Each night that Nha Vy steps proudly on stage in her traditional Vietnamese ao dai, or sometimes mini dress and heels, memories grow fainter of the taunts she endured as a transgender woman in her rural village. Nha Vy is one of hundreds of LGBT performers in Vietnam who have found confidence, and a way to earn a living, through lotto shows, a form of entertainment dating back to the French colonial era and now wildly popular in the south. Like many sexual and gender minority people in Vietnam, the 26-year-old has faced stigma and discrimination for much of her life — despite a gradual change in social attitudes in the communist state. “Not many people from the LGBT community have top class jobs… we generally don’t make it to higher education because we are bullied at school,” she told AFP, perching on a tired floor sleeping mattress in her rented flat in Ho Chi Minh City.