Interview with Stana

Monika: Today I am going to host Ms. Stana, an American influencer and owner of the popular blog called Femulate where she covers different aspects of femininity for ladies that opt out to be women without any operations and hormone treatments. Stana is the author of Fantasia Fair Diaries (2015) and evangelizer of the normality of crossdressing at colleges and universities. Hello Stana!

Stana: Hello Monika and in honor of our mutual Polish roots, “Dzień dobry!”

Monika: I must say that our chat is going to be a bit different compared to all my previous interviews. Given my own experience, I usually focused on the experiences of women that transitioned into womanhood with a little help from surgeons and hormones. However, we should not overlook the fact that many ladies will never go that path due to many reasons. So I am happy that I am making up for this now…

Stana: Thank you for the opportunity to tell my story or should I say “our” story because I have discovered that there are a lot of women in the same high heel shoes as me.

Interview with Joelle Circé Laramée

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Joelle Circé Laramée, a Canadian artist and feminist, painter, authoress of the biographical book titled “Breaking Free: 45 Years In The Wrong Body” (2020). Hello Joelle!

Joelle: Hello Monika, nice to be having this interview.

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

Joelle: First I think you for thinking of me as I'm now just getting back to creating my art (paintings) and find this an excellent moment to speak out a little. I was born in a lower working-class home and neighborhood in Montreal, Canada, and have always known of my difference though not necessarily in terms like transsexual or queer which I came to understand later on in life. My whole world has been one of observing from the outside and I think this made me becoming a visual artist.

Interview with Namoli Brennet

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Namoli Brennet, an Iowa-based singer and songwriter, 4-time Outmusic award nominee, recipient of the Tucson Folk Festival Songwriting Award and finalist in the ISC songwriting competition; her 2010 album "Black Crow" was named one of KXCI FM's 50 best albums of the year. Hello Namoli!

Namoli: Hi Monika.

Monika: When did you decide that music would be your way of life?

Namoli: I’m actually one of those people who - I just always knew that I would do something with music - I’m pretty sure I knew I was a musician before I knew I was trans. So I didn’t have to think about it too much, except for what form it would take.

I had always felt like I wanted to write, record and tour but I think in part I was underconfident, and I also hadn’t begun to deal with transitioning yet so I felt kind of stuck. Seeing the show “RENT” when I was 29 was a pivotal moment that made me feel like, “I need to do this - now.” The theme of that show is “No day but today” and it was exactly what I needed to hear at the time.