A transgender man, identified only as "Mr C," in order to protect the privacy of his family and girlfriend, alleges that he was fired last year days into a new job at a branch of Ciming Checkup, a health services firm, after the staff there said he looked "like a lesbian" and might damage the company's reputation.

The incident took place in April 2015. At the time, Mr C informed local reporters that he had not listed his gender on the application form, but the company was aware of his "special gender situation."

"My sales job performance was in no way negatively affected by appearance. To fire me for this reason is to discriminate against me," he said, according to the AP.

The outraged Mr C met a lawyer at an LGBT legal workshop and decided to take action against the company. "At first I was worried about being insulted by the public," he said. "But I made the decision to stand up, because somebody needs to speak up for this group."

Mr C and his lawyer Huang Sha are seeking a week’s salary and one month’s salary in compensation, along with a written apology. The labor arbitration committee accepted the case on March 14. By March 30th, the two parties underwent mediation, with Ciming agreeing to pay the wages and compensation, but refusing to issue an apology to Mr C.

The case was therefore referred to the court on April 11. According to the China-based English-language digital paper, Sixth Tone, at the hearing, Ciming confirmed that it "expects female sales consultants to wear skirts and males to wear suits."

The court is expected to reach a verdict by late April.