THIS IS A WORK OF non-fiction. For brevity or clarity, the chronologies of some incidents have been condensed or altered. Some names have been changed to protect the identities of people or organisations.
The meaning and usage of the terms ‘transgender’ and ‘transsexual’ vary between countries, communities and individuals. In this book, ‘transgender’ generally refers to people who express their gender in non-conforming ways through behaviour, dress and appearance. ‘Transsexual’ refers to people who have undertaken hormonal and/or surgical procedures to physically affirm the sex with which they identify.
The choice between the names Myanmar and Burma – and the names of the country’s former capital (Yangon and Rangoon, respectively) – is subject to debate and often contested. Usage varies among countries, and even among news organisations within the same country. (In the United States, the New York Times and Reuters use ‘Myanmar’; the Washington Post and Time magazine use ‘Burma’.) I have used Myanmar for several reasons, including the burgeoning democratic reforms that took place shortly after I left the country, and the fact that every local person I spoke to called their country ‘Myanmar’.