Interview with Danielly Drugge

 

Danielly Drugge is a Brazilian-born fashion model, beauty pageant contestant, cosmetician and transgender woman who found a new home and the opportunity to build the life she had always dreamed of in Sweden. A determined dreamer, she grew up in Brazil with the support of a loving family who had recognised her feminine identity from an early age. Nevertheless, she experienced discrimination at school, witnessed violence against transgender friends and endured a traumatic robbery that eventually led her to withdraw from society and fear for her safety. Her life took a new direction when she met Robert, who would become her husband. Their relationship brought her to Sweden, where she hoped to build a family and live openly without being constantly defined by her transgender identity. She found a more accepting environment in which she could feel comfortable being herself and pursue her ambitions.

 

Passionate about fashion and beauty since childhood, Danielly had always dreamed of participating in beauty competitions such as Miss Brazil and Miss Universe. Encouraged by Robert, she finally realised this ambition in 2019, representing Sweden at Miss Trans Star International in Barcelona. The experience brought her wonderful friendships and taught her the importance of solidarity among women. Among her inspirations are Brazilian fashion pioneer Roberta Close and Swedish model and beauty queen Vanessa Lopez. She also dreamed of competing at Miss International Queen in Thailand and Miss T World in Italy. Alongside modelling and her YouTube activities, Danielly has been developing her professional career in the beauty industry. She completed a hairdressing course and studied fashion design, specialising in hair treatments and gradually exploring aesthetic procedures. Her ambition is to establish herself professionally in a beauty salon. Her message to other transgender women is simple: be yourself, pursue your dreams and never give up, because overcoming life's obstacles makes us stronger.

Interview with Joelle Circé Laramée

Joelle Circé Laramée is a Canadian visual artist, painter, queer feminist and transgender advocate whose work explores women's bodies, female sexuality, identity and women's social and political realities. Born in Montreal, Quebec, into a working-class Catholic family, she developed an interest in drawing and painting during childhood and later studied drawing and oil painting at a private fine arts school in Montreal between 1981 and 1984. Much of her artistic education has also been self-directed, particularly her exploration of traditional painting techniques and the works of the Old Masters. Her identity as a transgender woman, lesbian, femme and feminist has strongly influenced her artistic perspective. Through her work, she portrays women in both vulnerable and powerful states, celebrating their beauty, diversity and strength while challenging misogyny and social prejudices. Initially concentrating on landscapes and portraits, Joelle gradually turned her attention to women and their bodies. One of her best-known projects is a series of paintings and drawings celebrating female genitalia, inspired partly by her experiences following gender-affirming surgery and her questions about whether her body resembled those of other women. 

 

What began as a personal exploration developed into a broader celebration of vulva diversity and a challenge to the shame surrounding female sexuality. Partly inspired by Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, she became involved in feminist activities, organising workshops and giving university lectures in Montreal. She also participated in McGill University's V-Day events, sharing information about transgender issues and supporting campaigns against violence towards women. Her paintings address female genital mutilation, erotic expression, body image, queer relationships and women's empowerment. In Smashing Images, she challenges conventional standards of female beauty. She frequently works with women from her community, particularly queer women, as models and active participants in the creative process. Her determination to challenge conventional attitudes towards female sexuality was evident during a 2008 exhibition at the Centre Communautaire St-Alphonse-Rodriguez in Quebec. When organisers demanded that she remove her vulva paintings because children might attend, she turned them towards the wall and attached papers bearing the word "CENSURED" to their backs. The curiosity this provoked among visitors reinforced her belief that the public could be more accepting of such representations than the authorities attempting to suppress them.