Interview with Christin Sophie Löhner

Monika: Today let me present a charismatic woman from Germany. Christin Sophie Löhner is a German author, politician, activist and feminist, blogger, speaker on transgender topics, and expert in web development and server administration. In 2019 she published her autobiography „trans(*)parent: Wie eine Normvariante der Natur ihren Weg findet”. Hello Christin!

Christin: Heya Monika! Thanks for being with you. It is a pleasure for me to answer all your questions!

Monika: Did I miss anything in my introduction? You are a woman of many talents. :)

Christin: Haha, thanks! I'm asked from time to time how many hours my days actually have. My main daily business - besides my full-time job of course - is all about my own German-wide organization for self helping groups and peer support.

Interview with Natalie

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Natalie, an American IT professional and transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Natalie!

Natalie: Hi Monika and thank you for reaching out to me. I am happy to share a bit of my story.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Natalie: I am a full-time IT professional, occasional illustrator, photographer, writer, programmer, mountain biker, puppeteer, and... I could go on for a bit. I have a bunch of hobbies that for the most part are visual and creative.

Monika: What inspired you to share your intimate life moments via social media?

Natalie: When I first realized I was a woman and decided on transition is the answer to me back in 2007-2008, there was very very little out there in terms of positive stories, access to information or just documented stories. It felt like all you heard about were the cartoon depictions of trans women in media like Jerry Springer or vomit moments in comedies. It felt so empty and hopeless. It made me give up.

Interview with Erin Dees

Monika: Today my guest is Erin Dees, an inspirational woman from Ontario, Canada. Erin is a programmer, engineer, and coach. She has written or co-written five books on programming. Erin lives with her wife, their youngest son, and their cranky Corgi mix. At one time, their household included a menagerie of kids, dogs, cats, chickens, and goats. But the older kids graduated and started their own lives, and the goats eventually ran out of grass to eat and moved on to a family with a bigger yard. Hello Erin!

Erin: Hi! Thanks for having me on your site. It's an honor to be included among so many trans people I've looked up to.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Erin: Sure! I grew up in Texas as a goofy, sensitive child. I got to try computer programming at a school day camp in grade six and was instantly hooked. It felt like magic to type words on the screen and see things happen as a result!

I also love spoken languages after taking French in high school and German at university. I took a one-semester break from engineering and studied in Berlin, which gave me enough credits to sneak a German degree into my graduation plan.

Interview with Kym

Monika: Today I am going to chat with Kym, an American software engineer and transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Kym!

Kym: Hi Monika! It is a pleasure to chat with you. Your blog was an inspiration for me many years ago, when I thought it would be impossible for me to transition.

Monika: I am always happy when my blog can help or inspire others! Could you say a few words about yourself?

Kym: Well, although I’ve had some understanding that I’m trans since I was a child, it wasn’t until my early 50s that I actually started to transition. I did a lot of stuff in the meantime, including military, construction work, getting a PhD and starting a couple of companies. Now, I have a somewhat normal job as a software engineer, and do what I can to support my local trans community.

Monika: How did you choose Kym for your name?

Kym: In a way, it chose me. When I was around 10, I had an overnight at a friend's house. That friend had a sister named Kim who was at a friend's house. At some point their mother shouted up the stairs, “Kim, are you home?” “Kim” was similar to my dead name and I misheard her and thought she was talking to me. I yelled back, “yes!” and we ended up having a whole conversation with her thinking I was her daughter, and me confused, but agreeable.

Interview with Rebecca Finn

Monika: Today I am going to interview Rebecca Finn, a Latin American and European web developer and transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Rebecca!

Rebecca: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Rebecca: Hi, I'm Rebecca Finn, an openly transgender woman who works as a web developer living in Europe. I really really love coffee, enjoy movies and comics (and movies about comics too), and collect video game consoles and 80s toys (with a penchant for bootlegs).

Monika: What inspired you to share your intimate life moments via social media?

Rebecca: I actually can't remember exactly when, it kinda just happened. I had already moved away from my country and had struggled to find the courage to talk to close friends and allow myself to be me in public. I tried to find myself again and again, until I finally felt at ease. By then I was already posting as much as I could in social media, hosting makeup streams on Instagram and sharing daily photos. People were following me, commenting how they felt at ease and liked to see a friendly smile every morning. So I kept going.

Interview with Marissa du Bois

Monika: Today my guest is Marissa du Bois, an American software engineer working on AAA Games for a fortune 50 company. She is an award-winning LEGO maker and contributor to CodeProject.com. She is the inventor of multiple DIY LEGO electronic devices including two point-and-shoot cameras, a digital picture frame, a LEGO computer, and a self-orienting panoramic camera. Marissa has contributed multiple props for a series of commercials for the LEGO group. Marissa is an Ally-Award winning corporate LGBT employee resource group leader and helped influence an Amicus Brief in support of Bostock vs. Clayton County as well as the Business Statement for Transgender Equality. She is an avid gardener and lives in Oregon with her husband of 10 years. Hello Marissa!

Marissa: Hi thanks for interviewing me. I read your interviews frequently and I appreciate the candid first-person perspective of the people you feature.

Monika: How are you holding up in these crazy pandemic times?

Marissa: Doing well, got my first vaccine dose, and hopefully seeing the light at the end of the tunnel soon. The quarantine has allowed me to focus a lot of my energy on engineering, gardening, and 3D printing hobbies, but I’m looking forward to getting out and spreading my wings soon.