Interview with Kelly Denithorne

Monika: Today I am going to interview Kelly Denithorne, also known as Nadine Spirit, an American maths teacher, blogger, podcaster, transgender advocate, and happy wife that documents her transition on her blog called Unordinary Style. Hello Nadine!

Kelly: Hi Monika. Thank you so much for wanting to interview me. I super appreciate being included amongst so many other fabulous humans.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Kelly: I chose to transition in the summer of 2017. My first few steps were to get a gender therapy specialist as well as my first hormone provider. I changed my hormones July 3rd, 2017. However I didn't actually socially and legally transition until a year later on June 28th, 2018. I am now in my 4th year of my transition. I remain married to my lovely wife of 25 years. And I continue to teach at the same junior high school that I taught at prior to my transition.

Interview with Katherine Reilly

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Katherine Reilly, a Greek-American author, teacher, educational blogger, and active contributor to humanitarian efforts. She works at a private school in Athens Greece, teaching English to learners of all ages. As an author, she works for an international publisher and can boast multiple children’s books and novels. Katherine is known for her children's book trilogy “The Adventures of Ben & Friday”, her guidebook “The Road to Femininity: A New Life for a New Woman” (2016), and novel “I Can’t Love You” (2018). She is also a TEDx speaker and trainer, organizing Ted-Ed clubs and using her experience to motivate, inspire and assist students in reaching their true potential. Hello Katherine!

Katherine: Hello Monika, it’s so nice to see you again!

Monika: We have not heard from each other since 2017 when we did our first interview and suddenly you told me that you would like to go stealth and remove any links with your transgender past. It must have been a very dramatic moment in your life.

Katherine: Imagine establishing a career only to be threatened with being fired due to trans identity. At the time, I was employed as a teacher at a private school. My employer told me that if word came out that I was a transgender woman; I would be out of a job. I had grown extremely attached to my students who loved me dearly. I was faced with the dilemma of losing my kids, my job, and of course the income to support myself. For a while, I went off the radar, contemplating what my life had become.

Interview with with Tyler Keane

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Tyler Keane, an American teacher and transgender woman that documents her transition on social media. Hello Tyler!

Tyler: Hello Monika, I wanted to start off by thanking you for doing these interviews to help raise awareness for the transgender community.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Tyler: I just recently turned 24 years old, I work at an elementary school, with passions for photography and skateboarding.

Monika: Why did you decide to share your transition details on social media?

Tyler: I started posting about my transition on social media because at the beginning of my transition I was very alone. I didn’t personally know any transgender people at the time. I wanted to be able to share my experiences with other people, as well as learn about what other people have experienced.

Interview with Marie-Pierre Pruvot

Monika & Elaine: Today it is our pleasure and honor to interview Marie-Pierre Pruvot, also known as Bambi, one of the most inspirational transwomen in France, a former showgirl of Le Carrousel de Paris, actress, French literature teacher, the author of two biographical books. Hello Marie-Pierre!

Marie-Pierre: Hello, dear friends.

Monika & Elaine: The French transgender cabaret culture is regarded as one of the most important elements of the history of transwomen in France. Your unforgettable shows at Chez Madame Arthur and La Carrousel attracted a lot of interest, which helped the audience to get acquainted with the trans phenomenon. How do you recollect those years?

Marie-Pierre: I left Algiers at age 18 and I came to Paris to work at Mme Arthur’s and at the Carousel. It was 1953. Coccinelle was 22 years old. She was already famous in France and the French-speaking world.

Interview with Hannah Abigail

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Hannah Abigail, a German college teacher, skydiver, trans advocate, and video blogger that documents her transition on YouTube. Hello Hannah!

Hannah: Cześć – Hello, Monika. Thanks so much for reaching out to me. I feel so honored to be interviewed by you considered the many famous names on your website.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself? You have some Polish roots, don’t you?

Hannah: Yes, my great-grandma was Polish. But my ties with Poland stem much more from personal experience. I grew up in Cottbus, Germany, and learned Polish as my third foreign language at grammar school and spoke it almost fluently in the 1970s and 1980s when I visited so many Polish regions. I learned a lot and keep having a special, cordial, and respectful relationship with Poland.

Interview with Kirsty Jayne Crow

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Kirsty Jayne Crow, an aviation consultant, teacher, and author of the memoir “Three Weddings and a Sex Change” (2016). Hello Kirsty!

Kirsty: Hi Monika, I feel very privileged to have this opportunity to speak to you. You have interviewed some truly remarkable women so I’m amongst exalted company.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Kirsty: I grew up on the beautiful island of Jersey and shared a happy childhood with two sisters with whom I remain close. I began to question my gender identity when I was about eight years old, jealous of siblings who could wear gorgeous clothes and sport long silky hair. My teenage years were a time of particular angst and I sort refuge in cross-dressing, my sisters’ wardrobes providing a ready source of feminine attire.

From about the age of 12, I became fascinated with aviation and as soon as I was old enough I learned to fly. A career as a pilot beckoned, but unfortunately, when I was 22 I was diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes, putting pay to any such ambitions. I instead pursued a long and successful career in airline operations, working for a number of major airlines.