Interview with Ceecee Jacobsen

Monika: Today I have invited an absolutely inspirational woman from the Faroe Islands, a set of small beautiful islands about halfway between Norway and Iceland. Ceecee Jacobsen is a coach and public speaker, social media influencer, model, and transgender activist. Hello Ceecee! Thank you for accepting my invitation!

Ceecee: Hello Monika, thank you for that lovely introduction and for inviting me. The Faroe Islands are a collection of 18 small islands. I’m from the one called Eysturoy, which means East Island. There is no West Island and East Island actually not particularly eastern if you take into account that six other islands are further east, but there you go. There’s probably a historical origin for the name that I have long forgotten.

Monika: This is what I have found on the Internet about the name Ceecee: "People with the name Ceecee are most often optimistic souls who have a genuine enthusiasm about life and the living of it. They are generally charming, pretty easy-going, and are good conversationalists. Their ability to communicate often motivates and inspires others." Is it true in your case?

Ceecee: That would depend on where I am in my hypomanic/depressed cycle. While that was kind of a joke, it is also true that I do have a disorder mood that I am exploring with my psychiatrist. I would say I was born with such a passion and joy for life that was fuelled by wonder and ADHD and probably hypomania.

Interview with Ella Feingold

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Ella Rae Feingold, an American professional orchestrator, guitarist, composer, and producer, known for her collaboration with Bruno Mars, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, and Ariana Grande, as well as a proud transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Ella!

Ella: Hi Monika! I’m excited to have a chat with you. Thank you so very much for all that you do for our community. I’ve read a lot of your interviews before I was ready to come out and hearing others' stories will continue to mean a lot to me. I think this is a wonderful space that you’ve created.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Ella: I’m a 40-year-old transgender woman. My pronouns are she/her. I am a professional orchestrator, guitar player, and music scholar. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with artists like Bruno Mars, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z as a guitar player and to orchestrate for Ariana Grande and The video game series Destiny. Music is something that has never let me down.

Interview with Tiffany Ryan

Monika: Today I am going to introduce to you Tiffany Ryan, a talented woman from New York that happens to be a comedian and stand-up artist. Hello Tiffany!

Tiffany: Hi Monika -- it's great to connect with you!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? 

Tiffany: Like you said, I am a stand-up comedian. I am a parent to two puppies, Gretchen Wieners and Chauncey. I also work as an event planner and personal assistant. I've been trying my hand at acting recently as well. I was born in New Jersey and raised in Las Vegas. I'm currently living in New York City, so I was very excited for comedy clubs to open up when it's safe, so I can get back on stage.

Monika: You are not the first trans comedian that I interview. I am very happy to list you among Natasha Muse, Julia Scotti, Alison Grillo, Maryanne Marttini, and other talented ladies. It seems that our community can boast a surprisingly high percentage of ladies with a sense of humor... :)

Tiffany: Yes, and so many more -- Robin Tran is my current favorite! We're a talented community. I feel like humor was a defense mechanism I developed when I was growing up as an outsider in school and I'm thrilled that I get to use that talent to entertain people.

Interview with Victoria Rubio

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Victoria Rubio, who works in the field of recovery, and a proud transgender American woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Victoria!

Victoria: Hi Monika! It’s such a pleasure to speak with you today.

Monika: I am so happy that you have accepted my invitation. You are such an inspirational woman. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Victoria: I was born in Kansas City to a military family in 1976. There are eight siblings in my family. My father passed when I was only five years old. My beautiful mother became my heroine.

I came out as transgender in the very early 90s. I come from a mostly Latin background so my family had no idea what it meant to be transgender. I have an identical twin sister that is also transgender.

I was on a talk show called Montel Williams. I used the show to help educate my family and the world about what it means to be transgender. I found all these talk shows just made fun of trans women, so I wanted my participation in the show to educate others. I was only 16 at the time. In addition, I was able to speak at colleges and universities after the show aired to bring education to future teachers and professors as regards transgender individuals.

Interview with Samantha Pearsall

Monika: Today I would like to introduce to you Samantha Pearsall, an inspirational woman from Manchester, England. Samantha is a transgender educator, and speaker, known for her Deaf Transgender Awareness workshops. She is the author of "The Woman I Am: My Journey from Richard to Samantha", a biographical book that has been published recently and is available on Amazon. Hello Samantha, thank you so much for accepting my invitation!

Samantha: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Samantha: I was born profoundly deaf and grew up in the Northeast of England. I’m also a post-operative transgender woman, and now living in Manchester.

Monika: Your story was widely covered by the British media. Were you happy about the way it was done?

Samantha: Sometimes, it depends on the media. Most of the British media approached and check with me to ensure that the articles is correct etc. Whereas for some media, they’ve gone and created the article when the language appropriation can be incorrect at times.

Interview with Iden Crockett

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Iden Crockett, an American trans female artist working in collage, pencil, and ink, and a former firefighter. Hello Iden!

Iden: Hello! I am so excited to do this. It is an absolute pleasure to speak with you.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Iden: Well, I am a forty-two-year-old bi-racial trans-female artist and writer. I work in pencil and ink but what I really do is make collages. Most of my drawing is in service of my collage work and I incorporate all of what do, the drawing, the poetry, into those pieces. I have three wonderful children and one amazing (A M A Z I N G!) wife, and we all live here in the U.S. in a small town called Yellow Springs.

Monika: How would you define your art?

Iden: Confessional. I was recently asked to write an artist's bio and I believe that I used the phrase "deeply personal." I came to art as a way of working through the difficulties I was experiencing with my mental health. I believe strongly that by being as open and candid as I can be about my own struggles, I can not only heal myself but also empower others to leave behind their secret shames as well.

Interview with Pia Notoriyas

Monika: Today we are going on a journey to the United Kingdom where we are going to meet a talented female artist. Pia Notoriyas is a Filipino-born singer and songwriter, model, YouTube vlogger, social media influencer, and transgender activist. Pia is known for The Euphoria Song Project, a song about the discrimination and the empowerment of trans lives, which in 2020 became the transgender anthem of the year. Hello Pia, I am so happy that you have accepted my invitation!

Pia: Hello Monika! Hello everyone!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Pia: My name is Pia Notoriyas. I’m a transgender singer-songwriter and producer, Filipino, and based in the United Kingdom. 

Monika: Why did you choose Pia for your name?

Pia: Choosing your name is probably one of the most important stages in our transition, I wanted something that meant something to me and a name that embodied femininity and my culture, Miss Universe is a beauty pageant competition that celebrates femininity and countries from all around the world compete for the crown, in 2015 the Philippines won miss universe and she happens to be called Pia, and at that moment I knew that as the name I wanted, it represented strong femininity and my culture.

Interview with Mylee Blake

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Mylee Blake, an American immersive experience designer and experiential gender and sexuality coach from Colorado, the USA that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Mylee!

Mylee: Hello! Thanks for asking to interview me. I love sharing my story, as other trans women's stories helped me along the way through my transition.

Monika: What does an immersive experience designer and experiential gender and sexuality coach do? Could you say a few words about yourself?

Mylee: Well, as an immersive experience designer, I create worlds and stories for participants to explore, play, and transform their perceptions of "reality". As an experiential gender and sexuality coach, I sort of do the same thing, just with a focus on exploring one's gender and sexuality, with exercises, real-life games, and a little bit of active listening.

Interview with Saigon Le

Monika: Today I have invited Saigon Le, a Vietnamese-born former model, actress, and now aesthetics nurse from the sunny state of California, USA. We will talk about her amazing life experiences and challenges related to her transition. Hello Sai!

Sai: Hi Monika it’s a pleasure to be a part of this so thank you for recognizing your fellow sisters.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Sai: My name is Saigon, I am a transgender female from California. I’m the youngest of nine children but I feel because of my unique circumstances l have the oldest soul.

Monika: You can boast over 10 years of experience as a nurse. Why did you decide to become a nurse?

Sai: Well, first I’d like to emphasize that this career was not born out of self-belief. I had a very troubled upbringing and was on my own at age 17, I found a “tribe” of drag queens and queer club kids that performed at club ARENA and hung out, performed as well as lived together. I wasn’t very good on stage but I was just happy to be there. There was an electrifying and talented performer named Barbarella, she and I became very close. She was my drag mother and taught me how to wear eyelashes, corsets, and wigs.

Interview with Dimitria Sparrow

Monika: Today I would like to present to you Dimitria Sparrow, a Canadian makeup artist, and beauty vlogger. Her YouTube vlog provides trans women and crossdressers with beauty knowledge about makeup, fashion, etiquette, as well as transition challenges. Hello Dimitria!

Dimitria: Hello, Monika! Thanks so much for having me!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Dimitria: I’m Dimitria, I make beauty videos on the Internet. For some reason, I have a vanilla look right now while still being the angsty and neurotic girl everyone knows and tolerates LOL.

Monika: You uploaded your first video to YouTube in June 2020. What inspired you to start your vlog?

Dimitria: Transitioning in itself is very difficult, and presenting feminine is just as hard. Here I was at 19 with no idea how to do makeup, feminize my voice, tuck, or pick out breast forms for myself. It was so intimidating and overwhelming that I decided to educate myself on everything I wanted to know in feminizing my appearance. I wanted to give like-minded people this knowledge to where transitioning on the outside is exciting rather than scary, to alleviate dysphoria and prove that the perfect image of yourself is more than possible.

Interview with Dubrazka Guerrero

Monika: Today I would like to introduce to you an amazing woman. Dubrazka Guerrero is a model and social media influencer from Venezuela. Hello Dubrazka! Could you say a few words about yourself? 

Dubrazka: Hello, I am Dubrazka Guerrero, a beautiful transgirl who lives in the beautiful city of Spain, that is Madrid. I am a transgender girl who happily lives my life on my own terms. Actually, my family comes from Carabobo, Venezuela. Now we are based in Madrid. And we love this city so much. I live with my single dad. He loves me so much even though my mom passed away, so he gives me love and I cherish both my mom and dad. My dad always supported me in every decision in my life. And I believe that there is someone for me, who can understand my feelings and support me in every decision.

Monika: Why did you choose Dubrazka for your name?

Dubrazka: Yes dear, Dubrazka is a very rare name, I feel so special when someone calls me Dubrazka. I wish to have a name that challenges my beauty, my innocence, and my love, and this name completes my femininity. Although it also means love and independence, sharing them with people close to me. I feel like I'm a special girl in every aspect.

Interview with Natalie

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

Natalie: Hi Monika and thank you for reaching out to me. I am happy to share a bit of my story.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Natalie: I am a full-time IT professional, occasional illustrator, photographer, writer, programmer, mountain biker, puppeteer, and... I could go on for a bit. I have a bunch of hobbies that for the most part are visual and creative.

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

Natalie: When I first realized I was a woman and decided on transition is the answer to me back in 2007-2008, there was very very little out there in terms of positive stories, access to information or just documented stories. It felt like all you heard about were the cartoon depictions of trans women in media like Jerry Springer or vomit moments in comedies. It felt so empty and hopeless. It made me give up.

Interview with Chelsea Brickham

Monika: Today my guest is Chelsea Brickham, an American model, beauty pageant queen, and actress that shares her transition story on social media. Chelsea was born in Maryland but she grew up in Texas, spent some years overseas in Japan with military parents.

After working in the engineering field for 14 years in New Hampshire, she decided to follow her passion and turn her cosplay/modeling hobby into an acting career. She debuted recently in the role of Kellie Maloney in "Knockout Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story", an authorized documentary of Kellie Maloney, the famous British transgender boxing manager. Hello Chelsea!

Chelsea: Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak about my experiences! It’s a pleasure to join you.

Interview with Zeline Del Rosario

Monika: Today I am talking to Zeline Del Rosario, a former member of Mezzrow, a thrash metal band from Nyköping in Sweden, and a transgender woman that documents her transition on social media. Hello Zeline!

Zeline: Hello there, Monika.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Zeline: As you have said I’m a transgender woman from Sweden, I’m 54 years old and happily married. I’m a parent to two children, my daughter is 15 and my son is 23 years old. 

I came out very late officially, on October 7 last year, actually on Facebook. Although I came out late I have been trans for the whole of my life and only a few people around me knew some parts of my truth. They thought I was only crossdressing and they knew I went to clubs in Stockholm in the late ’90s and the early 2000s.

Monika: Why did you choose Zeline for your name?

Zeline: It was my daughter that came up with that name and I really like it. I feel very comfortable with that name. I tried different names during the years but I never felt comfortable with the names I used to have but Zeline is really the name for me.

Interview with Erika Dapkewicz

Monika: Today I have invited a special guest. Erika Dapkewicz is an inspirational woman. She is an American film editor, writer, musician, and composer, known for Vivo (2021), Lilo and Stitch (2002), and Puss in Boots (2011). In addition, her YouTube vlog Miss Mako attracted 150 thousand subscribers. Hello Erika! Thank you for accepting my invitation!

Erika: Thank you Monika for reaching out and asking me to be a part of your blog.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Erika: Oh gosh… let’s see… I currently live in Los Angeles. I am a Transgender Woman and started my physical transition back in 2014. I have two kids. Both are in their early 20’s and live outside California. I live with my Cis-Girlfriend. I am a Professional Film Editor. Composer. Musician. Writer. Indie Director.

I have a band called, “Imaginarius”. And I also have a YouTube Channel listed under my internet handle, “Miss Mako”. I’m a member of the Academy Of Arts And Sciences (Academy Awards - Oscars) and I serve on the Animation Executive Committee. I am a member of ACE (American Cinema Editors). As well as ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers).