The inspirational journeys of people who are long-term survivors of HIV
Bee
Bee
Bangkok, Thailand
Bee is a long-term #HIV survivor in Bangkok, Thailand. As a transgender woman living with HIV, Bee has faced stigma from her family, but she is happy and proud to be who she is. Photographs and story by Bee.
I’ve never seen a job ad for a ladyboy, though the ladyboy situation has become much more open now than it used to be. Now the policy has changed to identify ladyboys as people who inhabit their gender differently from when they were born. I want to use my life as an example to newcomer ladyboys, that they should be extra careful.
For a time, I felt very down. I used to have nobody with me. My dad and mom didn’t want anything to do with me because I’m transgender and HIV-positive. My parents have now passed away.
It made me so happy and proud to be a ladyboy when a real man asked me to marry him.
I keep a wedding photo to be displayed at my own funeral, in case one day something happens to me. This photo will show that I was beautiful once.
Sometimes I feel despair. I feel lonely. I feel like my life is at a crossroads.
It’s hard to be different from others. But am I afraid? At first I was so scared of HIV, but once I got to know and learn about it, it wasn’t that scary anymore.
I continue to share my story and experiences to help others and I live positively. I live a normal life, I can work and live with friends and relatives just like others do.
T a k e a c t i o n
Help us share the experience of what it is to be a long-term HIV survivor