Transgender fighter first to compete
A 21-year-old transgender Muay Thai fighter was the first to enter the ring in a professional fight in France this week.
Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk, a Thai, was born a boy and named Somros Polchareon, but now identifies as a woman, having changed gender as a teenager.
On Sunday Charoensuk was the first transgender boxer to compete on French soil against french Muay Thai champion Akram Hamidi in Paris,
Despite losing the bout she made her name as a fierce opponent, having competed in over 300 fights against men and turned professional two years ago. She won over 150 of her fights, including 30 total knockouts.
She is known for her devastating high-kicks and knee jabs and described by journalists as unique in the ring against men because of her appearance of long black hair, bright pink sports bra and lipstick, which she wears in training and during her contests.
Charoensuk told Agence France-presse (AFP) she was ‘‘very happy to be the first trans woman to compete in France’’, having been afraid, when she was younger, of people not accepting her as a woman.
She said she has always felt like a girl, but only began dressing as one when she was 14-years-old.
Charoensuk saw the fight as a chance to advance her career – and bring more attention to trans fighters. She says she plans to take her transition to the next step after her boxing days are over.
‘‘Today, I do not take hormones because it affects my condition and my boxing. When you are on hormones, you have much less energy.
‘‘But as soon as I stop boxing, I do all the operations to finish my transformation.’’
Rose had been training hard in central Thailand’s Chachoengsao province with her brother as sparring partner, preparing for the foreign debut that made her the first transgender fighter to enter the ring in France.
However she is not the first transgender fighter in Thailand.
The siblings learned how to jab, cross and kick from their uncle, a professional Muay Thai fighter, who started teaching them the basics when they were eight.
According to the Thai government, Nong Rose is a man named Somros Polchareon.
‘‘When I started fighting (as a girl), I was afraid that people would not accept me,’’ she said, wiping away sweat after a feisty round of training.
The boxer says her male opponents were initially rattled – or even angered – by her appearance.
‘‘In my village everyone knew me so it was easy. But outside the city, some boxers looked at me wrong and said that trans people could not win.’’
Many trans Thais have said they are treated as second-class citizens in a country where changing genders was considered a mental illness by the military as recently as 2012.
The practice is still not legally recognised, causing headaches for those trying to navigate medical care or bureaucratic processes.