The launch on Friday night of TRANS: Transgender Life Stories from South Africa, at the South African Museum’s Whale Well was a splendid affair. Emcee Simone Heradien, resplendent in violet and gold satin and voile, opened the event by welcoming divas and darlings, queens and kings - and anybody inbetween.
She pointed out the wash rooms: “For tonight’s purposes we’ll interpret the signs on the Gents as a woman wearing pants and the sign on the Ladies as a man wearing a kilt!”
The first speaker she introduced was Robert Hamblin, Chairperson of the Gender DynamiX Management Committee and a celebrated photographer who contributed the images to the book. He spent a few sombre minutes noting that the launch coincided with International Transgender Day of Remembrance, and recalled with sorrow the shame and suffering that had befallen brothers and sisters of the LGBTI community in Africa. He paid homage to Aunty Victoria in particular.
Next up was Liesl Theron, who sported the most desirable footwear (second only to Nazmah Achmat). She celebrated the accomplishments that had been made by co-operative endeavours between GALA and Gender DynamiX; and she encouraged everyone present to take on the challenge of spreading the message of hope that is available to people seeking to change their gender.
Other speakers who graced the podium for the rest of the evening included GALA Director, Anthony Manion, and the book’s editors Charl Marais, Ruth Morgan, former director of GALA, and Joy Rosemary Wellbeloved, a pioneer of the LGBTI movement in South Africa. Collectively, they celebrated the writing included in TRANS - both the challenges that had been overcome and the joy that has emerged in the lives of those who were brave enough to find the way to exist authentically and tell their individual stories.
While guests arrived they were serenaded by the fantastic energy of the marimba band of the Field Band Foundation. The evening was rounded off as quaffed wine and dined on delicious edibles by a stunning performance by Odidiva, a fitting highlight for a beautiful evening.
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