For far too long, transgender model and former Miss South Africa contestant Lehlohonolo Machaba did not identify with the person that she was physically,(she was born a male) but she has since taken steps to fully come back to herself by recently undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

According to International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM), sex reassignment surgery is a procedure whereby an individual with gender dysphoria changes their gender to their desired gender. 

Lehlohonolo who long suffered from gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia while growing up tells Nounouche her story. 

“From a very young age I knew that I was different,” she said with a smile. 

“Ever since I learnt that there is such a procedure, it was the only thing on my mind, and this is because I wanted to feel more like myself without feeling any dysmorphia towards my body.”

The surgery

She had her first surgery earlier this year at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital. 

Lehlohonolo’s genitalia that she was born with has since been reconstructed into a female one and she is currently learning her new body. She also suffered a number of complications after the procedure. “The surgery did not go as smooth as I expected. During my healing process I had to be re-admitted to hospital as I was taking longer than usual to heal,” she said. 

Although she faced a few changes, Lehlohonolo is glad that she was brave enough to do the surgery. 

The surgery has helped her heal from the trauma of not being at home in her own body, never being comfortable in her skin. “I’m excited for the future as now I feel like my soul and body matches.”

Lehlohonolo says she wouldn’t recommend for anyone to undergo the surgery unless they are mentally ready as it would need them to be strong.”You are not just changing your genitalia but the whole perspective of how you see yourself, before they start with the whole process, I would actually recommend that they go through therapy first, ” she said.

According to ISSM gender surgery is typically the last step in the physical transition process, but it is not a decision to be made lightly. Many healthcare providers require patients to be formally diagnosed with gender dysphoria and undergo counseling to determine if they are truly ready to surgically transition.

Lehlohonolo did not pay for the procedure, she revealed that the costs of the surgery were paid for by Transgender and Intersex Africa which is an organisation that helps trans individuals to transition. 

Life after Miss South Africa

Lehlohonolo who entered the Miss South Africa competition twice after they bent their rules to allow transgender women to compete tells us she is proud of herself, of how far she came in the competition and that more than anything for her the competition was a stepping-stone.

“They provided me an opportunity to grow and exposed me to a lot of brands that I never imagined myself working with and for that I am grateful, although I didn’t win, I know my impact was seen and felt,” she said.

Passionate about fashion, Lehlohonolo hopes to release her own fashion line that will be uniquely created.

@lehlohonolo.machaba