The personal is indeed political — an expression Liesl Theron lives by. 

Liesl became the co-founder of Gender DynamiX in 2005 during a time that limited to no information was available in South Africa about any trans related topics, information or support. Due to the lack of information, it was very hard to publicly self-identify as trans, as there was no idea if the legal system would protect a trans person if they lost their work, or if a spouse filed for divorce on the basis of a person being trans. A range of uncertainties and the need for self-navigation through all social and legal systems determined the lives of trans people in South Africa, who lived in isolation with no substantial support networks.

This was also an era before most people had access to social media via their mobile phones. For most parts of the country back in 2005, only privileged households had both a computer or laptop and sufficient internet. It was only around 2007 – 2008 with the broader availability of smartphones and FaceBook that the availability of information changed. 

Gender DynamiX was founded with the initial purpose of connecting trans people throughout South Africa with each other, as well as to create a database of service providers (from psychologists, psychiatrists, endocrinologists, trans-friendly general practitioners, pharmacies dispensing hormones, labour lawyers, divorce and other lawyers, to trans-friendly skin clinics that would perform electrolysis and any other relevant supportive services). In this continuous search for trans people and service providers to add to the database, the organisation expanded rapidly and beyond expectations. 

“During the time of my trans activism in South Africa, starting officially in 2005 through to 2014 (and beyond) I am one of the only activists who were able to witness how the gender identity landscape emerged, developed, took shape and continues changing since its inception in South Africa as well as on the continent. In those beginning years, I took special interest in my free time to research in archives, online, newspapers and magazines or any possible platform; and I interviewed individuals in confidence, who are not publicly out about their experiences and lives before the existence of trans organizing. South Africa has an equally rich history during the time of apartheid, as the government of then did not only police race, as what is publicly known – but notoriously also gender identity and sexual orientation”.

Liesl’s Master’s Degree research topic: “‘This is Like seeing a Human Body Totally from a Different Angle’: Experiences of South African Cisgender Partners in Cisgender-Trans Relationships”, was completed in December 2013. Three of Liesl’s recent academic publications include the article, “Phoenix Rising Above Isolation” in Beyond the Mountain: Queer Life in ‘Africa’s Gay Capital’, which illuminates the underground trans [women] network in apartheid South Africa. “The Emergence of a Grassroots African Trans Archive” in the Transgender Studies Quarterly: Trans Archives and Archiving discusses the importance of documenting a community to ensure the history is not lost. Liesl also contributed “Trans Issues in Africa” to The Global Encyclopaedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History. 

Liesl expanded her consultation work beyond Southern and Eastern African to include projects that are either global, or within the Caribbean region.

Liesl now lives in México City and when she is not consulting, she enjoys walking in the city, taking photos of street murals and graffiti, especially those with quirky, political or resistance messages.