Monika: We didn’t have the same comfort as young girls who can gradually discover their style. We were thrown into the deep end. For a long time, I unconsciously copied what I saw from my sister, my mom, and then my friends. Only over time, through trial and error, did I start to understand that this dress style suits me, that hairstyle doesn’t anymore, and that this makeup was a perfect hit. How was it for you?
Ada: It was similar for me. I made many people think and broke stereotypes. I definitely went a bit overboard sometimes and wasn’t always dressed appropriately for the situation. My patients must have experienced cognitive dissonance, especially since I’m, I think, a well-liked doctor and considered competent.
Monika: Do you like it when someone compliments your style and the way you dress? Or do you rather treat such comments as polite remarks that don’t mean much to you?
Ada: I know my worth, so I don’t expect compliments, but every now and then when someone gives me an intelligent compliment, it feels nice to me.
Monika: You are a beautiful, confident woman who definitely attracts attention. Have you ever thought about trying to build a long-term relationship someday?
Ada: I am happy now. A new relationship requires a lot of work and sacrifices from both sides. I don’t think I’m ready for that, especially since my expectations of the other person are high, and my own cards, my age and my past, aren’t exactly advantages. Life is too complex for clear-cut declarations. I don’t know what the future will bring, but being single has many benefits. I really like it that way.
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| "I know my worth, so I don’t expect compliments." |
Monika: For many of us, “passing” is a difficult and complex topic. Even today, with access to plastic surgeries and various treatments that can bring us closer to the desired appearance, it’s still not always black and white. One day we feel like goddesses, and the next, as if someone can see right through us. How do you cope with that?
Ada: Honestly, for several years now, I haven’t had any problems with that. I’ve had surgery, my body responded very well to hormones, and I try to highlight my strengths while hiding my flaws. Fortunately, I was never too big, my shoe size is even 39.
Monika: When I’m in Poland, I always visit my sister and her daughters. The girls know I’m a transgender woman, but to them, I’m simply the best aunt in the world. It’s quite different, though, when I meet my sister’s husband’s parents, in their eyes, I’m still seen as someone “strange.” How do you think transgender women are perceived in Poland? Is it mainly a matter of generational differences and access to information, or is there something deeper in Polish culture?
Ada: That’s a complex question. The situation looks different in bigger cities compared to small towns or villages. Personally, and I’m not the best example, in my city, even before my transition, I was a public figure and a well-liked doctor. My experiences have been positive, except for maybe a few incidents. With each new generation, acceptance of transgender people is growing. But I say this from the perspective of living in the Silesian metropolitan area, which is a large urban environment of almost 2.5 million people. If I lived in a small town, my answer might be different.
Monika: I read that your patients reacted very warmly to your transition. But how did your colleagues at work respond? I hope you were luckier than I was, in my case, some people assumed that my transition automatically lowered my IQ.
Ada: Ha, I already had a certain professional position, so those “well-wishers in a different way” took the opportunity to stay silent or talk behind my back. Some were waiting for me to fail, others watched with curiosity, and I also had many colleagues who supported me. For over a decade, I’ve been consulting in a prison, and once a year almost the entire staff meets for a ball. Many years ago, when I appeared there for the first time in my “true version,” the head of the AT unit (anti-terrorism - security) asked me to dance. That was my first dance at the ball. I am absolutely convinced that the former director of the facility (now retired) asked him to do that to send a message to the rest of the staff.
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| "Being single has many benefits." |
Monika: Do you keep in touch with other transgender women? Are you involved in activities supporting the transgender community?
Ada: I used to be more publicly active, I wanted to “pay back the debt” for my own success, and I wished to support other transgender people. I spoke out in the media, on television, and in popular magazines. But I gave up that kind of activity because I want people to judge my professional medical skills, not my transgender identity. However, I try to participate annually in the Equality Parade. The clinics where I work are LGBT-friendly, and as a family doctor and a specialist in metabolic diseases, I see quite a few transgender patients.
Monika: How do you view the recent legal changes that eliminate the requirement to sue one's parents in order to change one's legal gender? Is the Polish healthcare system ready to provide services for the transgender community?
Ada: Finally! I personally didn’t have a problem, but I know quite a few cases where parents made things difficult, prolonging the stress and suffering of their transgender child.
Monika: Do you have a dream you've always wanted to come true? Something you've always wanted to do but never had the chance?
Ada: Many dreams I was once afraid to even think about have actually come true. One of my biggest dreams is to sail to Antarctica and see South Georgia. Unfortunately, those places are only accessible to yachts during the time of year when I have the most professional obligations in Poland.
My greatest dream, which will never come true (I won’t leave my cats for that long), is to spend an entire polar year in the Arctic or Antarctica.
Monika: I wish you that with all my heart, and I would like to thank you for the opportunity to talk and for sharing your story.
All photos: courtesy of Ada Rozewicz. Main photo: the Replika monthly.
© 2025 - Monika Kowalska
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