Monika: We are witnessing more and more transgender ladies coming out. Unlike in the previous years, some of them have the status of celebrities or are really well-known, just to mention Lana Wachowski in film-directing, Jenna Talackova in modeling, Kate Bornstein in academic life, Laura Jane Grace in music or Candis Cayne in acting. Do you think we will have more and more such women?
Diamond: Absolutely. Times are changing and we are all growing in number not because it's the end of the world and sin is running a muck but because we are being bolder and more protected. We are realizing that we can fight for our right to be. More and more transwomen are speaking out.
They are not just transitioning, going deep stealth hiding their past, and dying making no mark for the future generations. They are breaking the barrier down. There were transwomen that came before the women you named that broke barriers to allow those women a chance. They are to be honored and thanked. Now that we have been passed the torch, it's our turn to keep pushing the envelope for the transgirls of the 2020s and 2030s, and so on...
They are not just transitioning, going deep stealth hiding their past, and dying making no mark for the future generations. They are breaking the barrier down. There were transwomen that came before the women you named that broke barriers to allow those women a chance. They are to be honored and thanked. Now that we have been passed the torch, it's our turn to keep pushing the envelope for the transgirls of the 2020s and 2030s, and so on...
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| Workshop on the gender binary with Chris Paige. |
Monika: At the same time sometimes we get horrible news about transgender women being killed or beaten just as in the infamous case of Chrissy Polis that was beaten by two teenagers in Macdonald’s because she used the ladies’ toilet. How can we prevent it?
Diamond: This is a war of social change. Casualties are inevitable and unpreventable. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the Apartheid battle in South Africa, India's independence from the British lead by Gandhi, even Poland in the mid-40s fighting against communism had casualties.
In our own civil war, we will have martyrs and casualties, we are fighting for change and justice... As the fight goes on the casualties will lessen because we will create the change we are fighting for!
Monika: Do you think that in our lifetime we could live to the day when a transgender lady could become the President of the USA?
Diamond: No! It took from 1870 when the amendment was ratified to give Blacks the right to vote in the US to 2008 to elect a bi-racial man to the presidency. That is 138 years of Jim Crow, lynching, deaths, and racism going underground and hidden... just to get enough social change to get a Black president.
It will be a LONG time after I'm dead before I see a trans president. I'm not a cynic though, I'm a realist. If there is a trans woman with the education and potential, I say go for it... if your views and history match mine, she will get my vote.
Diamond: This is a war of social change. Casualties are inevitable and unpreventable. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the Apartheid battle in South Africa, India's independence from the British lead by Gandhi, even Poland in the mid-40s fighting against communism had casualties.
In our own civil war, we will have martyrs and casualties, we are fighting for change and justice... As the fight goes on the casualties will lessen because we will create the change we are fighting for!
Monika: Do you think that in our lifetime we could live to the day when a transgender lady could become the President of the USA?
Diamond: No! It took from 1870 when the amendment was ratified to give Blacks the right to vote in the US to 2008 to elect a bi-racial man to the presidency. That is 138 years of Jim Crow, lynching, deaths, and racism going underground and hidden... just to get enough social change to get a Black president.
It will be a LONG time after I'm dead before I see a trans president. I'm not a cynic though, I'm a realist. If there is a trans woman with the education and potential, I say go for it... if your views and history match mine, she will get my vote.
Monika: What do you think about transgender beauty pageants? Could we get rid of this label “transgender” and have only pageants for both non-transgender and transgender girls?
Diamond: I take pride in being transgender. In recent years I have found problems with transwomen who try to fully assimilate into the woman gender and not giving honor to their paths. We are women but we are a TYPE of woman.
Like a Black woman, a fat woman, a tall woman, etc I don't mind a pageant that celebrates the transgender type of woman. Should we all be treated equally as women YES of course... but nothing is wrong with having pride in what and who you are.
Diamond: I take pride in being transgender. In recent years I have found problems with transwomen who try to fully assimilate into the woman gender and not giving honor to their paths. We are women but we are a TYPE of woman.
Like a Black woman, a fat woman, a tall woman, etc I don't mind a pageant that celebrates the transgender type of woman. Should we all be treated equally as women YES of course... but nothing is wrong with having pride in what and who you are.
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| With Chaz Bono, Cher's son. |
Monika: Do you like fashion? What kind of outfits do you usually wear? Any special fashion designs, colors, or trends?
Diamond: I love fashion. If I was to describe my fashion I would say it was called rustic elegance. I have a taste for the earthy outdoor but also elegant and sophisticated apparel and I look for things that mix those ideas well.
I love Black... not because it's dark but because it looks good by itself but if you put it with anything else it makes it look that much better.
Monika: Are you involved in the life of your local LGBT community?
Diamond: I love fashion. If I was to describe my fashion I would say it was called rustic elegance. I have a taste for the earthy outdoor but also elegant and sophisticated apparel and I look for things that mix those ideas well.
I love Black... not because it's dark but because it looks good by itself but if you put it with anything else it makes it look that much better.
Monika: Are you involved in the life of your local LGBT community?
Diamond: I am involved with the LGBT all across America. People fly me to different conferences and events to speak, do workshops, panels, and perform, represent the T of the LGBT. I love it and I think that is my purpose in love to represent our people well. I would LOVE to be invited to European events if there are any sponsors out there...lol
Monika: You run a successful vlog and Internet radio. Could you elaborate on them more?
Diamond: Well I am the first African American YouTube Transgender partner. This means that I get paid to do video by them, posting advertising on my popular videos. It is a wonderful avenue where I share the trans experience with so many people around the world.
I share my talents. I give advice to transwomen, gay men, natal-born women, and men who date us or anybody really that can relate to me and my stories. It is a great experience that allows me to meet people that I never would have met. My YouTube channel is growing and has reached over 2.1 million views and almost 8,000 subscribers. I am so proud of it.
I share my talents. I give advice to transwomen, gay men, natal-born women, and men who date us or anybody really that can relate to me and my stories. It is a great experience that allows me to meet people that I never would have met. My YouTube channel is growing and has reached over 2.1 million views and almost 8,000 subscribers. I am so proud of it.
Monika: Many transgender ladies write their memoirs. Have you ever thought about writing such a book yourself?
Diamond: Yes, that is one of my many goals to write a few books and have a few albums. I actually have an acting role in the works as well. Maybe even some reality TV... lol. So many things are on the horizon. We all have stories to tell. I don't want the world to forget me like so many of my trans sisters before me; their stories have been lost or erased.
Monika: Could you say that you are a happy woman now?
Diamond: I was a happy trans child then and I grew to become a happy trans woman now.
Monika: Diamond, thank you for the interview!
Diamond: Thanks for having me!
Diamond: Yes, that is one of my many goals to write a few books and have a few albums. I actually have an acting role in the works as well. Maybe even some reality TV... lol. So many things are on the horizon. We all have stories to tell. I don't want the world to forget me like so many of my trans sisters before me; their stories have been lost or erased.
Monika: Could you say that you are a happy woman now?
Diamond: I was a happy trans child then and I grew to become a happy trans woman now.
Monika: Diamond, thank you for the interview!
Diamond: Thanks for having me!
All the photos: courtesy of Diamond Stylz.
© 2013 - Monika Kowalska
For more info on transgender biographies, visit TRANSGENDER BIOGRAPHIES.
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