Becoming Him

Becoming HimIn April 1981, Landa Mabenge enters this world, trapped in a girls body. From the start, Landa is aware that he does not relate to his female form, despite being socialised as a girl. At age 11 his world is shattered, when an angry woman and her zombie like husband arrive in Umtata to force him to accompany them to Port Elizabeth. Life in PE with The Parents soon morphs into a Dickensian nightmare. Landa is subjected to horrific abuse as he descends

In April 1981, Landa Mabenge enters this world, trapped in a girlÕs body.

From the start, Landa is aware that he does not relate to his female form, despite being socialised as a girl. At age 11 his world is shattered, when an angry woman and her zombie-like husband arrive in Umtata
to force him to accompany them to Port Elizabeth.

Life in PE with ÔThe ParentsÕ soon morphs into a Dickensian nightmare. Landa is subjected to horrific abuse as he descends into a world of isolation and shame.

At 18 Landa is finally able to escape PE to study at UCT, where he tries to embrace life as a butch lesbian, but he remains tortured by his female body. After a close-to-death break down, Landa finds strength to embark on an arduous four-year-long journey to physically and legally become ÒHimÓ. In 2014, he makes history by becoming the first known transgender man in South Africa to successfully motivate a medical aid to pay for his surgeries.

Both heartbreaking and uplifting, Becoming Him is a groundbreaking story of torture and triumph, bravely opening the lid on cultural shame and abuse against those who choose a path less travelled.