Interview with Antonia Monopoli

Monika: Antonia Monopoli is my special guest today. She is a transgender activist, writer, YouTube video creator, and Italian stage actress. For years, she has been in charge of the Trans Desk at the Ala Association, an Italian organization that focuses on health protection, social inclusion, anti-discrimination, and cooperation both nationally and internationally. She is the author of “La Forza di Antonia: Storia di una persona transgender.” Hi Antonia! Thank you for accepting my invitation.

Antonia: Thank you for choosing me for this interview. It's an honor and a pleasure to be interviewed by you.

Monika: Many of us, myself included, live the lives of wives, mothers, and daughters, trying to forget our past. You decided to be an advocate for transgender rights and express our positive image in society. Have you ever felt tempted to hide your past and be just a woman, rather than a transgender woman?

Antonia: I think I hid myself for too long, and at a certain point in my life, exactly in 2002, I decided not to hide anymore. I chose to live my life in the light, not in the shadows, facing whatever life threw at me and trying to be an example for other transgender people. I hope I succeeded.

Interview with Lilith Primavera

Monika: Lilith Primavera is an Italian actress, singer and LGBTQI+ activist, one of the beloved faces of the TV series “Le fate ignoranti”, directed by Ferzan Özpetek. She was born in Rome and has worked in various professions such as a radio host, author, poet, and performer. She has also appeared in several films including “Mamma + Mamma” and “Anima bella”. As a singer, she has released several electropop singles such as “Vanilla”, Polvere e Pelle”, “Molto”, “Taboo”, “Goodbye My Lover”, “Vieni a Prendermi”, “Nuda”, “Quattro Parole”, and “AMAMI”. She has also given speeches at events such as Carla 2020, where she spoke about the importance of LGBTQ+ rights. Thank you so much for finding some time to chat with me.

Lilith: Thank you Monika and thank you for your precious research work.

Interview with Eva Carieri

Monika: Bologna, a lovely city in Italy, is our venue today. I am talking to Eva Carieri, an inspirational Italian transgender activist, model, actress, blogger, and fashion celebrity. In 2022, she published her biography "Eva. Il prezzo dell'ambizione. La ricerca dell'amore nonostante tutto, oltre il pregiudizio" (Eve. The price of ambition. The search for love despite everything, beyond prejudice). Hello Eva!

Eva: Hello Monika!

Monika: You are a woman of many talents. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Eva: I am a curious person, eager to learn anything that piques my interest. I have not received an education in culture or that would allow me to cultivate my talents. I come from a very poor family with little education, I was born in an era and in a city not inclined to give space to the people of our community. I didn't give up, I risked and suffered a lot, I had to succumb many times but I reached some of the goals I wanted to conquer, one of all, my body in line with my feelings. Of course, then, life is made up of many other things and I believe that people like us will never stop working on themselves to improve themselves.

Interview with Alessia Bergamo

Monika: Today I am going to interview Alessia Bergamo, an Italian model, showgirl, beauty pageant queen, and TV personality, holding the title of Miss Trans Italia 2013. Hello Alessia!

Alessia: Hello Monika! With this interview, I hope to give courage and esteem to all the transwomen who are facing this difficult transition path like me. I would like to make it clear that we too can become accomplished, beautiful and famous on TV as much as cis women.

Monika: You are a woman of many talents. Could you say a few words about yourself? 

Alessia: Like the majority of transgender women, in the past, I had a bad life full of difficulties. I put a lot of effort to be fulfilled as an artist and known throughout Italy on TV as a columnist and soubrette.

For many years I have been working in the best Italian clubs as a sexy star with my burlesque shows. I am also a model of artistic nude, glamour, and cosplay photos. I could achieve it thanks to the first place I won in the national beauty contest of Miss Trans Italia, which gave me a lot of visibility throughout the nation.

Interview with Alessandra Bernaroli

 

Alessandra Bernaroli’s story became an important chapter in Italy’s struggle for transgender rights and legal recognition. In 2009, after completing her gender transition and obtaining legal recognition as a woman, she found herself facing an unexpected consequence: the authorities declared the end of the civil effects of her marriage, despite the fact that she and her wife wished to remain together. Their case raised fundamental questions about gender identity, marriage, and the right of couples to continue their lives together without state-imposed separation. Born in 1971, Alessandra began her transition in 2007, at the age of 36. She had studied economics, worked as a bank employee, and served as a trade union leader. After undergoing gender-affirming surgery in Thailand, facial feminization surgery in Spain, and voice surgery in the United States, she continued to build her life as a woman while confronting the legal obstacles that threatened her marriage.

 

In June 2014, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that the law governing the automatic dissolution of a marriage following the legal gender transition of one spouse was unconstitutional insofar as it failed to provide a way for couples wishing to remain together to retain a legally protected relationship. Although the ruling did not immediately preserve Alessandra’s marriage, it represented a significant legal victory and called on Parliament to introduce an appropriate form of civil union. The case is due to return to the Supreme Court of Cassation for a final decision. Alessandra’s struggle is about more than her own relationship. It challenges the barriers faced by transgender people seeking equal rights, dignity, and recognition under the law. In this interview, she discusses her personal journey, the implications of the Constitutional Court’s ruling, and her determination to contribute to lasting change for the LGBTI community in Italy.