feel like this already vulnerable group of people
might have been taken advantage of.
They're being sold this false hope
that silicone injections
are going to make them more beautiful,
when in fact, they're disfiguring them.
¶¶
Jasmine: I'm on my way to go and check in with Hi.
It's been a couple of days since I last saw him.
It would be good to find out how he's feeling,
whether he's had any side-effects
from the hormone injections.
It would be good to see him before -- before I leave.
Jasmine: How have you been since the last time I saw you
when you had your hormone injections?
What are you planning on doing next
after these hormone injections?
So you're planning on having surgery in the future?
And what are your life plans, Hi,
after you make this transition
to becoming the man that you want to be?
Jasmine: Hi hopes things will change here in Vietnam,
but many human rights experts say change only comes
when people are willing to live openly in the public eye.
[ Crowd cheers ]
¶ Make the ground shake ¶
¶¶
Jasmine: I'm going to meet one of Vietnam's hottest celebrities
who also happens to be transgender.
[ Singing in Vietnamese ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
¶¶
Jasmine: We're on our way to go and meet Huong Giang.
She is a contestant
from "Vietnam Idol" a few years back,
and she's also a member of the TG community.
So it's gonna be really good to talk to her about
what it's like to be popular in Vietnamese society
as a transgender person.
-Hi. -Yes, follow me.
Jasmine: Can you show me some of your outfits
that you wore on Idol?
This is bling bling.
Oh, wow. That is super bling bling.
Can I touch them? Yeah.
This is like something that Beyoncé would wear.
Yeah. This is amazing!
Look at that. Wow.
So, do they just send you these things
because you're famous now? Yeah.
That doesn't leave much to the imagination, does it?
But I like it. Yeah, it's -- it's beautiful.
Okay, now got to dress up for today.
-Oh, okay. -Mm.
Huong: Yeah, this dress is okay?
It's beautiful.
Mm. [ Laughs ]
Jasmine: How old were you Giang,
when you first realized
that you were meant to be born a woman?
Do you feel like a bit of a role model
for the TG community in Vietnam?
¶¶
Jasmine: In November 2015,
the Vietnamese Parliament passed a landmark law
enshrining rights for transgender people.
Advocacy groups say it will pave the way
for legal gender realignment surgery,
and a new era of acceptance
for transgender people in the communist nation.
But the law doesn't go into effect until late 2017.
So we checked back in with Hi six months after our first visit
to see how his transition was going.
¶¶
Jasmine: Hi is continuing
to inject himself with hormones every month,
hoping to find acceptance in a conservative country
that's slowly opening up
to people who want to live as their true selves.
¶¶