Regularity and self-discipline are the first impressions that Cheng Yi leaves on people. He speaks with minimal embellishment and refuses to exaggerate一like a piece of paper spread out in front of you, the answer is the riddle itself. When talking about topics that touch his heart, he also exudes a youthful aura, like the raw edges left when cutting rice paper, full of details and extraordinarily vivid.
Photographer: Liu Song
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See post on Cheng Yi x ELLE: Editorial Shoot // Cover Photos and Video // Behind-the-scenes shoot // Cover Preview // BTSvideo from Cheng Yi Studio
Watch the editorial video for Cheng Yi x ELLE, June 2024 issue
When Chloe and Natalie were offered the chance to serve the remainder of their sentence out of the prison compound, they jumped at the chance without even hearing the T&Cs. The padded outfit and helmet now seal them off from the world, insulating them in conditions far worse than those of the sensory deprivation cells. Inside the thick helmets and hoods, they can neither see nor hear the outside world. Regular disinfection and cleaning mechanisms in their attire ensures they never have to take it off, ensures that their hellish dark is permanent. Their own mouths are kept gagged, and the earpieces filled with loud and unbearable blips played at random intervals. The only thing they are allowed to feel in their skin is their own sweat, the smooth and overtight inner surface of the suit, the unbearable itching from chemicals injected into the suit.
Even though the itching makes them want to claw their own skin to pieces, tear at sticky sweaty itching until the blood runs, they may not even try to scratch, for their every movement is at the mercy of the electronic suit, and they may not so much as scream their frustration into the gag, lift a finger, tilt their head, make a step in the wrong direction without paying dearly for it with searing torture. Even as it feels as though ants and mites and bees are swarming the insides of their suits, they can only move their limbs slowly, and the more they try not to think about it, the worse the itching seems to get. Even their eyes are not exempt: inside the helmet, a bright light flashes into their pupils, and while it is on they have to follow it as it moves on the screen, and if not the eyeball tracker unit punishes them with a shock.
Inside the suits, the temperature is kept at 37°C, and the air they breathe is regulated, coming from canisters which have to be replaced regularly, filled with foul-smelling air which makes them feel like vomiting. When the air runs low, they are directed to a kneeling and bowed position at a refilling station which also serves to feed and water them, and furthermore recharge the suits, and finally allow them to pass a few drops of waste, never allowing the pressure at their bladders to fall below agonising urgency.
They spend their days at the mercy of the outfit, forced to follow its every order, unable to sleep for more than an hour at a time with their limbs bound together at the charging stations before being rudely awoken once more. This precious hour is the only time the continuous torments, the unrelenting control over their every motion lets up, allowing them to thrash against the steel shackles which keep their wrists and ankles firmly locked, allowing them at least to scream into the gag in desperate fury before sheer exhaustion takes over. Two weeks have passed, but already it feels like eons to the two pitiable girls, and there are several months before their performance review to decide if their punishment is to be lengthened, or made lenient, or simply continued indefinitely.
[ID: The Bugs Bunny "I wish all a very pleasant evening" meme, but edited to say "I wish all who celebrate Year of the Rabbit a very something LGBT happens to you." Instead of Bugs Bunny, there is a drawing of Tu'Er Shen. Tu'Er Shen, a Chinese deity presiding over gay love, is a rabbit god wearing festive red new years hanfu, including a big fur cloak. He is depicted with light skin, brown eyes, and dark hair which is worn in a way which obscures where human ears usually would be. He has two light brown rabbit ears sticking out of the top of his head. End ID]
Instead, it provoked fierce opposition from surrounding residents who were concerned about forced relocation and noise issues, so local residents formed the Sanrizuka Shibayama Airport Opposition Alliance under the leadership of the Japanese Communist Party and the Japan Socialist Party. Afterwards, the majority of landowners accepted the relocation and left the opposition alliance after compensation was presented and negotiated, but those who remained in the opposition alliance further strengthened their opposition to the government's coercive measures, such as the introduction of riot police, and at the time It gradually became more radical as it became connected to the rising New Left, which was mainly made up of students.
You admit that she was one of your earlier model crushes as a teen. She was also popular with your peers as well. But while your friends and peers preferred to see her as a cis girl, you saw her for who she was: a trans girl model who would inspire other trans girls to break their shell and come out. If only you knew she would be one of many reasons that you found your trans identity. The real question is: Would you transition far enough, just like she did?
-History time: When she made her debut as a model around 2009 or 2010, she became popular overnight and gained a following among netizens and teenagers in her native China. But in December 2010-January 2011, she came out as a post-op trans girl after somebody threatened to out her. People were shocked and were in unbelief to learn she was “amab” (assigned male at birth). Some say it was a publicity stunt as her popularity grew bigger since then. It didn’t take too long for the media to brand her as “China’s first trans model”, which gained polarizing results both in China and internationally.
Her name is Jessica Liu Shi Han, a Chinese transgender model that made an impact on LGBT+ people in her country and challenged the negative stereotypes society had placed on trans people at the time. She became respected as one of the first openly transgender models in Asia. But it was also the threat of being outed that made her come out as trans to an unaccepting public. All of this happened not too long ago and it shows how dangerous outing a trans person can be. Not just because it can damage somebody’s future, but it can also endanger their lives.
I remember reading about her in an online article I found when this first happened. Although some people my age range were aware or heard of trans people existing as part of the LGBT+ community, this was perhaps one of the fewest times I found out about passing trans girls. Of course, being a teenage guy, I found her attractive. But what I couldn’t believe was that she passed well enough that I couldn’t “tell” she was trans. In a sense, I felt a little hope that one day, I could transform into a girl like her. Nowadays, it’s become somewhat easier to get the needed help to transition into their ideal female (or male) self, without being too dysphoric on how they look. But it’s also important to watch out from those who wish to drag you down. As difficult as coming out is, it’s best to live who you internally are on the outside instead of suffering in the wrong body, just like Jessica.