Summary

Ling’er, a 28-year-old transgender woman in China, won a record 60,000 yuan ($8,200 USD) in compensation after being subjected to involuntary electroshock conversion therapy at a hospital.

Her parents admitted her in 2022, opposing her gender identity, and she endured seven sessions over 97 days, causing lasting health issues.

The court ruled her personal rights were violated, marking the first legal victory for a trans person against such practices in China.

LGBTQ+ advocates hailed the decision, highlighting persistent challenges and legal grey areas surrounding conversion practices in the country.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Ling’er’s doctor claimed in August that she might pose a risk to the safety of her parents if they killed themselves because of her gender identity, according to a report in Chinese media.

    Careful doc, you might pull a muscle reaching that hard.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      The way many Asian countries view relationships between parents, offspring, and social status is very, very different than what we’re used to in the West, and while it’s all just more social constructs and norms being maintained like we know here, the similarities end there.

      It would take a long to really explain, and several dozen people would chime in to say how their own family and upbringing was different, so it’s not really something you can “teach” but it’s worth pointing out that our normal lense in which we view family is not going to make sense looking at some families in other areas.

    • Sassington@feddit.uk
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      5 hours ago

      Not really - face and outward appearance to the group is ridiculously important in Asian cultures.

      The point that we should all be angry with is that the parents (and there social group) viewed transgender as something so inherently bad that the shame warrants suicide.

      Fuck the transphobes.

      • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        Her parents are adults. If they were feeling suicidal due to their losing face then that’s their problem to address, not their child’s.

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          The relationship between family and social status is very, very different across many Asian countries than it is in the West generally. The same kinds of sentiments don’t really apply.

          Not saying that it’s okay how the doctors and family treated this person, and it’s great that she got some justice after, quite untypical for the region, but I would discourage people from viewing these interactions through the lens of western norms. You likely have no idea.

          • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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            4 hours ago

            I recognize their culture is geared towards collectivism rather than the individualism of the west. I think that collectivist mentality is great in many instances but this is a clear situation where its drawbacks rear their head.

            • ameancow@lemmy.world
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              4 hours ago

              I think it’s more beneficial to look at their level of progress towards accepting individuality as a journey we can learn lessons from. I don’t think it’s good any more than I think many of our own cultural norms are good, and definitely worse in many ways, but I just wanted to drop a reminder that people who read this and say “Why didn’t [person] just do [thing]??” or other judgements are probably completely missing how any of these people feel.

    • Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      …then …commit …them???

      Also I was really hoping that they were at least referring to ECT under full surgical level sedation & anesthesia which, while wildly inappropriate for gender dysphoria, would at least be a modern therapeutic intervention (it’s an induced controlled seizure done under complete surgical anesthesia) but no, after reading it sounds like they were basically just wiring her nipples up to a car battery. They don’t state that explicitly but she mentions fainting… wait. She mentions cardiac arrhythmias. That would actually be consistent with the shocks having been applied to the chest area. Jfc.

        • Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          …nah. I said what I said. Commit them and use unsedated unanaesthetized shock therapy. Sounds like they were willing to sign off on it for their “loved one,” the least they can do is give it a spin for themselves.

    • Sunshine (she/her)@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      She is the one at risk of suicide not them.

      Transphobes are always making it about themselves with their histrionics.