Monika: What are your thoughts on the current situation for transgender women in your country? Do you think we are progressing, or does it feel like we’re moving backward?
Zofia: I strongly believe that when it comes to human rights, the only valid and ethical position is one that is inclusive and intersectional. The situation of transgender women in Poland is, in many ways, not so different from the situation of women in general.
Of course, the challenges faced by cis and trans women are not identical – but they all grow from the same poisoned root: misogyny, especially the kind practiced by insecure, pseudo-masculine male bullies.
In Poland, the idea that a woman is inherently lesser and should submit to male authority is deeply embedded, and its cultural entrenchment is heavily reinforced by one of the most regressive, anti-humanitarian, and proto-totalitarian ideologies in history: catholic christianity. This system has indoctrinated generations from early childhood and continues to exert enormous influence on both the private and public lives of citizens. After one of the most barbaric anti-abortion laws was introduced, women died in hospitals, refused help by the doctors lacking moral backbone to risk prison by upholding their Hippocratic Oath.
Monika: But even in all that darkness, there must be a beacon of hope...
Zofia: Yes, amid this darkness, there is hope. Public opinion has changed dramatically.
- 25 years ago, only 30% of Poles supported abortion “on demand”. Today, it's 70%.
- Support for same-sex civil partnerships rose from about 20% to 72%, and for marriage equality, from around 10–15% to 41%.
- Trans rights weren’t even surveyed back then. Today, 52–60% of Poles support legal protections for transgender people, compared to 20-25% 15 years ago.
And all this despite:
- Enormous Kremlin-backed funding of anti-human rights organizations,
- Goebbels-style propaganda pumped by the previous far-right government and catholic institutions,
- And widespread disinformation campaigns designed to distract from the mass cover-up of child sexual abuse by church officials – crimes revealed by brave investigative journalists.
Let’s not forget: the sitting President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, is perhaps best known internationally for declaring that trans people, along with lesbians, bisexuals, and gays, are “not human”.
Monika: So what is the current political climate in Poland?
Zofia: A new government came to power – largely thanks to women, who gave them a fragile credit of trust. But the promised change that brought the current coalition to power was never kept. The same anti-woman, anti-human policies remain in place. Family members, friends, and activists who assist someone in getting an abortion still risk prosecution and jail time.
Why would things be different when many key figures in the so-called “pro-democratic” coalition are fanatical devotees of a cult that sees women as subhuman? Known misogynists hold top positions in the state.
There’s a quote attributed to Winston Churchill, like many such quotes, probably apocryphal, but painfully fitting: “Poles are a great nation – only unfortunately governed by the worst of them”.
That’s exactly how it feels today. 70% of Poles support equality, dignity, and freedom for women. But the misogynists and their coalition colleagues in parliament think they know better. And their arrogance and hubris mirror the Democratic Party in the U.S. – treating their liberal electorate like hostages, saying: “Who else are you going to vote for – the fascists?”
Monika: How would you describe your personal style? Do you follow any specific fashion trends, or do you have go-to outfits that make you feel confident?
Zofia: I never follow trends – quite the opposite. It’s important to me that my style is fully personal and unique, something that represents me entirely. I come up with ideas and then work on them closely with my trusted designer and tailor. It was a conscious decision to own a small number of custom-made outfits that I adore, instead of piles of cheap, low-quality rags soaked in sweatshop injustice and the blood of exploited children.
It’s hard to pin my style down in a neat description – whatever you imagine probably misses the mark. But if I absolutely had to, it’d go: “It’s playful but confident femininity, rooted in myth and moonlight, enchanted, courtly elegance with a twist. This aesthetic delights in suggestion over declaration, in the power of pause, in the taste of ambiguity”.
That creative process of designing each outfit brings me genuine joy. It’s not just about aesthetics or visual pleasure – it’s a way of expressing different facets of myself.
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Monika: What was the most surprising part of your transition, something you never expected, whether good or bad?
Zofia: How unbelievably amazing it feels! I’ve always lived life intensely. I’ve treated time as the most precious and unrenewable resource we don’t even know how much have at our disposal – and I lived like it. Our existence between two eternities of nothingness is terrifyingly short. I’ve already packed a dozen lifetimes’ worth of adventure, curiosity, and pleasure into the years before I even discovered my true self. I’ve known rare and profound joys. Yet, nothing beats gender euphoria of immersing myself in femininity.
The rationalist in me was sceptical. Could it really be that powerful? That deep? How could it win with intellectual ecstasy from understanding a challenging and difficult problem, with being moved to tears by extraordinary beauty of a work of art or a product of human genius, with the electric awe of mutual love? And yet, after thorough analysis, I stand my ground! It was a meta-experience, a shift that made everything else feel richer, sharper, more alive. It intensified every other joy – emotional, intellectual, aesthetic. It made life itself taste more vivid.
If you’re asking about something more specific, though? Then without hesitation, I’d say: the feminine emotional spectrum. No theory-based idea or external observation could have prepared me for what it feels like to live in this space. To feel things this way. I honestly don’t think it’s possible to grasp for someone whose inner world has only ever been shaped by testosterone. If I had to name just one defining joy of womanhood – it would be that.
Monika: Many trans women are writing their memoirs these days. Have you ever thought about writing your own book, and if so, what would its central message be?
Zofia: Funny you should ask – I already did. Well, it’s about 90% done.
Writing a book was one of my oldest dreams – I’ve carried it since childhood. But I never thought it would be about myself, I wouldn’t have found such an idea particularly compelling. I wanted to craft something immersive and beautiful, a story that would swallow the reader whole.
Even though most people around me – and I myself – considered my pre-2020 life interesting, even dramatic at times, I never thought it was worth turning into a book. I had a different vision. For years, I slowly nurtured the seed of a multi-volume novel, rich in themes and layers.
And then… life handed me a script. A mind-blowing narrative with so many deus ex machina plot twists, so many strange and unbelievable turns, that if I encountered it in fiction, I’d probably dismiss it as too implausible. “Real life doesn’t work that way,” I would’ve said.
And yet here we are. As for if or when I’ll publish it – well, that’s a much longer story.
Monika: If you could tell your younger self one thing about being a transgender woman, what would it be?
Zofia: Oh, that’s a no-brainer! :)
“You are a transgender woman! (And do not dare to waste another day now that you know it, find scientific publications, find a way, that’s now your most important quest with a reward so amazing you cannot possibly imagine it)”
Monika: Finally, what’s next for Zofia? What dreams and goals are you working toward now?
Zofia: My foremost goal is to transform Imago into a global hub – a comprehensive platform offering every type of support a trans person might need, with a special focus on building a safe social space.
But I’m also preparing to take the next steps in confronting inhumane laws and practices – not only those targeting trans individuals, but all systems of oppression. Because we, the persecuted, must stop fighting alone. It’s time to unite against tyranny and totalitarianism in all its forms.
You asked earlier about masculine and feminine leadership. I want to prove, on a large scale, that people free from perpetual fits of hysteria over their fragile ‘masculinity’ have a statistically significant advantage.
I also want to challenge the business world’s status quo – a landscape built on perpetual deception and sustained by arrogance of the insiders and denial of the observers. I want to prove that ventures built on moral fortitude and radical honesty can not only survive – but thrive. And ultimately, triumph.
I mentioned earlier that I dare to reach for the brightest stars of my dreams. Perhaps the greatest of them all doesn’t belong to any business or mission. It lies at the intersection of my most intimate longings and desires, imagination and passion finally unchained, ambitions defined, all fuelled by the intellectual resources I’ve been gathering all my life. Only now do I feel close enough to envision it clearly: the culmination of everything I’ve ever carried, and the pinnacle I strive to make the centre of my life.
But it’s not yet time to speak of that. Some mysteries deserve a longer silence before they step into the light.
Monika: Zofia, thank you so much for sharing your journey and insights.
Zofia: Thank you for the thoughtful questions – it’s been a pleasure to reflect and share. I hope our conversation sparks something meaningful for others, too.
END OF PART 3
All photos: courtesy of Zofia Radosław.
© 2025 - Monika Kowalska
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