For female transgender people who still lived as male, buying clothes from the opposite gender often meant making up excuses, like saying, “I’m buying this for my sister.” Sometimes a female friend of a queer person would get their measurements and buy clothes for them. Sometimes they even had to sew clothes for them.

Now, with online shopping, it’s quite easy to do these things with a few clicks, without having to show my real identity to other customers on the street or in the storefront.

Although e-commerce sites like Taobao still ask for gender when you register a buyer account, so there is a bit of irony there. A lot of people are still commenting on Taobao store items, asking things like, “Can a man buy and wear this beautiful lingerie?”

Online shopping makes it easier, but the question is still there. People are still looking for permission to wear what they want.