Despite having one of the most liberal constitutions in the world regarding LGBTI-rights, South Africa poses severe challenges for gender nonconforming people. Especially townships and rural communities are strongly shaped by traditional beliefs that consider nonconforming gender ‘un-African’. Hate crimes and institutionalized homophobia are common consequences forcing individuals to perform their gender according to society’s standards. This project gives an intimate glimpse into the lives of four African transgender women in their endeavors to realize themselves as who they are. Rather than letting stigma and fear dictate their identities, they integrate themselves into a society shaped by heteronormative gender roles.