The love story of a couple who 'swap genders'

More than two months after meeting each other, the Dong Thap man who used to be a woman begged his family to come down and ask the girl who used to be a man to marry him.

At 4am, a small house in Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city, was bustling with laughter and footsteps of people preparing to set up a tent to welcome guests. Neighbors nearby even took time off work to help the homeowner. The engagement ceremony of the couple Minh Anh and Minh Khang, which took place at the end of November, was unusually bustling because of a special thing: the bride and groom swapped genders.

The couple's wedding is planned to take place next summer, after Minh Anh graduates from high school.

Minh Khang is a transgender man and his fiancée is a transgender woman. The groom was born as a girl and is named Dao Thi Kieu Trang. His fiancée, before taking the name Minh Anh, was a boy named Dang Khac Nguyen. Minh Anh is currently a high school student who has not yet graduated. After the engagement, Minh Khang moved in with his fiancée's family. Every weekend, the young couple returns to Dong Thap to visit her family.

Minh Khang and Minh Anh met each other through a beauty contest for gay people held in July in Dong Thap. At that time, Minh Khang was a jeweler and had just broken up with his girlfriend. After chatting via text messages, the two gradually developed feelings for each other and officially fell in love in October. One day, Minh Anh stopped texting her boyfriend after several days of continuous contact. Minh Khang quickly took a bus back to Can Tho during his break just to see his girlfriend for 30 minutes, before returning to work the evening shift.

"Minh Anh wanted time to think. After two days of no texting, she was worried. She was worried about our relationship," Minh Khang said.

Being in a long distance relationship and busy with work and study, Minh Anh and Minh Khang take advantage of every free minute so they rarely get angry. They mainly communicate by phone and often turn on Zalo all night and forget about it until morning. In the evening, while Minh Anh is busy studying, Minh Khang turns on his phone so that they both feel close. Every morning at 5:30, Minh Khang wakes his girlfriend up to go to school.

Mr. Triem used to feel inferior and sad when he had a homosexual son. However, when he visited Minh Anh's house and saw that her family loved Minh Khang and welcomed him well, he agreed to let his two children get married.

Talking about his future wife, Minh Khang was proud that Minh Anh was both beautiful and a good student, especially in English and French. He loved Minh Anh for her gentleness, kindness, and loveliness. A week after taking the bus back to Can Tho, Minh Khang begged his parents to visit his girlfriend's house. When his son asked to get married, Mr. Triem, Khang's father, objected because he had a bad impression of transgender women.

In his mind, transgender women often wear heavy makeup, revealing clothes and talk vulgarly. He also wondered why Khang did not date a man, instead of falling in love with a transgender man and woman. Mr. Triem was determined not to go on a blind date. Finally, persuaded by his relatives, he changed his mind after a night of thinking.

"My father asked me if I was sure I wanted to marry Minh Anh. I replied: 'If you meet Minh Anh and are not satisfied, I will listen to you,'" Minh Khang said.

The groom's party arrived in Can Tho just as Minh Anh was returning from school. Seeing the pretty, graceful girl in a white ao dai, Khang's relatives were all surprised. Minh Anh was the youngest of two children. Khang's parents were impressed with their future daughter-in-law's feminine appearance and docile nature.

Minh Khang said that he has been injecting male hormones for the past two years, so at first his wife’s family did not realize that their future son-in-law was a transgender man. They were a bit hesitant because they were worried about the young couple’s future life and children.

"After hearing the explanation, Minh Anh's parents were very happy and touched. Minh Anh was disadvantaged from a young age, being born at a time when her family was facing financial difficulties. Growing up, she had to live with discrimination from her friends and everyone. Seeing their daughter loved and happy, they were very relieved," Minh Khang shared.

That meeting took place in joy, sympathy and love of the two families for their children. Not long after the meeting, the young couple got engaged and planned to prepare for the wedding next summer, after Minh Anh graduated from high school.

According to Minh Khang, since Minh Anh appeared, his family life has changed in a positive direction. His father is open, likes to talk and is always proud of his daughter-in-law. Every time Minh Anh comes home, he personally cooks delicious dishes for her. Previously, Mr. Triem was angry with his son because Minh Khang "refused to be a girl", making him feel embarrassed in front of the neighbors. Gradually, the two of them became more distant and had less opportunity to talk. Minh Khang lived a secluded life and only shared his feelings with close friends.

After the engagement ceremony, Minh Khang went to live with his future wife in Can Tho. On weekends, he and Minh Anh went to Dong Thap to visit their parents.

When asked about his son, Mr. Triem happily mentioned his gentle but difficult and stubborn son. He confided that his two children worked all day and when they came home tired, they just wanted to go to bed early. He used to feel sad and guilty about having a gay son. Before Minh Khang was born, he wished that the baby was a boy. But when he saw that his daughter only liked to wear men's clothes and play dangerous games, the father was very angry. Mr. Triem and his wife had time to seek treatment everywhere for Khang because they thought their son had some disease. Thinking that their son was possessed by a ghost, they even performed a ceremony to turn him back into a girl. Helpless, the couple had a third child.

"I was really angry, but I couldn't abandon my child. When I got there, I saw that the girl's family loved my child and welcomed her well, so I accepted. The important thing is that Minh Anh is very polite and well-behaved. The two children were very happy when the family accepted them," said Mr. Triem.

According to Mr. Triem, Minh Khang and Minh Anh have not undergone surgery. If they have that wish, his family will support them. Currently, Mr. Triem and his wife support their daughter-in-law in her lifestyle and way of dressing. For him, seeing his two children live happily together is the happiness of being a parent.

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According to Ha Phuong/ngoisao.net