Mzansi Magic continues to invest in African stories and educate its viewers about societal topics that may be considered too taboo to talk about.
This time around, the channel brings to us its latest reality show titled Becoming, following the lives of four trans people as they face many obstacles and find ways to overcome them, while at the same time educating South Africans about what it entails to be transgender.
Find out more about Gina, Gugulethu, Ramazan and Yaya.
Gina Sokoyi
First on our list is the vivacious Gina Sokoyi who quickly became a favourite with viewers thanks to her colourful and charismatic personality. Born and raised in Welkom, Gina always knew that she was female although society identified her as male.
For many years, Gina positioned herself as a gay man, but as she grew more confidant and comfortable with identifying as female, she gradually began her journey as a trans woman.
“In my heart, I knew that I was a girl. But somehow the world had already defined who I was.” – Gina Sokoyi
Sadly, Gina passed away in the year 2020. The sudden news of her passing was a shock to viewers who had already taken a great liking to her.
You’ll see Gina in a few episodes, as she passed away during filming.
Ramazan Ngobese
Ramazan resides in Durban and identifies as a trans man. He is happily married with three children.
Ramazan was born a girl and raised by his uncle and aunt after the passing of his mother. As a young girl, Ramazan’s family reprimanded him many times for engaging in what they considered to be activities fit only for boys. Ramazan enjoyed going to the gym and doing karate lessons.
In the series, Ramazan walks us through being a black married trans man with kids in a society that does not understand him or his family dynamics.
“If you identify as male, as time goes that man inside you also becomes more aggressive. That’s why when someone addresses you as a lady, the man inside you becomes angry because he has been oppressed for so long and he has not had the opportunity to reveal himself.” – Ramazan Ngobese
Yaya Mavundla
Yaya is a trans woman and activist. Her role as an activist stems from her memory of being bullied as a child. Not only was she bullied by other kids but by her teachers as well.
“People are scared of being themselves because of what society is going to say about them. And for me, society has never stopped me from doing what I want to do.” – Yaya Mavundla
Yaya is also a fashion-lover and enjoys wearing the latest weaves and local designer dresses. Like the other cast members, Yaya is set on educating the South African society about what it means to be transgender.
Gugulethu Khumalo
Gugu is from Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal and, like Ramazan, he’s enjoyed playing sports and going to the gym ever since he was a kid.
Gugu is also a pastor.
“Some people might have the opinion that my life is not in line with Christian values but I always say it’s for God to judge, not for humans.” – Gugu Khumalo
Gugu shares that he’s never considered himself to be a lesbian or that he was in the closet.
Gugu lives with his sister and aunt. In the first episode, his aunt shares how she had always considered Gugu to be a girl. However, throughout the years the aunt saw many signs that made her realise that Gugu did not like to be referred to as a girl.
In the upcoming episodes, Gugu wants to hold a family meeting and explain to his family that he is not a lesbian, but a transgender man – which we expect to be very emotional for the pastor.
All episodes are available to stream now on Showmax.
