Muay Thai boxer Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk, 21, who is transgender, prepares for her boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Clad in a pink tank top and shorts, her face made up with rouge and red lipstick, transgender Muay Thai fighter Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk is a formidable opponent.

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Muay Thai boxer Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk (R), 21, who is transgender, kicks Priewpak Sorjor Wichit-Padrew during a boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok. Just ask Karun "Priewpak" Kaemlam, a male fighter who lost a thrilling five-round match to Rose, as she is generally known, earlier this month.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk, who is transgender, kicks Priewpak Sorjor Wichit-Padrew during a boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok. "I wasn't able to fight her strength and big build," Priewpak said. "She fights like a man because she is really a man," added Priewpak, who suffered a gash above his right eye in the fight at Rajadamnern Stadium in the Thai capital.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk reacts after winning a boxing match against Priewpak Sorjor Wichit-Padrew. It was the second consecutive win for Rose in the revered Muay Thai arena after becoming the first transgender boxer to fight there last month. The crowd was clearly in her corner, cheering wildly for her throughout. "Being a transgender doesn't mean that we're weak," Rose said after the fight. "We can achieve anything as well."

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk walks next to her trophies at her house in Phimai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province. The 21-year-old started boxing at eight, following in the footsteps of an uncle, a Muay Thai fighter who encouraged her to train. Her twin brother is also a Muay Thai fighter.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk eats dinner with her family members at her home in Phimai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Born Somros Polchareon, Rose said she identified as a woman at an early age and began wearing makeup and a sports bra in the ring.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk shaves her legs at the Baan Charoensuk gym in Chachoengsao province. In the rural towns where she has done most of her fighting, her appearance disconcerted some of her male opponents.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk trains at a gym in Buriram province. "They would say they didn't want to fight with a gay person, as it would be embarrassing if they won or lost," she said. "I still face those insults, but I don't care about them."

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk spends times with her boyfriend Beer at the Baan Charoensuk gym in Chachoengsao province. Thailand is widely seen as a paradise for gay and transgender people, but many say they are treated as second-class citizens.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk prepares to be weighed before her boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium. Transgender women figure on television, in beauty pageants and at hair salons and cosmetics counters, but they cannot change their gender designation on identity papers, despite a 2015 law against gender-based discrimination.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk and Priewpak Sorjor Wichit-Padrew perform the Muay Thai traditional dance before their boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium. After more than 300 fights, racking up 30 of her 150 wins through knockouts, Rose said she was finally allowed to fight at Rajadamnern Stadium.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk trains at a gym in Buriram province. Puttipong Plukram, the owner of the camp in the northeastern province of Buriram where Rose trains, calls her a "great role model", citing her diligence in chores and training, and saying she often runs farther than anyone else.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk spends time with her friend after a training session at a gym in Buriram province. "Everyone respects and adores her," said Puttipong, 56.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk poses for a photograph with her fans before her boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium. Rose is not Thailand's first transgender boxer. That was Parinya "Nong Toom" Charoenphol, the subject of the 2004 film "Beautiful Boxer". Toom eventually ran a boxing school and Rose someday hopes to do the same.

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk shops at a market in Phimai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Rose also aspires to be an ambassador for Muay Thai around the world, and urges transgender boxers in rural areas not to be discouraged by early setbacks. "They have to fall first and overcome that, then the finish line won't be far out of reach."

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Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk shops at a market in Phimai district. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk irons clothes at her house in Phimai district. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk spends time with her family at her house in Phimai district. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk trains near a gym in Buriram province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk trains at a gym in Buriram province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk trains at a gym in Buriram province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk receives a massage during a training session at a gym in Buriram province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk is massaged by her boyfriend Beer at the Baan Charoensuk gym in Chachoengsao province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk changes her shirt as her boyfriend Beer rests on a bed, in a room at the Baan Charoensuk gym in Chachoengsao province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk gets dressed at her house in Phimai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk sings at a karaoke room in Phimai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk prays at a shrine near the Baan Charoensuk gym in Chachoengsao province. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk is massaged by her trainers before her boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk waits before her boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk fights Priewpak Sorjor Wichit-Padrew during a boxing match at the Rajadamnern Stadium. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha