Taiwanese writer Li Kotomi comes out as trans after being outed by gender-critical ‘bullies’
Li Kotomi is a critically acclaimed Japanese-Chinese bilingual author, translator and interpreter. (Wikimedia Commons)
Taiwanese author Li Kotomi has come out as trans after being outed online by an anti-gender movement in the country.
Li, who became the first Taiwanese writer to win Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Prize, for her novel The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom, said she had been harassed and doxxed online in the wake of her literary success.
Writing on Facebook on Transgender Day of Remembrance Day (20 November), she said: ”[I’m] a lesbian who has been dedicated to writing LGBTQ+ stories for many years, actively supporting same-sex marriage and other related issues, and attending the gay parade (Japan) every year.
“This is all public information and is true to me. And today, I’m here to come out of another [closet], [I] am also a transgender person.
【重要なお知らせ】
— 李琴峰｜新刊『シドニーの虹に誘われて』🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@Li_Kotomi) November 21, 2024
昨日発表した「アウティング声明」ですが、3言語とも不明な原因で公開停止にされました。
つきましては、Facebookに移しました。
引き続き拡散・応援をお願います。
■日本語：https://t.co/TSkU2ZcUiL
■英語：https://t.co/vfuXSeGnAo
■中国語：https://t.co/APSUG5IJ52
“I was born registered as male and did live for a while in the state of being considered male. That period was for me a nightmare that I don’t want to look back [on], and won’t talk much about it here.
“Later, I found myself living in the wrong gender, and that deep-rooted sense of alienation caused me a decisive separation and conflict with the world, and I couldn’t live in that state anyway. So, I decided to kill myself and be born again. I am a woman after being born again and I love myself now.”
In the wake of the Taipei High Administrative Court ruling in favour of a trans plaintiff appealing to change her gender identity from male to female, without providing proof of gender affirming surgery, an anti-gender movement gained momentum.
The conservative movement has outed, harassed and doxxed trans people to prevent what they call “gender ideology.”
Li said: “Suddenly winning awards and fame became their most convenient target, a group of Taiwanese anti-trans [bullies] forced me out (invasion of privacy), verbal abuse, and vilification on many social platforms.
“They carried out a violent search on me, hundreds of anonymous accounts spread my privacy and personal information everywhere, even violating the Wikipedia community policy, adding privacy and profanity to my wiki page.
“They [created] several accounts on social media that targeted me. Such evil practices [continued] for two or three years, and they have not stopped yet.”
She told The Asahi Shimbun daily newspaper that a civil case was pending over the postings, adding: “Outing is a grave infringement of human rights that could drive [trans people] to death.”
Li fled to Japan in 2013 because of bullying and discrimination, saying she “could not live with peace of mind in Taiwan”.
文学がすべての人にとって開かれたものでありますように。
— LGBTQ+差別に反対する小説家の声明 (@authorsforlgbtq) November 20, 2024
小説家51名によるLGBTQ+差別反対声明を発表します。
出版業界が誰にとっても安心できる環境であるために、私たちに何ができるかを考えました。
是非ご一読いただけたら幸いです。 pic.twitter.com/hqfuhlupnp
Fifty-one novelists in Japan backed her with a statement opposing LGBTQ+ discrimination.
“In recent years, we have been deeply pained and troubled by increasingly rampant discriminatory rhetoric targeting LGBTQ+ communities, particularly transgender individuals, throughout the world, including in Japan,” the signatories wrote.
“It goes without saying that there are LGBTQ+ individuals among our readers and within literary circles and the publishing industry. This issue involves each and every person connected to the Japanese literary world, such that it is impossible for us to be bystanders.
“Accordingly, we declare our solidarity and support in strongly opposing all forms of discrimination towards LGBTQ+ people, including those identifying as transgender.”
Taiwan’s status is contentious with China claiming it to be part of their country. However, locals see themselves as totally independent, and same-sex activity, changing gender and gender-affirming care are all legal.
Same-sex marriages were recognised in 2019.
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