Mongolian influencer Anudari Daarya looks effortlessly glamorous and carefree in her social media posts -- but the classically trained pianist's road to acceptance as a transgender artist has been anything but easy.

She is one of a growing number of Mongolian LGBTQ youth challenging stereotypes and fighting for acceptance through media representation in the socially conservative country.

LGBTQ Mongolians often hide their identities from their employers and colleagues for fear of discrimination, with a survey by the non-profit LGBT Centre Mongolia showing that only 20 percent of people felt comfortable coming out at work.

Daarya, 25, told AFP she has faced discrimination since she began publicly living as a woman at her arts university, where she said fellow students shunned her and she graduated without a single friend.

"I naively believed future artists and art teachers would embrace my transition," she said.

After graduation, Daarya applied for multiple positions.

She said she waited to hear back about teaching hours at Mongolia's State Conservatory for three months before a contact told her that "the........

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