A NEW BOOK TO HIGHLIGHT THE LIVES OF TRANS IN SOUTH AFRICA

By Jerina Messie (BTM French Reporter)

SOUTH AFRICA – 23 October 2009: A poignant and marvelous book based on the real lives of twenty original voices from the Trans community in South is set to take the readers into the many worlds inhabited by transgender South Africans.

Titled TRANS: Transgender life stories from South Africa, the book is a must read and a fascinating point of departure for interested members and the general public.

The book is a collection of illuminating and touching accounts of people who “transitioned, are transitioning or will transition”; it reveals the courage and strength of each of the story tellers involved, details the constant challenges of living in a country where there are a still a lot of prejudices and stigma attached to trans people and touch on the isolation they often feel in their community.

The stories stress the need to provide accurate information, counter negative stereotypes, reduce discrimination, provide transgender people with honest representations of their lives, and offer visible, positive role models.

Published by Jacana Media, the book was co-written by Charl Marais-secretary director of Gender Dynamix-, Joy Wellbeloved -also known as “The Cat Lady”- and Ruth Morgan, former director of Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA).

Extraordinary photographs by renowned photograph Robert Hamblin complement these revealing and moving life stories.

The book will be launched in Cape Town on 20 November 2009, on the occasion of the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, and on the 28 November 2009 at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.