Enherya supports gender equality! Sponsoring a multi-gender fitness competition, breast reduction surgery unexpectedly becomes a highlight.
The "Beauty Rainbow Bodybuilding Competition" aimed at increasing visibility for diverse genders took place on April 15 at the Ximen Red House in Taipei. Enherya Medical Group has not only focused on breast augmentation surgeries over the years but has also accumulated over a thousand chest-reduction cases to support gender equality. This time, they participated as a sponsor, actively cheering and encouraging the participants, and also set up a booth on-site to provide professional consultation services.
With the rise of gender equality awareness, gender diversity has become a common consensus in society. Taiwan hosted the Asian Gay Games last year, and this time the "Beauty Rainbow Bodybuilding Competition" aims to showcase more gender expressions and diversity by specifically dividing the competition into "Diverse Gender Bodybuilding Group," "Diverse Gender Sports Underwear Bodybuilding Group," and "Diverse Gender Bikini Group," with a total of 32 participants.
The guest performer at the opening ceremony, Zhi Tian, was the first place winner in the beach shorts category at the 2022 Asian Gay Games bodybuilding event. He revealed that he identified as male during his childhood, but as he developed, his chest gradually enlarged, making him feel very shy and uncomfortable. In middle school, he saw a news report about a gangster who felt he had lost his masculinity due to gynecomastia and underwent surgery. At that time, he thought to himself, "Will there be a day when I can also remove my chest and become the person I want to be?"
"I am a person who is very afraid of pain, even when it comes to blood tests, I have to take several deep breaths." Gathering his courage, he underwent chest surgery at Enherya in 2019. He stated that surgery is not a comfortable experience, but the process of changing dressings, removing stitches, and taking out the drainage tube was not unbearable or painful. He is also very grateful to Enherya's staff for their companionship and patience throughout the journey. If I can do it, then friends who want to undergo chest surgery can really start planning and scheduling to become their brave selves.
Zhi Tian is a bodybuilding enthusiast and a confident member of the LGBTQ+ community. He understands that bodybuilders work hard and dedicate their entire lives to training. He wants to share this strength with everyone and stand up to support diversity and non-binary gender identities! Let's promote gender equality, friendliness, and sports equity together!
One of the participants, Eric, has been working as a coach for about 6 years and is currently a coach at Her Sports Space. Having always loved sports, he felt that being bound by a chest binder limited his ability to exercise, and he longed for the feeling of being unrestrained, so he underwent chest surgery at Enherya.
He stated that he was actually very nervous on the day of the surgery, but he told himself that this was something he had always wanted to do. He only remembers being under general anesthesia, and when he woke up, his body had transformed into the shape he desired. Although after the surgery he had to wear a compression garment, which made it hard to breathe, he really felt it was worth it when he saw his current self after the wounds healed. He also suggested that there is about a month from the evaluation to the surgery, and recommended that those who intend to have chest surgery can start exercising and controlling their diet to slightly reduce body fat, which would also help the skin to be more elastic after the wounds heal.
"I couldn't stand wearing a chest binder for 5 minutes" said Kay, who works as a nurse and has experience in the intensive care unit. Now, he is involved in scar camouflage and is a fitness coach. When discussing his motivation for chest surgery, he revealed that wearing a binder made him very uncomfortable and feel hot. As for exercising, it was even worse; no matter how well-built his body was, he had to cover up. In the end, he simply stopped wearing the binder altogether. Overall, he experienced various discomforts in his daily life and psychologically.
Kay, who jokingly claims to love showing off, said that in the summer when one can be more revealing, not being able to show off one's figure can be disappointing. Sometimes, even a beautiful outfit can lose its charm once worn, which can affect one's mood, especially when she used to work at a quarantine station and had to wear a bunny costume, which was particularly torturous.
Until having the chest-reduction surgery at Enherya, Kay proudly said that she had never felt so satisfied with herself. Although she was very excited and nervous before the surgery, and was also afraid of looking ugly afterward and having to cover up, since the surgery, her body has been releasing a feeling of ease at all times. Despite being very worried about the wound not healing well, she has to take very good care of it, which is quite hard, but now she is not hindered in any activities she does, and dressing up is also easy; she is truly very satisfied.
When asked about his motivation for participating and his experience preparing for the competition, Kay said that because of the gender categories, he initially thought he would never have a chance to be involved in a competition. However, when he discovered there was a competition for non-binary genders, he felt he had to participate at least once. Additionally, he wanted to see how far he could go. Although the competition inevitably brings some pressure to life and work, he used to rely on food to relieve stress, but now he has to control his diet, which really tests his willpower.
Eric said that for him, the hardest part of preparing for the competition is controlling his diet. He always wants to indulge in a big meal, but when he thinks about the competition, he suppresses that thought. He believes that competing helps people develop more disciplined habits, whether it's in exercise, diet, sleep, or even mood. For him, rankings are no longer that important because for everyone who has gone through these experiences, each person is already the best and most outstanding version of themselves.
Dr. Lin Liying, the director of Enherya Plastic Surgery Clinic, explained that with the legalization of same-sex marriage, the awareness of diverse gender identities and "taking control of one's own body" has been on the rise. In the past two years, chest-reduction surgery has become more recognized. According to clinic statistics, the number of patients seeking to get rid of chest binding has increased compared to the same period last year, and the total number of chest-reduction surgery cases accumulated by the clinic has exceeded one thousand.
Dr. Lin Liying emphasized that during the pre-operative consultation, experienced doctors will assess the surgical incision based on the patient's original breast size, skin elasticity, and other congenital conditions, distinguishing between two types of surgical techniques: the semi-circle areola incision and the under-breast smile incision. After surgery, patients are advised to wear compression garments for about 1 to 3 months. The satisfaction rate post-surgery is quite high, with many patients happily giving feedback to the doctors, saying: "Being able to liberate the upper body in summer and run freely on the beach is truly worth it!".
However, it should be noted that chest surgery is irreversible, and the ability to breastfeed cannot be restored after the surgery. The sensitivity of the nipples may also be slightly impaired. Therefore, Dr. Lin Liying suggests that only clients who are very certain about their gender identity should undergo chest surgery. Additionally, depending on individual circumstances, if nipple reduction is needed, it should be performed about 3 to 6 months after the chest surgery, once the doctor determines that the scars from the chest surgery have stabilized.