Interview with Erin Grace

Monika: Today I am going to chat with Erin Grace, a British software engineer and transgender woman from Manchester, the United Kingdom, that documents her transition on social media. Hello Erin!

Erin: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Erin: I’m a 27 year old transwoman living in Manchester with my cats! I started transitioning when I was 25, for a second time, after a first failed attempt when I was 20.

Monika: Why did you decide to share your transition details on social media?

Erin: A few reasons really! After having failed and detransitioning once, I think having a semi-public record of my transition out there serves not only as a sort of memory of how far I’ve come, but acts as a statement of intent that I don’t intend on giving up or failing this time. I’m here to stay.

Interview with Lisa van Ginneken

Monika: Today I am going to introduce you to Lisa van Ginneken, a Dutch politician, human rights advocate, and LGBTQI+ activist. Lisa is the President of Transvisie, an organisation that supports the trans community in the Netherlands. This year she is running for a Member of Parliament seat, representing D66, a social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. Hello Lisa!

Lisa: Hello Monika! I feel very honoured to be here today with you and your readers. 

Monika: We are meeting a couple of weeks before the General Elections in the Netherlands. Our whole trans community is keeping fingers crossed for you, and I am very grateful that you have found some time to present yourself to the readers of my blog. Why do you want to enter the world of politics?

Lisa: Politics might feel a world apart from our own daily lives sometimes, but it is not. It affects our lives hugely, not only through the decisions politicians make, but also by the example they set with their behaviour. The tone of public debate really worries me, in the Netherlands and worldwide. In my years of advocating transgender rights in the Netherlands I got familiar and intrigued with the ways of politics. And it felt like this is the right point in my life to put forward this and other experiences I have.

Interview with Renae

Monika: Today I am going to interview Renae, an American IT specialist and transgender woman that documents her transition on social media. Hello Renae!

Renae: Hello Monika! It's nice to meet you. I must say your blog is wonderful and it's nice to see so many other women like myself, getting great representation. I know it can be a beacon of hope for so many of us that may still be in the closet.

In addition to Reddit, I share my experience on other social media, including Facebook and Twitter as well.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Renae: Certainly! I am a mother of 4 kids and I have been married to my wife for 9 years. I work in IT in a moderately sized town of about 43,000 people in the Midwest. It's a fairly conservative town but there is a rather progressive area I frequent about 40 minutes away. That is where most of my friends live.

Interview with Willow-Jayne Davies

Monika: Today I am going to introduce to you Willow-Jayne Davies, a British makeup artist, nail technician, and beauty pageant queen from Swansea in Wales. She is Miss Swansea Sparkle 2016-2019 and Miss Voluptuous UK finalist 2020. Hello Willow-Jayne! 

Willow-Jayne: Hello gorgeous! How are you?

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Willow-Jayne: My top three most used words/phrases are: “it is what it is “, “Same to be honest “ and “lovely”. I’m not necessarily saying that my vocabulary is limited, it’s that I don’t need a dictionary to choose from because my top three work in all types of conversation.

Monika: Willow-Jayne is not a common name. Why did you choose it?

Willow-Jayne: When I was around eight I was rushed into hospital for an emergency operation (testicular torsion), and as I was slowly being put under the anesthetic and wheeled to the operating theatre, my mum had said “You’re going to go in as William and come out as Willow“. At that point it wasn’t a laughing matter, and I thought she was being serious.

Interview with Ashley-Marie Eden

Monika: Today I am meeting Ashley-Marie Eden, an Australian illustrator, writer, musician, engineer, poet, and thinker. Hello Ashley-Marie!

Ashley-Marie: Hi Monika!

Monika: How are you holding up in the crazy pandemic times?

Ashley-Marie: Fairly well all things considered. I work for a fantastic company in the defense and aerospace industry, and in an 'essential services role' so they looked after us very well and made arrangements for us all to work from home over a secure network. 

Personally at first I found the sudden change from a busy city office working life to one of almost total isolation quite difficult, especially because I live alone as well, but we adapt and move forward as best we can I guess.

Monika: Ashley-Marie is not a common name. Why did you choose it?

Ashley-Marie: Hmmm, to be honest I can't really tell you. Everyone just calls me Ash of course but as to why or where it came from I don't recall.

Interview with Nadia

Monika: Today I am going to interview Nadia, an American hair stylist and beauty expert, former entertainer from Orlando, Florida that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Nadia!

Nadia: Hello, how are you?

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Nadia: Well I am 44. I’m a services district educator for Ulta Beauty. I started my transition in 2005. So I will celebrate 16 years in April.

Monika: Nadia is a nice name. Why did you choose it?

Nadia: This name was given to me by my drag mother when I was a performer. It was a name I always loved as a kid. I love the movie Nadia based on the life of Nadia Comaneci. 

Monika: Yes, I remember the movie. Nadia Comaneci was a famous Romanian gymnast. Were you good at gymnastics?

Nadia: I was an ok gymnast. I taught myself a lot as a kid. All the things I wanted to do I was told “no” you can’t because that’s for girls. But that was with everything that I liked and wanted to do. I did enjoy watching the Olympics growing up and always hoped and wished I could do all those things that the girls did.