Abbily, a popular 19-year-old internet celebrity has attracted attention and support – by announcing that she is transgender. “Now, I’m officially a girl…” the star wrote on Sina Weibo on Sunday in a post that has received support from Chinese netizens and people of her fan community. In the Sunday post she revealed some details concerning the decision. “I have enjoyed wearing my mom’s heels ever since I was little,” she wrote, noting that gender dysphoria has long been part of her life. Her announcement has become a trending topic on Sina Weibo, earning nearly 6 million views as of Monday afternoon. “All choices need to be respected,” one netizen commented in support of the internet star. “People on the internet nowadays are more understanding compared to a few years ago, when the public had very little knowledge about the LGBT community. I think the momentum behind this is the exposure of LGBT themes in popular culture, like BL novels. This has made people think more about them and develop a liking toward them,” a journalist in Beijing who reports on LGBTQ issues in China told the Global Times on Monday.