Interview with Lannie Rose

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Elaine Rhodes, a.k.a., Lannie Rose, an American computer engineer, and writer, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Santa Clara University. In her day, she was a regular contributor to the e-zine Transgender Forum, a member of the Triangle Speaker Bureau, the author of “How To Change Your Sex: A Lighthearted Look at the Hardest Thing You'll Ever Do” (2004), “LANNIE! My Journey from Man to Woman” (2007), and “Everything Nice: A Late-Onset Coming-of-Age Story” (2009). Hello Lannie!

 Lannie: Hi Monika! Your website is an impressive body of work, as well as being nicely designed, and I say this as one web designer to another. I am happy to become part of it! 

Monika: Before we get started, could you please explain your name? Are you Elaine, or Lannie, or what?

Lannie: Yeah, uh, well, it’s like this: Early in the Internet days, in the late 1990s, there was a lot of fear about people online tracking you down and murdering you in your sleep, so nobody used their real names. Nobody actually got murdered in their sleep, by the way. 

Anyway, I became Lannie Rose at that time, and it stuck. When it came time to legally change my name, I went from Edward Rhodes to Elaine Rhodes, keeping the same initials, you know?

Interview with Kelly Metzgar

For much of her life, Kelly Metzgar carried a secret that she could share with almost no one. When she finally found the courage to step into the life she had always wanted, she did not simply leave that secret behind, she turned it into a reason to speak, educate, advocate, and make the path easier for those who would follow. Kelly’s journey is therefore not only about becoming her authentic self, but about discovering what she could do with that freedom once she had it. After decades of living a dual-gender life, Kelly began her transition in 2012, at a time when transgender healthcare was difficult to access in her region of upstate New York. Her struggle to find appropriate medical care eventually inspired her to become an advocate and educator, helping improve transgender healthcare in her community and speaking to colleges, businesses, civic organizations, religious groups, and LGBTQ audiences. A particularly important turning point came when Kelly learned about the struggles of a transgender young man named Drew. His story brought back memories of her own lonely youth, when she had nobody with whom to share the “terrible secret” she carried. She realized that her transition could not be “solely about me.” She wanted to help create a world where young LGBTQ people could find the support and acceptance she had once lacked.

Interview with Cathy Serino

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Cathy Serino, a disabled transgender veteran, and activist from Missouri, USA. Hello Cathy!

Cathy: Hello Monika. It’s a pleasure to speak with you.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? I have read that you have three lovely three granddaughters!

Cathy: Yes. I have five children and actually, at this point, I have 4 grandchildren. 3 girls and 1 boy with the newest arrival being in August 2017. My grandchildren are my special angels and everything I do is to hopefully allow them to grow up in a society that is about love and acceptance and not the hate and discrimination that has been present throughout my life.