As you can probably imagine, not all the responses were nice and supportive. Some nasty netizens ridiculed her with derogatory remarks, such as “Shemale?”, “Don’t lie to me, that’s a man”, “Man or woman? I cannot tell”.

Well, Ruby wasn’t going to take such that lying down. Two days later, she posted another picture of herself in the same bikini — this time, taken from the front, as if to give her haters a clearer view — and a message for “those who are confused” about her gender, and “those who are full of sexism”.

“Hello everyone. I am Ruby. I am a woman. I have breasts and female reproductive organs. A uterus and ovaries. I get my period every month,” she wrote. “I am a woman, but I favour gender-neutral clothing. I am a woman, but I keep my hair short. I am a woman, but my friends think I have ‘a man’s soul’. I am a woman, but I look more like a man. People do a double take when I enter the women’s toilet. So?”

Ruby then dialled things up a notch and tackled traditional gender roles and stereotypes head-on: “Who made the rule that women must have long hair and wear skirts? Who made the rule that women must look like women?”

“I’m comfortable and happy with how I dress. I’m not hurting anybody, nor am I disturbing your life. Of course, I don’t blame you for being confused with the way I look. From the moment I made the decision to return to the look I’m most comfortable in, I was prepared to face these comments. I also get confused when I see androgynous people, but at least I know what respect is, and you don’t.”

“I am a woman and I like gender-neutral styling, but that doesn’t mean I want to become a man, and the same goes for others who dress androgynously,” she continued.

Ruby went on to clarify that her strongly worded statement is directed only at those ill-mannered netizens, and apologised if she made anyone else feel uncomfortable. “At first I didn’t want to post this photo, but after reading the news, I couldn’t hold back any longer. This is the first time I’ve ever been so straightforward here, but don’t misunderstand, I’m not angry. I am writing this very calmly.”

“Lastly,” she concluded. “I hope everyone can learn to respect others. Both men and women deserve respect. No one else controls your mouth and hands, so don’t go and control the lives of others. I wish for everyone to be able to be their most comfortable selves.”

At the end of her caption, Ruby revealed that there were also some people who asked her to travel to Japan to earn big bucks starring in adult videos. “Thank you for your suggestion, but please learn to respect others. If I wanted to earn lots of money, I wouldn’t be a performer.”

Photos: Ruby Yap/Instagram