UK's first transgender woman: It hasn't been easy, these past 50 years

At 74, April Ashley still looks glamorous. But she was Britain's first transsexual and is possibly one of the most beautiful. As early as 1960, she underwent surgery to transition into a woman. This legendary figure, who fought through suicidal tendencies, hospitalizations, and numerous challenges to transition, modeled in high society for years, became a target after her identity was revealed, and even changed British law during her divorce proceedings with her aristocratic husband, will attend an exhibition on identity on the 26th and has thus been interviewed by British media, reminiscing about nearly 50 years of being a woman.

At 22, she dressed as a woman and performed on stage in Paris.

As a youth, she endured great pain having a man's body but a woman's heart, being treated as a freak.

This elderly beauty has countless legendary stories to tell, accompanied by a series of scandals and criticisms that plagued her for many years. Next year, she will celebrate 50 years since her gender reassignment.

In 1935, a boy named George Jamieson was born in Liverpool. From the moment he understood things, he wanted to be a girl. At that time, he often wore girls' clothes and imitated their walk. He prayed every day to wake up as a girl. At 15, he attempted suicide but failed, and at 16, he was sent to a mental hospital for electroshock therapy. This person, who had a man's body but a woman's heart, later became April Ashley. Ashley was beaten by her mother and bullied by classmates. In those days, Ashley was seen as a freak by family and friends: "No one could understand the loneliness and pain of having a male body but thinking of yourself as a woman. People thought I was homosexual or a freak, even my principal beat me."