Interview with Greta Brown

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Greta Brown, an American businesswoman, and transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Greta!

Greta: Hello Thank you for this opportunity. I've never done this type of Q & A, so please forgive me for any disjointed content.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Greta: I've always been a free thinker and felt a strong connection with the underdogs of the world. I'm a little older and a child of the '60s. I very much identify with LGB'T'Q+ community even before I transitioned or knew I was transgender. Come this year I'll be 53, I have waited long enough to be my true self. Life is too short to NOT be happy. The most difficult thing to overcome other than dysphoria is to find self-love, both are things I/we constantly strive to find peace with.

Monika: What inspired you to share your intimate life moments via social media?

Greta: I don't know how intimate any of these moments really are. The platform you solicited me on has a bit of anonymity, however, if someone really wanted to find out about me they could. So I am open to an extent, as well as I want to let others know it's okay to be yourself. I don't have 2 fucks to give. I am proud of WHO, and proud of WHAT I am!

Interview with Juliana

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Juliana, an American Mom, geek girl, musician, guitar player, and transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Juliana!

Juliana: Hey Monika! Thank you for thinking of me. No one's ever asked to interview me like this before, I'm a bit nervous. :)

Monika: Haha, do not worry, I am sure you will be OK. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Juliana: I grew up as a shy, quiet only-child in the suburbs of Long Island, NY. My mother had a background in art, and my father played guitar, both of which heavily influenced my childhood years. The guitar became my outlet for self-expression, which led me to play in bands starting around 6th grade. I was always the kid who would teach anyone that wanted to learn, which is a trait that I still have today. As computers became more of a household item in the very early 90's I immersed myself in them, and by my junior year in high school, I was doing tech support part-time at a major news company.

Interview with Claire Slingerland

Monika: Today I would like to present to you Claire Slingerland, a Dutch filmmaker from Almere, the Netherlands, the director of the documentary "De Oversteek'' (The Step) and owner of film production company Blits Motion, as well as a proud transgender woman. Hello Claire!

Claire: Hello Monika! Thank you for inviting me.

Monika: You seem to be a woman of many talents. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Claire: Yes, I can. I'm a sixty years old woman from the Netherlands. I'm married to my wonderful wife and together we have two grown-up kids. With my team at Blits Motion we make movies for companies. And I'm associated with a foundation wherefore I make documentaries about inclusive and diversity subjects.

I'm now preparing a documentary to pay attention to 1000 to 2000 homeless LGBT young people in my country. They became homeless because they were not accepted by their parents. I want to make people aware of this problem because most people have no idea this is happening in our country. And I want to explore whether there is room within the parents' beliefs to accept their child.

Interview with Katerina

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Katerina, a Ukrainian social media influencer, linguist, and transgender woman living in Kyiv, Ukraine that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Katerina!

Katerina: Hello Monika! Thank you for the offer to participate in your project. You're doing a great job!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Katerina: I started my transition about 10 years ago. Then, after graduating from the university, I started working as an escort. What an irony to go into such a profession with a master's degree! However, for transgender people, this is often the only chance to make money for the transition, at least in Russia. I underwent hormone therapy, had several plastic surgeries, officially changed my documents to female, and moved from Moscow to Kyiv (Ukraine), where no one knew me.

Interview with Sarah Wolf

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Sarah Wolf, an American business consultant, businesswoman, and transgender woman from Seattle, Washington, that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Sarah!

Sarah: Hi Monika. Thank you for the opportunity to chat about my background.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Sarah: Well, I grew up in Colorado and Nebraska and have lived all over the US, but for the last 20 years I have lived in Seattle, Washington. I also work as a business consultant along with running a small business on the side.

Monika: What inspired you to share your intimate life moments via social media?

Sarah: I have always been open about my experience and having transitioned nearly twenty years ago, I wanted to offer my perspective on life and the experience of being a transgender woman who transitioned before the advent of social media.

Interview with Nora Eckert

Monika: Today we are going to Berlin in Germany, where I would like to present to you an inspirational woman from Germany. Born on March 14, 1954, in Nuremberg, Nora Eckert is a well-known German cultural journalist and theater and opera critic. She is the author of many books and articles about German cultural events. I am going to talk with her about her recently published autobiography “Wie alle, nur anders. Ein transsexuelles Leben in Berlin” (Like everyone, just different. A transsexual life in Berlin), the history of the German transgender movement, and her own journey towards womanhood. Hello Nora!

Nora: Hello Monika, nice to meet you!

Monika: How are you doing in these crazy pandemic times?

Nora: These days are really crazy. None of us have ever experienced anything like this. But despite all the limitations, I try to live as "normally" as possible. Of course, I stick to the rules. Fortunately, I am not only a person interested in culture, but also a nature-loving person. While the theaters, museums, concert halls, cinemas were closed, I could at least go hiking. There are beautiful landscapes around Berlin and running is very good for my health!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Nora: You've already introduced me a little bit. I was not born in Berlin, but have lived here for 48 years. For me, this city was love at first sight, although back in 1973 Berlin was still divided and looked very different than it does today.

Interview with Darlene

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Darlene, an American woman from Michigan, USA, who works as a transformation coach for software development organizations, who shares her transition story on social media. Hello Darlene! 

Darlene: Hello Monika! Thank you for this opportunity to speak and share my story on your site.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Darlene: Sure! I’m 49 and the proud parent of two daughters, ages 19 & 18. Besides spending time with my kids, I love traveling around the US and Canada, cooking, riding roller coasters, and playing video games. In 2021, I began dating an amazing woman who got me to give mountain biking a try and I am loving that activity too!

Monika: What inspired you to share your intimate life moments via social media?

Darlene: From my earliest days of viewing the trans community on social media, I saw it as an amazing way to connect with others in a similar situation. What we all go through with transition isn’t easy! Irrespective of where we live around the world, our backgrounds, our life interests, or our age differences, we form bonds over this major life event.

Interview with Geneviève van Lynden

Monika: Today I have invited an inspirational woman. Geneviève van Lynden is a Dutch transgender woman, model, former police officer, mountains lover, and one of the icons of the Dutch transgender movement in the ’80s and ’90s. We are going to talk about her life and transgender experience in the previous century. Hello Geneviève! 

Geneviève: Hi Monika. Let me start by complimenting you on your great initiative. I love that you put so much time and energy into interviewing so many people for many years now. Your website has become a great time document; a resource that is rich in information about the past and presence of the lives of hundreds of transgender women.

You have interviewed so many inspiring transgender women. Like you, I admire many of them. How can I stand in their shadow? Nevertheless, I also have a story to tell and I am honored that you give me that chance.

Monika: Geneviève, you look like a million dollars. How are you doing this?

Geneviève: Thank you Monika. I'm happy and I radiate that, I think. In my younger years - I am now 62 years old - I knew of course that I looked good. At least that's what everyone told me. And I thoroughly enjoyed that. It pleases me that apparently I am still considered attractive to some even today.

Interview with Lucy Keogh

Monika: Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Lucy Keogh, an American tattoo and body artist from Spokane, Washington, and transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Lucy!

Lucy: Hello Monika, thank you so much for inviting me, I am so honored and elated about this opportunity!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Lucy: Yes, I would love to. I am turning 32 years young this year, this year also is my 15th year of being a tattoo artist. I am super excited about that. I was born here in Washington but grew up moving around the PNW, spending the majority of time in Montana when I was younger. I moved to Washington in 2019 to start my medical transition, which I started on 25 September 2019, and I moved to Spokane in March of 2020.

I have been tirelessly working on getting established as a Reputable artist in the area, to eventually open up my own Storefront to do tattooing and sell merchandise. Specifically oriented to serving the LGBTQA+ community, as there is a very small presence for us in the tattoo industry here and I would love to change that.

Interview with Arya Jeipea Karijo

Monika: Today I have invited Arya Jeipea Karijo, an inspirational transgender woman, LBQ-ITGNC rights advocate, and feminist from Nairobi, Kenya. Hello Arya!

Arya: Hello Monika.

Monika: I am always delighted when I can talk to sisters from all different continents. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Arya: Well, you said most of it in your introduction. So, I will probably be doing repetition. I am a transgender woman, I am active in the LBQ-ITGNC community organizing in Kenya. I write a lot, last year I was a feminist investigative journalist with openDemocracy last year for six months on a fellowship.

This year I am working with Whose Knowledge? a campaign to decolonize the internet. I am passionate about decolonization as a way of freeing African queer narratives.

Monika: You describe yourself as a feminist. What does it entail from the Kenyan and African perspectives?

Arya: I think I would rather speak on feminism from my perspective and how I feel Kenyan and African feminism should self-define.