Interview with Nika Fontaine

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.

Interview with Emma Martin

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.

Interview with Marisa Allen

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.

Interview with Koko Jones

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.

Interview with Jessica O’Donnell

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.

Interview with Stephanie Postma

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.

Interview with Bright Daffodil

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.

Interview with Victoria Divine

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.

Interview with Meghna Lama

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.

Interview with Kelly Star

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.

Interview with Sass Rogando Sasot

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.

Interview with Plastic Martyr

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!

Interview with Terri Jay

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.

Interview with Joanne Borden

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.