Alicia Liu () was born in
Taoyuan County
Taoyuan County () is under the administration of Changde, Hunan, Hunan Province, China. The Yuan River, a tributary of the Yangtze, flows through Taoyuan. It covers an area of 4441 square kilometers, of which is arable land. It is from Zhangji ...
(now Taoyuan City), Taiwan on 12 June 1986. She is a Taiwanese model and television personality, sometimes known by the nickname Xiao Ai.
Liu was assigned male at birth, but underwent
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
at the age of 18.
She became popular following a number of appearances on a parody television programme, but was
outed
Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...
in January 2010 by a former schoolmate who posted her graduation photo online.
In response, Liu held a press conference where she stated that she was happy being a woman and that the past was not important, but only confirmed that she was a
transsexual
Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...
when interviewed by the ''
China Times
The ''China Times'' (, abbr. ) is a daily Chinese-language newspaper published in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pa ...
'' a week later.
Supported by family,
colleagues and her agency,
Liu said: "To go public with my sex change was more of a help for me than hindrance, and it had not affected my life".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Alicia
1986 births
Living people
Taiwanese female models
Taiwanese television personalities
People from Taoyuan City
Taiwanese LGBT broadcasters
21st-century LGBT people