One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. No biological, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society. We are wives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, and partners. I interviewed over 700 transgender women who radiate with wisdom, beauty, intelligence and love. The blog is about transgender women who proved to me that there is hope for me and it is better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for who you are not.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jossy Yendall, an inspirational performer from Gateshead, UK, and beauty pageant queen. Hello Jossy!
Jossy: Hello Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Jossy: I’m an aspiring model and actress from the North East of England. I also love to belly dance and sing jazz standards. I love R&B music, vampire mythology, and animal print.
Monika: You hit the headlines this year when the British media covered your participation in Miss Transgender UK. Did you like the contest?
Jossy: All in all, it was a good experience as I do believe that the pageant has opened a few doors for me. What drew me to this pageant was the fact that it wasn’t based on looks, but was more about how, as transgender women, we are able to be positive role models and contribute to society.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Angelique Munro, an American entertainer, TV Talk Show Host, show director, and transgender - HIV/AIDS advocate, and motivational speaker. Hello Angelique!
Angelique: Hello Monika, Pleasure to meet you! Monika: You look fantastic, Angelique. What is the secret of your beauty? Angelique: Awe you're too kind, I really eat healthily and sleep as much as I can. No smoking or drugs and I do not sunbath. Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Angelique:
I was born an only child on 5-27-70 in Chicago, IL. I am a survivor of child abuse because my Mom didn't understand what transgender was and used to beat me so bad because I would say "I am a girl".
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Reena Gibson, a British writer and author of her new biographical book titled “The Long Road Ahead” (2015), as well as lead singer and guitarist of the Birmingham rock band Milestone Road. Hello Reena!
Reena: Monika, thank you so much for the interview, I’m overwhelmed that you’ve asked me.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Reena: How long do you have? Seriously, I could chat for England! I’m just over three years into my second transition as a woman, I first came out when I was 24 which was 21 years ago, and a time which was still very unaccepting for people to come out to society as trans. This time around has still met with some rather difficult challenges, I have a family now which has added strain on all sides, there have been times of self-doubt and indeed there have been a few times where I’ve just wanted to give up on life altogether. But really though, I’d call myself just a “normal” woman, trying to find her way through life like anyone else.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Brittney Kade, a young video blogger that documents her life transition on YouTube. Hello Brittney!
Brittney: Hello Monika, thank you for having me!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Brittney: Well, my name is Brittney Kade, I am sixteen and transgender. I started my transition when I was fourteen, and have been on hormones for over a year now.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Katherine Cummings, an icon of the Australian transgender movement, librarian, sailor, activist for transgender people, award-winning author; she works at Sydney’s Gender Centre – an organization set up in 1983 to help people with gender issues – and is the information worker and edits the Centre’s quarterly magazine Polare.
Hello Katherine! Katherine: Hello Monika. I am honored (and flattered) by your introduction. You could just have said, as Deirdre McCloskey did in her book, Crossing, that I am a gender saint (please don’t guffaw too loudly). Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Katherine: If there is such a thing I’d say I am a fairly typical transgender. My wish to be female goes back as far as memories go but I only found out that my impossible dream could be a possible dream when I was seventeen, in my first year at university, when Christine Jorgensen was outed. Up to that point I had known about gay people, female impersonators, and intersex (although we didn’t call them intersex in 1952) and knew I was none of those things.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Katie Bainbridge, a Scottish writer, blogger, and the author of the autobiographical book titled “Flowers and Tightropes” (2015).
Hello Katie!
Katie: Hi Monika! Thanks for asking me to do this interview.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Katie: I'm a 47-year-old, transgender woman. I was born in Scotland and I now live in Cornwall. I am a writer, author and I also work part-time as an administrator.
Monika: Why did you decide to write your autobiography?
Katie: Well, I didn't just decide. It sort of evolved. Every Monday, Anja, my friend, and housemate, have a creative evening (her idea originally) and we produce and perform pieces of work for it. Anja started the evenings because she wanted someone to perform to and I wanted to take part so, I started writing pieces about my life. After a year and a half of these evenings, I found I had myself a book.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Lucia Richardson, an application architect, a Canadian writer, blogger, the author of the biographical book titled “Lucia: The Life of a Transgender Person” (2015). Hello Lucia!
Lucia:
Hi Monika. Thanks for the opportunity. As always, it is nice to have a voice, and thanks for taking the time. Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Lucia:
I graduated from the University of Moncton (1999) in New Brunswick, Canada with a BSc. Major Computer Sciences and Minor in Informatics Management. My mother tongue language is French and I have been working as an IT professional for the past 18+ years. I have worked for the Government and for various financial/insurance companies throughout Canada and the US: Sunlife, TIAA CREF, Fintrac, and Farm Credit Canada. Also, I have worked as an IT Consultant for OAO Technologies, CGI, and Keanes Canada (now better known under the name: “NTT Data”) and also with Pason Inc. (Oil Industry) and AT&T (Telecom).
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Sandy Stone, an American academic theorist, writer, and founder of the academic discipline of transgender studies. She is currently Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Advanced Communication Technologies Laboratory (ACTLab) and the New Media Initiative in the Department of Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Hello Sandy!
Sandy: Hi Monika! Monika: What are you doing these days? Sandy: Teaching. Writing. Making a recording studio. Making robots. Making art. Doing things with my grandkid. Hanging out with my family. Performing, lecturing. Discoursing with Cynbe. Living life. Having a hell of a good time.
Monika: Your contract with Olivia Records in 1974-78, a collective founded in 1973 to record and market women's music, seems to have changed your life totally. Suddenly you got involved in the lesbian feminist culture… Sandy: The Olivia Collective identified publicly as a lesbian feminist and internally as lesbian separatist. I had no idea what lesbian separatism was until they told me. They already knew I was trans when they approached me, but I didn’t know they knew, so I told them. They said they had no problem with that, and we got down to business. I didn’t have a contract with them; I joined the collective, became part of it, which involved a long vetting period during which we looked each other over very carefully to be sure we were a good match (I did an album with them as part of that vetting period), and, after mutually agreeing that it was a good idea, I left my home and friends in Santa Cruz and moved in with the collective, which at that point was about seven women and which grew to, I think, thirteen. Being involved with Olivia was absolutely right for me at the time. We were making music and politics at the same time -- in fact, our music was our politics -- and it was important to me that I should be working for political change in a way that engaged my strengths and skills in the best possible manner. So Olivia felt like a good fit to me, and I to them.
Monika: In 1979, the lesbian feminist scholar Janice Raymond attacked you for using your “male energy” to destroy the Olivia Records collective and womanhood in “The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male”. Your answer in “The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto” (1983) was historical in that sense that it gave rise to the academic discipline of transgender studies. In retrospect, how do you perceive that conflict? Sandy: I don’t think my opinion has changed much over the years from what the collective said internally at the time. Publicly we made some reasoned responses. Internally the general reaction was that an ignorant bigot had sent us a hate letter, we should answer politely (because we answered every letter we received), and that would be the end of it. We didn’t see Raymond’s letter as dangerous, just as somewhat deranged, from a kind of parallel universe that had no resonance with anything in our day-to-day reality. Remember the acronym TERF didn’t exist yet. What was so strange about Raymond’s ideas was her implicit sense of disempowerment. In Raymond’s universe, women were always victims. In her universe men disrupted women’s groups and appropriated their work while women looked on helplessly. Raymond wrote as if strong women simply didn’t exist. It made no sense to us. Certainly, women could be outshouted or outgunned, but the women I knew were feisty and intelligent, and assertive. They were strong! They stood up for what they thought was right. When necessary, they stood up to men. They drew strength from each other. They loved fiercely. I wanted to be like them. Since I was five years old, I had thought of myself as a girl and later as a woman. But even at a young age, the peer group I imagined for myself was not what one might call feminine. I dreamed of climbing cliffs and shooting rapids and stalking wild animals, and in my dreams, my companions in the adventure were other women. At the same time, what the real world offered were the stereotypical feminine role models of the 1950s. When eventually I met the women I’d dreamed were out there, I realized I’d come home. So when Janice Raymond unveiled her paranoid and extremely disempowering vision of men disrupting women’s affairs, it was little more than risible to women I knew. Of course, we now understand that hatemongers frequently look like buffoons in their early years, before they build their political base. Monika: At that time did it ever occur to you that you were becoming a transgender icon? Sandy: I know I’ve been called things that are more or less suggestive of “icon” -- like, for example, “lightning rod” -- but I don’t think of myself in that way. Monika: The 80s and 90s witnessed your return to academia, you received your doctorate and established the New Media program called UT Austin ACTLab, which contributed to the establishment of New Media Art… Sandy: And we went on for twenty years pushing the boundaries of a good many disciplines and having the time of our lives. My personal view was that I was put on this earth to use whatever abilities I have as a force for change and that if I have anything at all to teach, it is that it’s the same for everyone. We can be strong, and we can make a difference -- if not in the large, then certainly in our immediate vicinity. That’s what the ACTLab was about.
Monika: In the mid-1990s you fell prey to many attacks as the result of your several highly publicized interviews during which you suggested that the era of academic scholarship was over…
Sandy: It was controversial then, it’s mainstream today. Now we need to craft a workable successor institution going forward, and that is not at all a simple thing.
Monika: What is the contemporary stance of feminism in relation to the transgender phenomenon?
Sandy: I would say there is no such thing as “feminism”. There are many feminisms, and each one has its own stance vis-à-vis transgender. So that question has no simple answer.
Monika: What should be the main focus of transgender studies these days?
Sandy: Transgender Studies is whatever transgender scholars do. I have no preconceived notion of a direction the field should go. From time to time I see trends emerge, and they are invariably exciting to me, and they shift and change. That just means the discipline is alive and vital. Different scholars will find the focus that empowers them, articulate it, and move on.
Monika: How has the Internet contributed to the success of the transgender cause?
Sandy: If there is a transgender cause, it’s simply to be able to live our lives in peace. Anything that enhances social communication can be an organizing tool toward that end. That’s true not only for the trans communities but for any community. Online we have discussion groups, resources, things as simple as letting someone who is isolated in a hostile social pocket know there are others out there to talk with. Sometimes just knowing you are not alone can be enough.
Monika: Recently the media have set their spotlight on Caitlyn Jenner. Since her coming out she has been the focus of many articles and attacks. What do you think about her and other transgender stories or characters which have been featured in films, newspapers, or books so far?
Sandy: I’ll take any positive representation I can get. They’re all problematic and they’re all good, just like real life.
Monika: What do you think in general about the present situation of transgender women in American society?
Sandy: Trans women are more readily accepted than ever before, but, as the virulence of TERF hate groups and the suicide and murder rates for trans people, especially trans women of color, show, we have a long, long way to go.
Monika: At what age did you transition into a woman yourself? Was it a difficult process?
Sandy: I transitioned in my 30s, and I had the luxury of being able to choose the way I transitioned and the community in which I did so; nevertheless, getting to the point at which that supportive environment was in place required long and excruciating work. By its nature, I don’t think transition can be easy for anyone. When you decide to proceed with transition, metaphorically speaking, they issue you a ticket with everything you need to know and do written out on it. (Expand the variable “they” in any way you choose.)
The joke is that you can never know everything that’s on the ticket. There are always critical things that you didn’t know were there, and suddenly they jump up and bite you. You learn that people you counted on to stay with you through transition, and who promised they would, suddenly abandon you, or worse, betray you in ways that catch you off balance and unprepared; while others whom you were sure would leave without a second glance wind up becoming defenders and companions and friends. The chemical and emotional changes are unpredictable, unpleasant, and occasionally cataclysmic.
On the other hand, the rewards are spectacular. Still, as with puberty, I was profoundly glad when it was over so I could get on with life.
Monika: At that time, did you have any transgender role models that you followed?
Sandy: No. I knew of Christine Jorgensen, but she was not a role model. She was tall and willowy and blonde, I was short and kinda clumsy and brunette.
Monika: Is there anyone in the US transgender society whose actions could be compared to what Harvey Milk was doing in the 60s and 70s for gay activism? Are there are any transgender ladies that you admire and respect now?
Sandy: There are many. Kate Bornstein. Susan Stryker. Too many others to name. You’ll get a different answer from each trans person you ask.
Monika: The transgender cause is usually manifested together with the other LGBT communities. Being the last letter in this abbreviation, is the transgender community able to promote its own cause within the LGBT group?
Sandy: There is no unitary transgender community, just as there is no one unitary LGBT group. There are organizations that claim to speak for the majority of those communities, and they do good work. Individual trans groups promote their causes in local LGBT communities, and those may be different in different locales.
In general, though, trans issues are still the tail of the distribution and will be dropped first before other interests when it is convenient to do so. Needless to say, this needs work.
Monika: Are you active in politics? Do you participate in any lobbying campaigns? Do you think transgender women can make a difference in politics?
Sandy: Politics is not how I choose to apply myself to furthering trans issues. On the other hand, though, in my ontology, all acts are political acts. When I teach, I’m doing politics. When I make art, the same thing applies.
Monika: Could you tell me about the importance of love in your life?
Sandy: I happen to love and be loved, and I consider that the greatest gift and blessing I could have. But it was not always so. I am profoundly grateful and try my best to give as good as I receive. Corinthians 13:13.
Monika: Many transgender ladies write their memoirs. Have you ever thought about writing such a book yourself?
Sandy: Sometimes after ten beers or so, but I punch myself in the face a few times and the feeling goes away.
Monika: What would you recommend to all transgender girls struggling with gender dysphoria?
Sandy: Nothing I know would be applicable to all transgender girls or women. The closest I could come might be the last lines of my novel “Ktahmet”:
“And to you who still wait, looking for the opportunity or the courage or the awakening, we say: Whenever you are truly ready, then will we be there; whenever you begin your own Remembering, then will we be at your side.
—And in the time of waiting, we say to you: “Alana, Ktahmet, moy senyo nui hgytah —” Beloved sister, the warriors return, return to thee in love and power!”
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, a Nigerian, Cuban Indigenous American actress, singer, dancer, writer, radio host, oracle, healer, and teacher, the first trans woman of color in Washington DC to publish a work of fiction, a member of the leadership team of Trans Women of Color Collective, listed in the 2015 Trans 100, a group of trans people honored for their work on trans issues in the United States and having a positive impact. Hello Dane!
Dane: Hi Monika, How are you?
Monika: I am fine, thank you. You are a woman of so many talents! Let’s start with one of your blessings, namely, singing. You are dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa … Dane: I am, I was given that title a while ago when I was very young, and a powerful medium was reading my aura as I performed. He said, “You are a priestess of Mother Africa”.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Crista Lynn, a video blogger that documents her transition on YouTube. Hello Crista!
Crista: Hello all!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Crista: Well, I like to think that I’m a pretty normal person, except when I’m going thru one of my crazy spells. When I’m not getting into trouble, I’m usually a quiet, outdoors adventurer, found swimming at the bottom of some waterfall, out in the desert, catching new pet lizards, at home doing some arts and craft project, or sleeping after a hard days work.
Monika: Why did you decide to share your transition details on YouTube?
Crista: Well, because I was bored, and had just finished writing my memoir “When Fantasies Are Fulfilled”, and was looking for a way to promote my work, which is STILL in the never-ending process of being published. What a nightmare! But, I was just looking for a way to bring my story to life and get it out there ahead of being published on paper, and I guess I was also just looking for attention, as usual.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Elle Bradford, an inspirational young model from the USA, fashionista, and video blogger that documents her transition on YouTube. Hello Elle!
Elle: Hello Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Elle: Well, I am a young trans woman living in New York City pursuing a career in fashion. I live with my boyfriend of seven years and our son (d0g) Isaac. Life is good. Monika: I am a big fan of your vlog. Why did you decide to share your transition details on YouTube? Elle: I felt that the time was right. I have been stealth for a few years now and never have I been as compelled to share my story as in this moment in time. There is an incredible amount of support for trans people in the world right now and I thought in sharing my story I could present another “version” of trans to the general public. In order to teach them that we are all different, just like everyone else.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Pauline Park, a human rights activist, transgender advocate, the chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), president of the board of directors as well as former executive director of Queens Pride House, co-founder of Iban/Queer Koreans of New York, named to a list of 'The 2012 Most Influential LGBT Asian Icons' and '50 Transgender Icons' for Transgender Day of Remembrance 2012. Hello Pauline!
Pauline: Hello, Monika!
Monika: Your life is very extraordinary. You are a Korean-American adoptee… Pauline: Yes, I was born in Korea and adopted by European American parents, and raised in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). You might be surprised by some things we have in common; you're Polish, and I grew up on the south side of Milwaukee, which is predominantly German and Polish Catholic (it was even more so when I was growing up there in the 1960s and 1970s). I grew up eating kielbasa and punchki as well as sauerkraut -- which is like a bland, non-spicy German version of kimchi~!
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jennell Jaquays, an American designer of role-playing games (RPGs) and video games, known for the Dungeons & Dragons modules “Dark Tower” and “Caverns of Thracia” for Judges Guild. Hello Jennell!
Jennell: Hi Monika. Thank you for letting me share a bit about myself and my story.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Jennell: Well in a FEW words, I’m an artist and game developer who late in life accepted that she was ALSO transgender. I was born and lived most of my early life in the American Midwest (near the Great Lakes) and had a not too unusual childhood. For the most part, sports didn’t interest me (I became a baseball fan one year that the Detroit baseball team, the Tigers, won the world series), but I was very much into comic books of all sorts, and drawing, and building imaginary worlds with my younger brother.I had (still have) a younger brother and sister. We moved just about every three years and friendship relationships rarely outlasted the moves so my brother ended up being my best friend as well. Until I was in high school, most of our adventures were shared with each other.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Micheline Anne Hélène Montreuil, a Quebec lawyer, teacher, writer, radio host, trade unionist, and politician from Canada. Hello Micheline!
Micheline: Hello Monika; how are you today?
Monika: I am fine, thank you. Could you say a few words about yourself?
Micheline: Well I could say that I am just an ordinary girl, but being also at the same time a little bit special because I am a transgender. Otherwise, on a professional level, I am just a lawyer, a professor of law, management, and ethics at university, a writer, and a lecturer.
Monika: You made yourself known with your struggles for transgender rights in Canada. Could you elaborate on some of your initiatives in this respect?
Micheline: My first initiatives were about my name. I wished only to add the first name Micheline to my birth certificate to allow me to have a driver’s license under the name of Micheline Montreuil but unfortunately, the Registrar of civil status denied me this right.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Yuni Carey, an American model of Cuban descent, dancer, and beauty pageant queen. Hello Yuni!
Yuni: Hello Monika!
Monika: Yuni, you look absolutely beautiful! What is the secret of your everlasting beauty?
Yuni: Aww thank you my love that's very sweet of you.
Well, I like to stay on top of myself by always taking good care of my diet and eating well-balanced food as also maintaining straightforward nutrition. Few secrets would be hormones, which are very important, as well as dancing to stay in shape... And always on top of all, fashion and the best products for beauty. A trans woman has to always stay on top of things to be stunning.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Sheala Dawn Reinertson, an advanced patient care technician, happy wife, and mother. Hello Sheala!
Sheala: Hello, it is a pleasure to be with you.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Sheala: Yes, thank you. I am 33 and came out as transgender at 31. Before then I had spent 8 years in the US NAVY, and am very proud of the time that I spent in the service. I am now making a great advancement in my career and in nursing school. Monika: Your name hit the headlines in connection with The Name Change Project, which expanded to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a year ago and connects transgender people with volunteer attorneys. How did the project help you? Sheala: That was honestly the only way I was able to complete my name change. In Pennsylvania, I had to go in front of a judge, I would have done the papers all wrong, they were also able to minimize the cost to me. Without that, I would not have been able to afford the name change.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Tela La'Raine Love, an American transgender activist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Hello Tela!
Tela: Greetings Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Tela: Sure, let me start by saying I believe this is a truly awesome thing you are doing for the transgender folk who can identify with the experience. I am honored that you wanted me to take part.
With that being said you know my name is Tela La'Raine Love and I self-identify as a trans-experienced woman.
I view myself as a woman with trans-experience and not of the trans-experience because being trans is not the totality of my being but merely a facet of who I am.
I am a trailblazer in the sense that I am one of the few trans-woman of color from south New Orleans, Louisiana that has chosen not to fully assimilate into a life of stealth. Why? That choice is simply not an option for me.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jackie Enx, an Irish/American radio personality, percussionist, performer, instructor, and a founding member of such rock bands as Warrior (Virgin Records 1982-1984) and Rhino Bucket (Warner Bros and Acetate 1989-1993 and 2006-2009).
Hello Jackie!
Jackie: Good evening, Monika. Monika: It has been over 20 years since you left Rhino Bucket. What are you doing these days? Are you working on any new artist projects now? Jackie: I’m always working on something new, I’ve always had a “next” mentality and I do work really hard at whatever I’m doing, and then it’s “next”. Right now I’m playing drums behind SHANE DWIGHT who is a singer/songwriter out of Nashville and I’m producing, arranging, and playing with an Irish band that has relocated to San Francisco called THE GUV’RMENT.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Mey Rude, the Trans Editor at Autostraddle, a writer, blogger, and transgender activist.
Hello Mey!
Mey: Hi!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Mey: Well, obviously, my name is Mey. I’m a transgender Latina who lives in Idaho in the US. I’m also a lesbian, and a comic book nerd, and a writer. I work as the Trans Editor for the website Autostraddle.com.
Monika: As Trans Editor at Autostraddle, you follow and comment on all the trends related to the visibility of transgender women in the media. Thanks to the success of “Orange Is the New Black,” “Transparent,” “New Girls on the Block,” and “True Trans With Laura Jane Grace” and other TV productions, we have faced increasing visibility of trans characters. Is it a stable trend?
Mey: I really hope so. I think that all the awards that have been going to “Orange Is the New Black” and “Transparent”, as well as the recent Emmy win for Laverne Cox’s TV documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word” will encourage more people to take a chance on trans stories and trans characters. And we’ve been starting to see that. There are going to be a bunch of new shows featuring trans characters this year, including several with fictional trans characters played by trans actresses, so I think that’s a very good sign.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Nicola Jane Chase, a British writer from near Liverpool, who currently lives in New York. A former globe-trotting DJ and radio personality, she is the author of “Tea and Transition” (2015). Hello Nicola!
Nicola: Hey Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Nicola: That's always hard! But I'd say I am a supremely content New York woman with a transgender history.
Monika: Why did you decide to write your autobiography?
Nicola: In fact, it started out as a journal, a diary, I didn’t set out to write a book. It was relatively early in my transition and I realized that I was having experiences and going through events that had never happened before and may not happen again. Starting hormones, the first therapy session, and so on.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Bianca Leigh, an American actress, writer, and singer. Hello Bianca!
Bianca: Witam, Monika!
Monika: “She’s got Bette Davis eyes, Joan Crawford facial expressions, Faye Dunaway angst, Norma Shearer hauteur, and Marlene Dietrich cross-sexual appeal.” Who is that woman?
Bianca: A press agent’s dream! LOL That woman is me on-stage, chewing the scenery. The off-stage me is much more sedate. A little boring, even.
Monika: Hello Kayla! It has been 18 months since our first interview. What has changed in your life since then?
Kayla: I moved to Dallas, Texas, and began chasing my dreams of modeling and acting.
Monika: You look absolutely stunning! What is the secret of your beauty?
Kayla: Luck with genetics is about the only answer I can honestly give. I’d like to say it is due to eating healthy, consistent workouts, and always getting enough sleep but that doesn’t happen like it should.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Nika Fontaine, an inspirational Canadian artist based in Berlin, Germany, coffin designer, curator of the Kitsch Lexikon and Kitschypedia. Her works consist of glitter paintings, sculptures, video, music, photography, and performance art. Hello Nika!
Nika: Hello Monika! Thank you for the invitation, your blog played a big role in my process of acceptance!
Monika: Thank you! Could you say a few words about yourself? Nika: I very much like your introduction, maybe I can just make it more precise. I am French Canadian and I have been living in Berlin for almost seven years now. I started the transition process one year and a half ago.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Emma Martin, a British IT consultant, clinical psychotherapist, and transgender activist.
Hello Emma!
Emma: Hi Monika. Thank you for inviting me.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Emma: What can I say? Well, I’ve been married to the love of my life Linda for 37 years, spent most of my working life in IT with various companies ending up as an IT Manager for a major food manufacturer, then got a bit fed up with IT and trained as a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist. Now, retired, I consider myself to be a full-time writer. I’m also teaching myself 3D graphics design. As to hobbies, we have two retired greyhounds that will soon be the stars of a series of children’s stories I’m writing.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Marisa Allen, a Belgian revue producer, and performer, director, and creator of the award-winning show ballet "The New Sensations". She has been The Designer of the Stars for more than 10 years.
Hello Marisa!
Marisa: Hello dear Monika!
Monika: You look fantastic, Marisa. What is the secret of your beauty?
Marisa: I think it is love and happiness… it makes me glow.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Koko Jones, an American activist and a voice in the trans community, jazz percussionist and band leader that played for such artists as Whitney Houston, The Isley Brothers, Winard Harper, and Reggie Workman, the author of her newest album “Who's That Lady”. Hello Koko!
Koko: Hi Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Koko: Well I would say that I’m a musician, writer, composer, producer, educator, Buddhist, a parent, and a trans woman of color.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jessica O’Donnell formerly known as Jessica Cummings. She is an American transgender activist, video blogger, former co-host of Transition Radio. Hello Jessica!
Jessica: Hi Monika! Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to be a part of such a positive outlet for our community. I am truly honored to be included in this!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Jessica: Sure! I am a 40-year-old transgender woman who like others has struggled with my gender and identity my entire life. When I started daycare and through 1st grade, I thought I was a girl but learned very quickly that if I wanted to be accepted by others I had to act like a boy.
Monika: Today’s interview will be with Stephanie Postma, a young Dutch video blogger that documents her transition on YouTube. Hello Stephanie!
Stephanie: Hello Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Stephanie: I am a 22-year-old female and student of beauty and wellness in the last year.
Monika: Why did you decide to share your transition details on YouTube?
Stephanie: I was young and I thought I might be an inspiration for other young transgender ladies. I was only 14 when I uploaded my first YouTube video.
Monika: At which stage of the transition are you right now?
Stephanie: I’m finished! I would really like a boob job in a couple of years but for the time being it is enough. I am happy with myself and that is the most important issue for me.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Bright Daffodil, a British woman born intersex, a participant in many documentaries and interviews. Hello Bright Daffodil!
Bright Daffodil: NAMASTE Monika an absolute pleasure to meet you.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Bright Daffodil: I believe myself to be a Pleiadian, a star seed here in London, in human terms I’m an intersex person, a transgendered woman, but I’m at a stage in my life where gender to me is nothing more than the others' perception. I don’t see myself as any gender anymore, just as a soul having a human experience. I think I have transcended gender to be really honest. For my soul, it’s easier to live a female experience however I don’t think I’m female or male in knowing my true self I am merely an organic being.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Victoria Divine, a film director, producer, and performer from Argentina. Hello Victoria!
Victoria: Hello Monika, how are you doing?
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Victoria: I’d like to say that I am someone in constant urge for transforming myself and not just physically when I say ‘transforming’. I mean growing up, learning, discovering. I started to express my gender identity in Argentina, Buenos Aires during the 1970s.
I have been fascinated with trans women since an early age. At that time perhaps I didn’t know that I was one of them but over the years I realized that those spectacular women I used to see were a part of who I am.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Meghna Lama, a Nepalese model, and beauty pageant queen. Hello Meghna!
Meghna: Hello Monika, Namaste!
Monika: Meghna, you look absolutely beautiful! What is the secret of your everlasting beauty?
Meghna: :) Thanks for your compliment. There is no secret about my beauty; we just have to think and feel that we are beautiful with the glow that comes automatically on our faces.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Meghna: I just feel that when we are born into this world we all have to face many difficulties and problems in every walk of life, regardless of whether are male, female, or LGBTI, so I don’t worry about it, and I always love to face it and at the end success comes close to me.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Kelly Star, an Australian model, and celebrity. Hello Kelly!
Kelly: Hello Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Kelly: I am strong, passionate, and driven with an aura of kindness. I am also compassionate to all living creatures living a Vegan lifestyle, which I believe keeps me looking young and radiating love all the time.
Monika: You hit the headlines in March 2015 when the American and Australian media presented you as a woman who claimed to have the “Largest Boobs in Australia.” Does the media attention help you with your career?
Kelly: Yes, by exposing myself (in more ways than one) I am hoping to further my career. It is a risk I am taking right now.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Sass Rogando Sasot, a transpinay (a Filipina trans woman of Philippine descent) advocating for the dignity of trans people, aspiring to become an international relations scholar and practitioner of diplomacy, and hoping to improve the visibility of trans folks in international politics. Hello Sass!
Sass: Hello, Monika! Thank you for having me here!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Sass: I am a passionate, reflective, dedicated, and determined person. I love to read, write, and reflect on what makes us human - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the divine. I am always a work in progress. This has meant different things in different stages of my life.
Right now, I’m on my way to becoming an international relations scholar, who has an affinity with classical realism, and a future practitioner of diplomacy, who wants to become involved in the field of conflict resolution and transformation. In the process, I would like to help improve the visibility of trans people in international politics.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Plastic Martyr, an American Transgender high fashion print, runway model, and singer. Hello Plastic Martyr!
Plastic Martyr: Hello love!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Plastic Martyr: Well, for those of you who are new to hearing my name I am a 25-year-old transgender celebrity. Mostly known for being one of the big Transgender models and recently just started doing some music!
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Terri Jay, an American beauty pageant queen, model, and transgender activist. Hello Terri!
Terri: Hi Monika! I am honored to meet you and wanted to thank you for your time and interest to interview me.
Monika: You look fantastic, Terri!
Terri: Thank you very much.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Terri: Yes, my name is Terri Jay, I am 46 years old and I am a proud Native American Indian transwoman, and I am also a member of the Navajo/Zuni Tribes from the state of New Mexico. I am currently single and am in the dating scene, looking for love with a respectful male partner.
I am very proud to share that I have a fabulous rewarding career as a Certified Addictions Specialist, working in the area of Non-Profit Organization at APAIT (Asian Pacific Aids Intervention Team) Health-Center, located in Los Angeles, California, and working with transwomen of color community who suffer from surrounding Addictions and Homelessness.
Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Joanne Borden, a transgender activist from the USA, former industrial engineering consultant, president of two engineering societies, and happy father and grandfather.
Hello Joanne!
Joanne: Hello Monika.
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? Joanne: When talking about myself it is rarely just a few words because I’m my favorite topic! In 89 years, anyone would have a lengthy biography so I have a great deal to say about myself. Briefly, I am a transgender woman who was always a happy person. As a friend once said, “You were always a happy person but now (after “coming out”) you are always happy!” I credit that to being a realist.
