Digital Content Creator and Trans Rights Activist, Zoey Black (33) from Kuils River, Cape Town, has openly shared her life and journey as a trans woman for the world to see in recent years.
Now, after much consideration, the tenacious Capetonian is ready for the next big step in her life, undergoing a breast augmentation, or ‘Top surgery’ as it’s commonly known, to affirm herself.
‘I always knew’
“It was incredibly hard being raised and socialised as a boy. Since childhood, I knew I was a woman. But I didn’t have the language to articulate or explain why I felt so displaced and why I struggled with my identity and relationships. Only coming into my gender identity in my late 20’s was rough, but it was by far the best decision I made for myself… to live as myself, openly.” – says Zoey
To realise her life-long dream of becoming her authentic self, Zoey has launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to appeal to family, friends, LGBTQI allies, as well as the wider public for much-needed support.
“I’m the kind of person to take my time when I make big decisions. I’d been thinking of having top surgery done for about 5 years now. But before I decided to undergo such massive change, I wanted to make sure that it was the right decision for me. And it was. So here we are… Me, asking you to help make that decision a reality.” – says Zoey.
Since the launch of Zoey’s campaign on 4 August 2021, over R5000 has been raised towards her fundraising target of R60 000, which will cover the cost of the surgery, time in theatre, as well as the routine post-surgery check-ups she will need.
To show her appreciation to those who have supported her op and stood by her through the years, Zoey hopes to document her experience in detail, to pave the way for her ‘trans siblings’ who are contemplating affirming themselves through surgery.
She also hopes that through educating others on what it means to be trans, more people will have compassion for the vibrant community. ‘There is always something we can learn from each other’ says Zoey.
Support Zoey
Make a donation to support Zoey’s transformation:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/zoey-black
Donate via Snapscan
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/Zoey-black
For regular updates on Zoey’s journey, subscribe to her YouTube channel here.
Follow Zoey on Instagram here.
Gender DynamiX Supports Trans and Gender Diverse Communities
Gender DynamiX (GDX), established in 2005, is the first registered Africa-based public benefit organisation to focus solely on trans and gender diverse communities. What started as a mere vision, slowly grew into a grassroots organisation. GDX has since become an institutionalised non-profit organisation (NPO) that is fundamental to the development of the trans and gender diverse movement(s) in South Africa and across southern Africa.
For more information, visit:
https://www.genderdynamix.org.za
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South Africa’s leading crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R260 Million.
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