BODIES OF LIGHT

In the rigid binaries of beauty, two trans men share their journey towards self-love, acceptance and image

- ARMAN KHAN

After decades of putting up a fight against the who's who of the medical fraternity – in March 2019, the World Health Organisation finally removed gender dysphoria from its list of mental disorders. It was a cause for celebration, but the trans community knew only too well that such classifications would hardly change the ground realities. If anything, transphobic doctors would probably devise newer, innovative ways with which to channel their insecurities.

But at a time when social media has wreaked havoc on the way we perceive ourselves and the world, on what shaky grounds does beauty stand for the trans community? FINDING LOVE For Vee, a 20-year-old trans male model based in Delhi, gender dysphoria was the starting point.

“My relationship with beauty has always been a little imbalanced because of my gender dysphoria," he says. "Growing up, we were taught to correlate beauty with femininity, which is why, as a kid, I'd run away from all my feminine aspects. But as I grew up and found who I truly was, I became more rooted and comfortable in my truth. I experimented more with every part of me, including beauty, and focused on looking the best I could. This was also when I actively started doing makeup and taking better care of my skin - it honestly felt like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders." Considering the tense understanding of gender and all things feminine that Vee grew up with, his acceptance of femininity in the context of him being transmale found better expression when he started modelling at 17.