Christina Somphone, 24, was raised to expect to marry a man who was well off. Her mother’s voice echoed in her head, “Dress up more, you’re a girl. You’re too masculine.” Her mother criticized her appearance, telling Somphone that she needed to put more effort into attracting men.
“There are a lot of different types of men, and I didn’t need to cater to men,” Somphone said.(Illustration/Yekaterina Ko)