From the Waves of Vietnamese Transfeminism

Abstract

Part I: Life in Việt Nam – The Coming of a Trans-feminist Vi Khi Nao would close her eyes to hear the breath of Việt Nam. Its raindrops, during monsoon season, would clash with the streets of roaring motorbikes. The flood of motorbikes would smear the sound of clashing droplets and drown the landscape of Long Khánh in a never-ending, singular roaring. The roars, the urbanization, became deafening and paralyzed the breath of Việt Nam in sameness — in numbness. Vi could not feel herself from the waist down. The only warmth Vi felt was in the company of her parents. Vi would lie in-between them as they drove through the monsoon looking for a nearby hospital. Born four years a!er the Fall of Saigon (1975), Vi was raised in Long Khánh, Việt Nam, where she spent most of her early childhood. Much like Vi’s youth, Việt Nam was bedridden. The South Vietnamese government’s large investment on militarization for the Vietnam War compromised the “[health services] for civilians and [already] limited public health programs were put to a halt.”1 Moreover, both natural and monetary economies were ruined by the war. Herbi-