Interview with Cecilia (buttercupcece)

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Cecilia, a woman of trans experience that documents her life on Reddit.com as buttercupcece and on Instagram as cc.skates. Hello Cecilia (cc)!

cc: Hi!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

cc: Well, I’m a college kid, 20 years old, right now with a plan to transfer universities from Northern Michigan in Marquette Michigan to Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids Michigan.

I’m gonna be studying Diagnostic Medical Sonography, whatever that means. Skateboarding is my absolute biggest passion, but I also love to trail run, surf the great lakes, ice & rock climb, cook, eat, get tattoos, and just generalized punk shit.

Interview with Anshu Christa Jacobson

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Anshu Christa Jacobson, the Headmistress of the Budo Ryu Kai, one of the most sought after instructors in the traditional and eclectic martial traditions, member of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and said to be the only non-Japanese to receive a Menkyo Kaiden (The highest level license that exists in Japanese martial arts.) and Sokeship (inheritor and grandmaster) of a koryu bujutsu/ninjutsu tradition. Hello Anshu!

Anshu: Hello! It is an honor to be asked to do an interview with you!

Monika: You are quite a lady, could you say a few words about yourself?
Anshu: Well… I’m a very eclectic person that does many things. Outside of the martial arts I also work in the adult entertainment industry as an escort/courtesan (geisha) and erotic dancer.
I’m also very open about my spirituality as I am an active pagan who practices Wicca. Wicca is a nature religion, that is derived from very old spiritual and magical practices that help one become more connected to the earth.

Interview with Carla Combs

Monika: Carla, I am so delighted that I can interview you again! Let me briefly introduce you to those who have not read our first interview. Carla Lewis is a wife, father of two adult children, and grandmother of three. She is also a veteran of the United States Air Force Space Command serving in support of Operation Desert Storm and was discharged in 1991 when it was discovered she was transgender. Carla currently works as a software developer for a health care company in Nashville, TN.

In addition, she is a full-time student and part-time writer, speaker, activist, and advocate for the transgender community. Her activism was ignited in 2008, when she and her wife, Jaime Combs, witnessed a lone gunman enter their church sanctuary and kill innocent people, including a good friend, all because her church welcomed LGBT people. To that end, Carla has tried to use her voice to advocate for equality for transgender people and speak for those that cannot speak out because of fear or intimidation. Hello Carla!

Carla: Hey, Monika! I'm thrilled to be giving you an update since our last interview.

Monika: It has been 4 years since our first interview. A lot of things must have changed in your life… I have just noticed two changes. Firstly, you changed your surname!

Carla: OMG! It *has* been four years. Well, yes, there have been a few changes in my life. I don't even know where to begin.

Interview with MJ Rodriguez

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview MJ Rodriguez, an inspirational actress, known for her roles in Nurse Jackie (2011), Carrie Diaries (2013), Dear Pauline (2014), Blank_My Life (2016) and Netflix show Luke Cage (2016), Feature Film Saturday Church (2017) as well as the role of Angel Dumont Schunard in the Original Off-Broadway Revival of Rent (2011). Hello MJ!

MJ: Hello Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
MJ: Well, I am a Jersey Girl Born and raised. I truly enjoy acting as well as singing and I'm glad that it has brought me this far!

Monika: When did you decide that acting would be your vocation? MJ: As soon as I booked Rent I knew that’s where the Road/Journey needed to begin. Monika: It seems that the role of Angel Dumont Schunard in the Original Off-Broadway Revival of Rent was a stepping stone for your acting career …

MJ: It totally was, I was originally going to school, at Berklee College of Music and studying for a degree in Song Writing, but then Rent came around, and at first I was a little hesitant due to schooling as well as the chances of being turned down, but I had to take that chance and luckily, I was blessed enough to receive the role.

Interview with Chloe Schwenke

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Chloe Schwenke, a human rights and peacebuilding activist, development practitioner, and academic with over three decades of international experience, including 15 years of work while based in the Global South. She is the Director of the Global Program on Violence, Rights, and Inclusion at the International Center for Research on Women.

Monika: The transgender community is said to be thriving now. As Laverne Cox announced, “Trans is beautiful.” Teenage girls become models and dancers, talented ladies become writers, singers, and actresses. Those ladies with an interest in politics, science, and business become successful politicians, academics, and businesswomen. What do you think in general about the present situation of transgender women in American society? Are we just scratching the surface or the change is really happening?

Chloe: I would hardly say that the transgender community is thriving, simply because a few transgender models and actors become celebrities, and a few trans folks are publishing. Yes, we are making our presence known more emphatically, but we are also facing extraordinary push-back, violence, exclusion, humiliation, scapegoating, and – globally – a rising death rate from extreme violence.