‘Muscles are genderless’: how bodybuilding has helped shape this Hongkonger’s fluid identity
- Siufung Law was born a woman but is often perceived as a man, even though she does not consider herself transgender
- Some may term her ‘genderqueer’, as she explores her identity in a sport that has served as a form of meditation and self-expression
To many, Hong Kong bodybuilder Siufung Law Wan-ling may have transcended boundaries when she scored a tournament win in her sport by beating typically bigger white opponents who pack more muscle, paving the way for her to go up against the pros.
But for Law, a teaching assistant at the University of Hong Kong, her greatest victory in the sport is coming to terms with how she perceives gender – because, to her, muscles are genderless.
Born a woman, Law is forced to compete in bodybuilding events as one, but in her social life she is often perceived as a man. She does not consider herself transgender, and has not had any surgery or hormone treatment to change her body, except hitting the gym.
“I realised I’m not a transgender man because I enjoyed having a female identity in certain contexts,” Law, 28, says. “I’m not dysphoric towards my female body parts. Unlike many trans men, I’m not interested in surgery and hormones.
“Bodybuilding has also helped me reflect on how much we internalise what society considers masculine and feminine.”
