NGO Update: Gender DynamiX The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, lntersex community- LGBTI to the initiated-have little support on the African continent. But that is changing, as The Big Issue discovered.
BY CHRISTINA SOLANO
Big Issue #133 27 June 2008
 Tebogo Calvin Nkoana is a 21-year-old male with a degree in traditional healing. He became engaged in 2006 and soon plans to marry his fiancée. He started working with Gender DynamiX in 2008. Nkoana also happens to be a transman, and in April, he and Gender DynamiX founder Liesl Theron held a human rights workshop in conjunction with The Big Issue.
About 25 Big Issue vendors attended to discuss human rights from a gender conforming perspective, and both speakers were willing to answer any questions the participants wished to voice. As with any topic that still remains taboo, confrontation of such a hushed and misunderstood issue will raise questions, concerns, sometimes anger, and hopefully a bit more of an understanding in the end.  It is telling that in a sea of organisations dedicated to human rights and diversity, there is only one devoted exclusively to the transgender community.
Although South Africa remains a progressive African leader in the fight towards increasing gay rights and has several organisations claiming the LGBTI label, Gender Dynamix founder Liesl Theron noticed a tendency to leave the "T" (transgender) in the dust. "transsexual and intersex people feel they are neglected by the sector and LGBTI organisations," she states. This led Theron to create an informative support network that would benefit both the transgender community and the general public. Though the offices are based in Cape Town, Gender Dynamix shoulders the weight of an entire continent. Between doctors who refuse to perform certain surgeries and the visible prejudice of prominent social figures, there is an urgent need for vocal support. Liesl Theron remembers the struggle to help a friend who made the decision to transition. There was literally no information available in the South African context. We could not find any information about endocrinologists, plastic surgeons or mental health practitioners who are experienced in this field." She formed Gender DynamiX in 2005, and has been fighting along with her team from square one, taking a ground-breaking leap that will hopefully fare well for posterity. Liesl Theron recalls a workshop in 2006, where participants were still labelling transgenderism as a "white man's disease," but is confident that progress is on the horizon. Transgenderism is a complex issue, and since there is a common tendency to group it in with homosexuality, Liesl Theron has created an informative website to address common questions. Visit the website to familiarise yourself with the vocabulary, personal stories, the medical or legal aspects, and articles concerning recent African LGBTI rights violations.
www.genderdynamix.org.za
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