Monika: Did you take part in any other film projects?
Johanna: No, but I was after my two TS/TG printbooks “Mythos Geschlechtswandel (1992) and “Künstliche Geschlechter (1995) a lot of times in TV- talkshows like “Hans Meiser” (RTL), Ilona Christen” (RTL), “Arabella Kiesbauer” (Pro Sieben ), Vera in ‘t Ven (SAT1), DAS-N3-Talk (NDR) asf. People were also interested of my life because I was – in their eyes - so “normal” and authentic, like I was already in my dancer-years. This is also what Johanna Hackl and me connects: Our “normality”!
Monika: What was the hardest thing about your coming out?
Johanna: How people and my bank treated me after the bankruptcy of my nightclub “Cruising Checkpoint” in Hamburg. Suddenly it became clear to all people that I was transgender and it caused a problem for a lot of them!
Monika: What do you think about the present situation of transgender women compared to what you had to go through in the '60s, '70s, and '80s?
Johanna: It has become easier to change your identity because acceptance, circumstances, and society have changed more positively in the meantime. You can be, for instance, a steward at “Austria Airlines” and then become - without losing the job - a stewardess like nice and very “normal” Johanna Hackl in Vienna.
But if I consult internet forums I can also ascertain that a lot of young transgender people have not the foggiest idea of what “sex change” means concerning physical, psychological, and social risks. They want only “to have” and everybody must “help” them to reach their “sex change” purposes. I always say: the sex change phenomenon has got a strong religious component in the meantime: “believing” instead of “knowing”!
Johanna: No, but I was after my two TS/TG printbooks “Mythos Geschlechtswandel (1992) and “Künstliche Geschlechter (1995) a lot of times in TV- talkshows like “Hans Meiser” (RTL), Ilona Christen” (RTL), “Arabella Kiesbauer” (Pro Sieben ), Vera in ‘t Ven (SAT1), DAS-N3-Talk (NDR) asf. People were also interested of my life because I was – in their eyes - so “normal” and authentic, like I was already in my dancer-years. This is also what Johanna Hackl and me connects: Our “normality”!
Monika: What was the hardest thing about your coming out?
Johanna: How people and my bank treated me after the bankruptcy of my nightclub “Cruising Checkpoint” in Hamburg. Suddenly it became clear to all people that I was transgender and it caused a problem for a lot of them!
Monika: What do you think about the present situation of transgender women compared to what you had to go through in the '60s, '70s, and '80s?
Johanna: It has become easier to change your identity because acceptance, circumstances, and society have changed more positively in the meantime. You can be, for instance, a steward at “Austria Airlines” and then become - without losing the job - a stewardess like nice and very “normal” Johanna Hackl in Vienna.
But if I consult internet forums I can also ascertain that a lot of young transgender people have not the foggiest idea of what “sex change” means concerning physical, psychological, and social risks. They want only “to have” and everybody must “help” them to reach their “sex change” purposes. I always say: the sex change phenomenon has got a strong religious component in the meantime: “believing” instead of “knowing”!
 |
| Photo by Werner-Viktor Schwalbe of Trier. |
Monika: What do you think about transgender beauty pageants?
Johanna: I think that it will be the same problem as other “beauty pageants”. The girls there – transgender or not - are far away from “normal” women, giving them a bad conscience and let them forget their own possibilities. You can compare it with my time as a striptease dancer.
In the night I was a beautiful and sexy striptease dancer by a lot of special “tricks” and in the daytime, I was a “normal” woman like all others around me. That will be also the same at transgender beauty pageants. It’s a make-believe world and not a real world. It’s “showtime” but only for a short time.
Monika: Are you active in politics? Do you participate in any lobbying campaigns? Do you think transgender women can make a difference in politics?
Johanna: The first question: No! The second question: No! The third question: Forget it! Beware of transgender in politics!
Monika: Could you tell me about the importance of love in your life?
Johanna: I was really loved by my mother, also after my identity change. But falling in love was not so important for me during and after my change, because I had a very exciting life, with every evening new contacts and a lot of sex. I enjoyed my sexual life in all dimensions and was completely happy.
When I was elder I loved my little Yorkshire-Terrier Alexander that accompanied me for nearly 18 unforgettable years. Little Alexander died four years ago but I still talk with him and let sometimes my tears come. And of course, I love ABBA and I have adored Amanda Lear since I heard her wonderful song “Follow me” in 1978 for the first time. It is a really formidable woman and a real “entertainer”. Thank you, Amanda Lear!
Monika: Do you like fashion? What kind of outfits do you usually wear? Any special fashion designs, colors, or trends?
Johanna: Yes, of course, I like fashion. But in a more convenient style. Only in my stage years, I preferred expensive leather, silk, and fur clothes from the best boutique shops anywhere. And of course, shoes: 14 cm high heels from Paris! I have collected them all those years and sometimes I take them in my hands: Incredible, that I could walk so elegant and sexy with them.
When being 76 years old now, I look back on all those pictures of the former times I cannot believe, that I have ever been this most attractive and well-dressed woman. “As time goes by !” In my actual life, I wear “between” clothing: “I am what I am !”
Johanna: I think that it will be the same problem as other “beauty pageants”. The girls there – transgender or not - are far away from “normal” women, giving them a bad conscience and let them forget their own possibilities. You can compare it with my time as a striptease dancer.
In the night I was a beautiful and sexy striptease dancer by a lot of special “tricks” and in the daytime, I was a “normal” woman like all others around me. That will be also the same at transgender beauty pageants. It’s a make-believe world and not a real world. It’s “showtime” but only for a short time.
Monika: Are you active in politics? Do you participate in any lobbying campaigns? Do you think transgender women can make a difference in politics?
Johanna: The first question: No! The second question: No! The third question: Forget it! Beware of transgender in politics!
Monika: Could you tell me about the importance of love in your life?
Johanna: I was really loved by my mother, also after my identity change. But falling in love was not so important for me during and after my change, because I had a very exciting life, with every evening new contacts and a lot of sex. I enjoyed my sexual life in all dimensions and was completely happy.
When I was elder I loved my little Yorkshire-Terrier Alexander that accompanied me for nearly 18 unforgettable years. Little Alexander died four years ago but I still talk with him and let sometimes my tears come. And of course, I love ABBA and I have adored Amanda Lear since I heard her wonderful song “Follow me” in 1978 for the first time. It is a really formidable woman and a real “entertainer”. Thank you, Amanda Lear!
Monika: Do you like fashion? What kind of outfits do you usually wear? Any special fashion designs, colors, or trends?
Johanna: Yes, of course, I like fashion. But in a more convenient style. Only in my stage years, I preferred expensive leather, silk, and fur clothes from the best boutique shops anywhere. And of course, shoes: 14 cm high heels from Paris! I have collected them all those years and sometimes I take them in my hands: Incredible, that I could walk so elegant and sexy with them.
When being 76 years old now, I look back on all those pictures of the former times I cannot believe, that I have ever been this most attractive and well-dressed woman. “As time goes by !” In my actual life, I wear “between” clothing: “I am what I am !”
 |
| Photo by Werner-Viktor Schwalbe of Trier. |
Monika: Are you working on any new projects now?
Johanna: I will continue with writing a new novel about my time as a stage dancer and my experiences with all kinds of men. It is working in my head and suddenly I will sit down and begin.
Till that moment I have collected all “plot ingredients” on a lot of little papers and in (long) lists of special expressions. Sometimes I notice my “brainstorming” thoughts even in the midst of the night.
Johanna: I will continue with writing a new novel about my time as a stage dancer and my experiences with all kinds of men. It is working in my head and suddenly I will sit down and begin.
Till that moment I have collected all “plot ingredients” on a lot of little papers and in (long) lists of special expressions. Sometimes I notice my “brainstorming” thoughts even in the midst of the night.
Monika: What would you recommend to all transgender girls, thinking about the entertainment career?
Johanna: I cannot recommend anything about an entertainment career to transgender girls of today because they go their own ways without “looking back”. I can only speak for my own generation and I reckon that young people – like I used to do in the former times – must experience everything themselves. They don’t want to hear!
And don’t forget: The cabaret and nightclub scene of the sixties, seventies, and eighties – when everything was/seemed possible - is over and exists no more. I have been a witness to this wonderful “spirit of the age” of that time and I am very grateful for all my experiences. Therefore I created my first Transmythos website and therefore I wrote "Schlauchgelüste"! In order not to forget about this unforgettable time in which everything was/seemed possible!
Monika: Johanna, thank you for the interview!
END OF PART 2
All the photos: courtesy of Johanna Kamermans.
© 2014 - Monika Kowalska
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