From the streets of Cape Flats to the history books: Elana Ryklief hasn’t just earned a PhD, she’s broken personal generational cycles and redefined the general understanding of transgender narratives.
Cape Town, South Africa (25 March 2026) – Every voice carries weight, and every story deserves to be heard. For Elana Ryklief, that voice was found within the halls of academia.
Growing up in Steenberg on the Cape Flats, Elana has come a long way to become the first coloured trans woman from the community to earn a PhD from Stellenbosch University’s Department of English.
Hailing from a disadvantaged background, Elana’s path was paved with grit and resilience. In pursuing her doctoral dreams, she didn’t just build a career – she broke a generational cycle and, in doing so, shone a light on the lived experiences of the transgender community.
The Upbringing That Shaped Her
Her childhood memories reflect the complexity of growing up in a community marked by both warmth and hardship.
“The good memories are based on community and celebrations,” she recalls.
“But there were also difficult realities. The neighbourhood is affected by gang violence, drug abuse, police raids and the deaths of ordinary people.”
These early experiences would later inform the critical perspective she brings to her academic research.
Elana credits the women in her life for shaping her sense of self and womanhood from an early age.
“Steenberg is a lively community filled with people from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. Coloured women are formidable, strong and exceptionally independent. Growing up, these women supported my goals and dreams and celebrated all my achievements.”
It was this complex background and the strong women who carried her, that would inform and inspire Elana’s path.
Finding Her Voice Through Scholarship
In school, her teachers recognised her academic potential, and when she eventually progressed to university, Elana found her intellectual home in the humanities, armed with an NRF scholarship.
The newly capped doctor’s research explores transgender life writing and representation, drawing on both emerging trans scholarship and her own autoethnographic experiences.
Elana argues that popular assumptions often frame gender transition as a simple linear journey from “before” to “after” – a narrative she believes fails to reflect the complexity of lived realities.
Her research, described as groundbreaking, opens up new ways of thinking about transgender experiences in South Africa.
“Her pioneering work offers crucial insights into how societies and institutions respond to transgender individuals,” says one of her supervisors, Prof Mathilda Slabbert.
“Elana’s passion, energy and commitment kept us on our toes as supervisors. It has been an exceptionally rewarding experience.”
Elana didn’t just earn a degree; she claimed a space that had never been occupied before. As the first coloured Steenberg woman to do it, her accomplishment carries particular significance for the community she comes from.
Looking ahead, Elana hopes to build a career in academia and continue documenting transgender experiences in South Africa.
“I am excited to continue producing research for and by my community. My goal is to share these stories and bring them into spaces where they have not always been heard,” she says.
Sources: Stellenbosch University
Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google.
Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:
Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.
by 