ROME (AP) — An Italian gondolier who made headlines a decade ago for being the first woman to enter the male-dominated cadre of Venice's canal rowers has announced he is transgender.

Alex Hai made the revelation Wednesday on Facebook and in a lengthy interview on Radiolab.

He wrote: "It is inaccurate to refer to me as 'she' or 'Alexandra' for any reason."

Hai won a legal battle in 2007 and became the first official female gondolier to row tourists around the lagoon city.

In the Facebook post, Hai said he had mastered rowing "while in the body of a woman." But he said he was not a woman "and the struggle of feminism is not my personal struggle. I simply want to do the work I'm passionate about."