Sipokazi Fokazi

WHEN Adele Britz went to school at five, other children were so fascinated by her femininity, they referred to her as (little girl).

Born a male in a conservative Afrikaans family in Pretoria, he was named Adam and fully expected to play “boy” sports such as cricket and rugby – even though he couldn’t identify with such sporting activities.

“I was therefore quite offended by the dogtertjie reference because I was supposed to be ‘male’ and in my little world I expected to be called a boy. But deep down I also knew that I was not a boy… I just didn’t know how to describe myself at the time. Coming from a family of five boys, my family always reaffirmed to me that I was a boy, but I knew this was not the real me. I could identify more with being a girl than a boy,” she recalled.

Now 52, Britz, who lives in Strand, can finally call herself a “real woman” without any fear of contradiction following gender-affirming surgery – loosely known as a sex change operation.

The surgery, which she had at Groote Schuur at the end of last month, follows seven years of transition into the woman she is today.

Groote Schuur is one of two state hospitals in the country that performs gender-affirming surgery. The other hospital is Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria.

Even though Britz didn’t necessarily have to go for surgery, as she could still be recognised as a “legal woman” even without sex reassignment (South African law permits alteration of sex description and sex status), she says having the surgery has made her feel “complete and relieved” and reflects her authentic self.

“Since I was a child I knew that I was a woman trapped in a man’s body. Even though I lived most of my life as a gay man, but I knew that’s not who I was. I lived that life because I was trying to fit into society… I was trying to be someone I was not,” she said.

Following years of identity crisis that resulted in serious depression and suicidal thoughts, Britz says the surgery not only changed her BEFORE AND AFTER: Adele Britz from Strand says she has never felt so fulfilled.