Transgender activist, photographer and graphic designer Ayanda Nino Maphosa from Johannesburg couldn't be more happier about joining The Way Ngingakhona as a new cast member. Speaking to Zimoja, an excited Nino said that he can't wait for the show to be aired, which starts on Saturday, 15 October, at 9pm. Nino will be one of the new faces in the show, with Elle, after the departure of MJ Maponya, who will not be part of season 3.
TRANSITIONING
Nino said that he was excited about this because he is transitioning from being a woman to being a man. "Actually, this is very exciting for me as I will get an opportunity to teach people about transgenders. We are normal people, like any other people, and people need to learn more about transgenders. I first did my first step of transitioning with a top surgeon and had my breasts removed in 2020. These are the things people need to be taught about,' he said.
A DOTING PARENT
Nino said that he was the proud parent to two boys, aged 16 and 11 years old. "Well, I'm coming with something totally different from what people have been watching from the past two seasons. I want to leave a mark.I'm not there to fight with people over petty issues. I'm not a dramatic person. I'm a family man who is in a process of transforming and next year we are expecting baby girl to join our family,' said Nino, who is also a boxer.
PAN SEXUAL
Nino grew up in the streets of Hillbrow in Johannesburg after he came back from Zimbabwe, where her mother hails from. "From the young age I have never been a girl, I used to play with my cousin, a boy, and he had so much influence on me as I never imagined myself a woman. As we grew older I started noticing that I had breasts and I didn't like it at all. I was forced to try and accommodate the woman that I was for the sake of my grandmother. This is where I began dating men but to be honest, I didn't feel anything for them as much as we would kiss and stuff,' Nino says adding that, "I am also pansexual meaning I date whoever, gay, lesbian, transgender women, transgender men, straight men and women. I found out I was pansexual after coming out as a trans man but before I identified myself as a lesbian."
