Monika: The transgender cause is usually presented together with the wider LGBT community. As the last letter in that abbreviation, does the T find enough room to promote its own agenda?
Alice: I’m not at all sure of this, Monika. There are others so much better placed to speak. In Britain there is still a good deal of actual day to day prejudice within the LGB “community” which many of us have experienced. The ‘T’ always seemed ignored or worse within Stonewall, but Ruth Hunt has committed herself to changing this. But I am on shaky ground with any kind of politics.
Monika: Harvey Milk became a symbol of gay activism in the USA in the 60s and 70s. Does the British transgender community have a figure whose work could be compared to his?
Alice: I don’t know. There are some super people around, but my FEELING is that “we” (whoever “we” are) are acting more as a community rather than single iconic heroes or heroines.
Monika: Politics is where many changes begin. Are you active in it, and can transgender women really make a difference there?
Alice: I guess we can. Paris Lees was on the panel of Question Time (an important weekly political discussion panel on BBC TV) and really showed up the vacuousness of some of the established members of the panel.
Monika: What about your own involvement? Have you taken part in any lobbying campaigns?
Alice: I don’t do politics as such any more, since the Labour Party abandoned the working class and concentrated on illegal wars and their well-heeled friends. I joined protests against the Sochi Winter Olympics, wrote letters to Coca Cola, Putin, the IOC etc., and recited at rallies.
Monika: So where do you channel your voice today?
Alice: I think I have to concentrate on trying to say whatever I have to say through poems, and on reaching more ears and hearts if I can.
Monika: Fashion is another topic I’m curious about. Do you enjoy it, and what kind of outfits do you usually wear?
Alice: Oh yes. Now you are talking. Not that I am any kind of style expert, but I love clothes and clothes shopping. When I do a poetry gig I sometimes like to be introduced as “Campaigner for floral dresses”, which kind of sums up my attitude to fashion: playful and fun.
Monika: Are there any special designs, colours or trends you are drawn to?
Alice: I’m a bit old for trends, but I do really love pretty feminine dresses and skirts that swish on me, though that’s not necessarily what attracts me in other women. Shoes are great too. I’m a confused feminist when it comes to clothes, make up and the rest.
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| Reciting at a rally to support the LGBT community in Russia. Photo by Serena X Cheung. |
Monika: Tell me about the importance of love in your life.
Alice: It is a very touchy subject that comes out in my poems. It’s hard, problematic for trans women at the best of times. For me especially, I think. Some women tell me they are OK being alone; for me it is something I may just have to accept, though not without regret. I think I said all I possibly could in the last verse of a poem called “Time is Short” which Fox filmed me doing in Prague and should be on YouTube/Vimeo shortly. I think having someone special to love is a joy and a privilege.
Monika: Many transgender women choose to write memoirs. Has the idea ever crossed your mind?
Alice: Yes, but not because of the T thing. It’s because my life has been so diverse, unusual in so many ways. It feels like a succession of different lives sometimes, and always with this nagging need to be free.
Monika: What keeps drawing you back to that story?
Alice: Last night I didn’t sleep because I had to write down a whole load of connected stuff that had finally started to make sense, but there is so much more I need to understand. I used to work as a family therapist, among other things, and am fascinated by the way patterns are repeated and perpetuated through generations in families.
Monika: What are you working on at the moment?
Alice: Well, I am trying to get a book of poems together. That is going to be my priority really, because I do feel the need to leave some small mark behind me, even if it’s not a full-blown boring memoir.
Monika: And what about performing? Are there any plans on that front?
Alice: I want to do more recitals and readings. Getting in front of an audience to say my words scares me witless, but it is so satisfying, no, uplifting, when I think I have connected with people. I feel validated. And I do genuinely love people.
Monika: Some transgender girls are struggling with gender dysphoria right now. What would you recommend to them?
Alice: I did say the other day, “Who the hell do I think I am to give anyone any advice?” But one phrase that I cling to and would suggest to others is “Don’t be afraid and don’t be ashamed to make your own world”, and for that I am indebted to Jill O’Sullivan of Sparrow and The Workshop. The song is “Father Look” if anyone wants to check it out on YouTube. I’ve shared it a few times on Facebook and may well do again once this interview is done. It’s fab.
Monika: Alice, thank you so much for this interview!
Alice: It has been a pleasure, Monika. Thank you for asking me. And I hope I haven’t spouted too much tosh.
END OF PART 2
Main photo by Sharon Kilgannon.
Still taken during filming of the Lucky Tooth Film “Alice”.
All the photos: courtesy of Alice Denny.
© 2014 - Monika Kowalska
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