Interview with Sally Goldner

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Sally Goldner, an Australian drummer, singer, and stand-up comic, Executive Director for TransGender Victoria, treasurer of Bisexual Alliance Victoria, and treasurer of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, listed in The Age Top 100 Creative and Influential People in Melbourne in 2011. Hello Sally!

Sally: Great to be with you.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Sally: I’ve been physically alive since October 1965 but only spiritually alive since April 1995 which was when I finally received accurate information about trans. At that point, all the pieces of my life began to make sense. I realized my need to affirm my female identity permanently about 3 years later and in between those 2 ties, I got to the truth about my sexual orientation, which I now define as bi/pansexual – like most things, it’s an evolution. 

Monika: How did you start your artistic career?

Sally: I started out more with singing and then was invited to the spoken word. Stand-up and character comedy was something I wanted to do deep down and started in 2003, although it’s been on the backburner since about 2008 due to being busy with advocacy and personal reasons.

Interview with Jasmine Isabella Neuenhaus

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Jasmine Isabella Neuenhaus, a multinational corporation employee and charming lady from Queensland, Australia. Hello Jasmine!

Jasmine: Hi Monika! Thank you for inviting me to interview with you.

Monika: Jasmine is such a lovely name! Did you choose it yourself?

Jasmine: I did indeed choose my new name. When I was young I was obsessed with escaping into the fantasy world of cartoons, none more so than the classic Disney animations.

And my favorite Disney cartoon? Aladdin of course! Aladdin’s Princess Jasmine was more focused on being true to herself than just accepting the path others paved for her. That character was the first role model I identified with and taking her name seemed an easy choice.

Interview with Suzie St James

Monika: Today we are going to Australia to meet Suzie St James, an Australian business consultant and web designer, transgender icon, and showgirl. Suzie has been a drag cabaret entertainer for over 30 years, impersonating Marilyn Monroe and Jessica Rabbit. She toured all over Australia, and she is known for such shows as “The Midday Show” with Kerri Anne and “Simone and Moniques” Playgirl Review. Hello Suzie!

Suzie: Hi Monika!

Monika: What are you doing these days?

Suzie: Working in hospitality and care.

Monika: How did you start your career as a showgirl?

Suzie: At a young age I saw a showgirl and was captivated and knew it was what I wanted to be.

Monika: What was your career like in the 80s? What was the Australian drag show business at that time in general?

Suzie: I was very young in the ’80s and new to the scene, I was slowly establishing my sexuality and identity. The eighties were a buzz of activity for showgirls in Sydney, Australia. Every venue had so many showgirls and shows you could work seven nights a week and most of us did.

Interview with Penny Clifford

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Penny Clifford, an Australian icon, showgirl, journalist, actress, and dancer. Hello Penny!

Penny: Good’ay Monika!

Monika: What are you doing these days?

Penny: I am still performing and I am also into Entertainment and PR Management. 

Monika: The perception of Australian transsexual and transgender ladies is often shaped by the movie “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. How far was the movie from reality?

Penny: The Movie was fun and was written by people that actually hung around the Sydney drag scene in the early '80s, where they took ideas from drags and transsexuals and created their script. Many of the jokes and characters were based on real life. I was in a show that did travel to the exact casino that the Priscilla Bus & Girls traveled to and the show I was in performed at that casino for a 6-week period. So some of that was definitely based on us, although we flew to get there and there were definitely no pink buses!

Interview with Josephine Emery

Monika: Today’s interview is with Josephine Emery, an Australian writer, screenwriter, script editor, and media and publishing strategist, from Cairns in Queensland, known for her work on Freedom (1982), Fever (1988), and The Coming (1981). She was the Director of Literature at the Australia Council for the Arts and Head of Screenwriting at the Australian Film, TV, and Radio School, and worked as a features journalist.

She is the author of "The Real Possibility of Joy: A Personal Journey from Man to Woman” (2009), shortlisted for the 2010 Nita Kibble Award for Best Life Writing by an Australian woman. Hello Josephine!

Josephine: Hi, Monika. It’s a little strange for me being asked to do this interview. I seem to have moved on a lot in my life since my gender history was a real concern of mine. Or writing, for that matter.

Monika: What are you doing these days?

Josephine: I’m 65 years old. I transitioned around the age of 58-59. Second Saturn Return to be astrologically specific. I’ve reached the point where I can say goodbye to the need to identify myself as a writer. I now live in a village of 1200 people, grow my own vegetables, and make bespoke furniture from reclaimed timber.
I fill in as editor of my local newspaper when the editor’s away. I’m getting better at blues guitar: playing slide, bottleneck, resonator. I’m catching up with the things I didn’t do enough of in the previous 65 years!