South Africa is home to a culture of transphobia

[MrFanti]

https://mg.co.za/opinion/2022-01-17-south-africa-is-home-to-a-culture-of-transphobia/

[Stavros]

Half of this article is about the UK, and the other half tells me little about South Africa. The author is confused as she is struggling to handle concepts that do not challenge biology as much as they do ideas about Gender and Sexuality in terms of Social Role, and the 'prison house' of language from which she seeks Liberation, without having an alternative language that makes sense to most people. The major flaw in her argument is in the final paragraph-

"On paper, (most) people accept trans people. The lived experiences of trans people show that the data is smoke and mirrors to hide the broader transphobic malaise that has a chokehold on society. We can have as many trans-inclusive laws as possible, but without a shift in the cultural landscape the protections afforded to trans people are largely empty promises. The only way to achieve a cultural change is through better trans representation in all echelons of society."

Calling for a 'shift in the cutural landscape' is a tall order, not least in South Africa which has struggled to reconcile itself, not just to Apartheid, but to the evident fact that the ANC has become as corrupt and functionally useless a form of government as seen in other parts of Africa. If Mandela had a legacy, it is long forgotten, or now just seems like a dream. The Rainbow Nation that might have been more open to Transgendered South Africans, is living under a cloud. A small group of strident activitists talking in a language most people don't understand is not going to change hearts and minds, neither is a South African version of RuPaul's drag race.