Interview with Lisa Salazar

Lisa Salazar is a Canadian transgender advocate, graphic designer, photographer, educator, and author whose life story is a testament to resilience, courage, and the pursuit of authenticity. She has devoted most of her professional life to working as a self-employed graphic designer, navigating the challenges of underemployment while maintaining her dedication to creative excellence and personal integrity. Lisa is the author of Transparently: Behind the Scenes of a Good Life, a heartfelt and insightful account of her journey through gender transition, personal growth, and the search for self-acceptance. Transitioning at the age of fifty-eight, she faced profound emotional, social, and spiritual challenges, including reconciling her Christian faith with her gender identity, confronting societal prejudices, and overcoming personal fears. Despite these obstacles, she found a sense of authenticity and peace that has become central to her life.

 

Lisa’s advocacy work began almost inadvertently, sparked by public speaking engagements and writing OpEds that drew attention to transgender rights and issues in Canada. She has used her voice to educate communities, challenge misconceptions, and promote understanding both within the LGBT+ umbrella and among broader audiences, often highlighting the unique struggles faced by transgender individuals. Her work is deeply personal, informed by her experiences as a mother, a former spouse, and a member of multiple faith and cultural communities. Beyond activism, Lisa dedicates herself to helping transgender individuals and their families navigate the complex social, medical, and emotional aspects of transition, combining compassion with practical advice. Her journey has also emphasized the importance of health, self-care, and perseverance, demonstrating that even later in life, transformation and fulfillment are possible. Through her writing, advocacy, and everyday example, Lisa inspires others to live authentically, confront challenges with courage, and embrace the fullness of their identity.

Interview with Sofie Ward

Sofie Ward is a Swedish transgender musician and blogger from Hässleholm, a small town in southern Sweden. She combines her creative interests with academic studies in Art, specializing in Cultural Leadership, at Linnaeus University in Växjö. Music is an important part of Sofie’s life. She plays bass with the Swedish band Zip of Fire, whose sound draws on the roots of Motown, while her own musical interests extend across a wide range of styles. She also writes a blog, using it as a space to share her experiences and thoughts rather than pursuing the more traditional route of writing a memoir. Sofie has a distinctly down-to-earth approach to being transgender. Rather than defining herself primarily through her trans identity, she sees it as one part of a much broader life that includes music, education, relationships, fashion, and everyday interests. She is also refreshingly skeptical of the tendency to place transgender people into separate categories, whether in entertainment, politics, or beauty. Her perspective is particularly interesting for its emphasis on individuality and the idea that being transgender should not determine the limits of what a person can become.

Interview with Aleshia Brevard: Part 3

Monika: Aleshia, in our previous conversation you stated that your true acting career took place in the theater. How would you compare these two artistic worlds?

Aleshia: Ah, Monika, that is a subject on which I could easily drone on for hours, one on which someone could write a book – and indeed many have. Accomplished actors still argue over whether performance styles must differ markedly between stage and film. I tend to agree with those artists who argue successful acting for film is more self-contained. The film is the more intimate medium. Obviously, on stage, the play’s ideas are projected into a three-dimensional space peopled with actors whose goal is to reach and move the theater audience. This requires a project of both voice and manner. Even with a long run of the play, the actors must speak their lines as though they had just thought of them, the “illusion of the first time.” I would further contribute that theater appeals to feelings first and to intellect second.

Interview with Aleshia Brevard: Part 2

Monika: Today I would like to focus our interview on your movie acting. Your first movie role was Sherry in „The Love God?” (1969). Did you have to go through any auditions to get the role? How did it feel to be an actress for the first time?

Aleshia: Oh, yes, Monika, Universal had seen every tall redhead in Hollywood by the time I auditioned. That, at least, is what I was told by my agent, with whom I’d just signed. I was so new in the business that I didn’t even have headshots – which almost proved my undoing. Some Universal executives feared I might not photograph well on screen but the director, Nat Hiken, fought for me. Bless that man! I was absolutely stunned by my good fortune, loved every single moment of the process, and promptly buckled down on set to learn my craft. It was a glorious experience.

Interview with Vandy Beth Glenn

Vandy Beth Glenn’s story is one of those rare stories in which a deeply personal decision changed not only one woman’s life, but also helped shape the rights of countless others. After growing up in Atlanta and beginning her transition in her thirties, Vandy found acceptance and love from her friends, only to face devastating discrimination when she was fired from her job at the Georgia General Assembly because of her transition. What followed was a long and difficult legal battle that ultimately became a landmark victory for transgender people facing discrimination in the workplace. Remarkably, Vandy eventually returned to the very job from which she had been dismissed. In this interview, Vandy talks openly about her childhood, transition, friendship, love, femininity, passing, fashion, activism, and the price of fighting back. She also reflects on the loneliness she felt before discovering that she was not the only person in the world like her, the importance of transgender role models, and her belief that visibility and courage remain among the most powerful tools in the struggle for equality. Her story reminds us that sometimes simply refusing to accept injustice can create consequences far beyond our own lives. Vandy Beth Glenn fought for herself, but her courage helped open doors for many others.