south african transman

Ziggy Nqobile Nkosi Age 23 Country South Africa How do you identify I don’t identify but am a trans-man when it comes to my gender identity. I’m also pan-curious when it comes to my sexual orientation but I’ve had a strong preference for women for as long as I can remember-with other genders/non-genders and sexual orientations are just a curiosity for me at this stage. What challenges do you face as a Trans person I don’t even know where to start. -Being seen as inherently evil (sin) and therefore not deserving to be acknowledge and respected as any other human being. That I feel is the root of most the challenges I face. Because people are not informed and sensitized about the existence of trans people I often have to explain my existence and have to make people understand my experience to be legitimate and not made up or a choice. Most of my encounters with service providers who come to the knowledge of my gender identity and its ‘incongruence’ to the sex I was assigned at birth often bring about public humiliation, invasive questions and judgment. Sometimes I am offered ‘help’ to cure me from my ‘abnormality’. This misunderstanding also comes from other people of the LGBTI community who have little understanding of the differences and similarities / intersections of in what we call gender identity, gender expression etc, and sexual orientation. There are a lot of misconceptions from the cisnormative and heteronormative gaze and suspicion of my intentions that often leave me as an outsider in my community. Accessing healthcare that is trans-sensitive; feeling safe in public restrooms where I can bump into someone who knows me as female; feeling anxious when having to produce my official documentation and other things like my staff card which say I am female, whilst appearing male; proving that I am the person I am, despite the appearance; finding the means and affordable services to ‘transition’; social pressure to fit into binaries of what it means to be a man; having to explain to qualified service providers what trans is before I can get the services I need; getting government to process my application to have my gender marker changed to reflect that I am male; seeking and getting support from my family and home community, which led me to take a vow to never go back home for my own physical and psychological safety. How do you overcome (any support system) My friends, acquaintances and colleagues who are either part of the LGBTI community themselves or work in the field as allies are my support system. Their acceptance and affirming responses to me are what keeps me going and makes me feel that I am not alone in the fight to be heard and catered to as a member of society What are you most proud of My decision to be myself at whatever cost. 4) What do you do for a living I’m a research assistant for a project that studies sexuality in the African context, an independent activist and blogger. What are your aspirations in life (for you or the Trans community in your country) I aspire to become a leader in bringing about the ideals of equality and human rights through my research and community engagement projects and initiatives. Moreover I aspire to be a reference for the LGBTI youth who are facing the same challenges as to how to overcome them by taking action and standing up for themselves and others who are silenced and oppressed. If you had one wish what would it be For gender and sexuality and race to not be a thing, for boxes to vanish so that people can be their unique selves with no unnecessary restraints in self-identifying and self-actualization. The destabilization, dismantling of social hierarchies, basically. What inspires you The human capacity for understanding that the survival of our species and our planet is our responsibility Is what inspires me. The realization that social cohesion and development is not something we should wait on a god to bring, but something we have throughout history been working on and are still working on. That for me is Science, Technology, Human rights, Democracy and everything that was devised by humanity to make the human life experience a good one, or good enough one for all humans and not a select few. Your words of inspiration to other trans*, and gender non-conforming people in the world I would say to all trans and gender non-conforming people out there that they are proof that we as a species are still evolving; and whilst our experience is considered ‘unnatural’ as it strays from the normative or traditional understanding of gender and sexuality, our mere existence, in all corners of our spherical earth, is proof that humans can transcend all restraints to self-actualize and be the best of themselves despite our current systems of othering and maintaining inequalities. What I see in our challenges is a lesson, not just to ourselves but all of those who are experiencing us to be compassionate and accepting of all humans as the basic requirement and compulsory bliss of the society we have built for ourselves. When we come out for the world to see, and fight for our cause and other good causes that bring back humanity to all, we are not only survivors but heroes; what else would one see as a meaningful existence if it does not leave a positive mark? I say there is a Ziggy shaped hole in the universe that only Ziggy can fill, for Ziggy to be anything other than Ziggy means the hole will not be filled and that is the story for everyone here. Be yourself and do not fear fulfilling your destiny.