Interview with Jennell Jaquays

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jennell Jaquays, an American designer of role-playing games (RPGs) and video games, known for the Dungeons & Dragons modules “Dark Tower” and “Caverns of Thracia” for Judges Guild. Hello Jennell!

Jennell: Hi Monika. Thank you for letting me share a bit about myself and my story. 

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Jennell: Well in a FEW words, I’m an artist and game developer who late in life accepted that she was ALSO transgender. I was born and lived most of my early life in the American Midwest (near the Great Lakes) and had a not too unusual childhood. For the most part, sports didn’t interest me (I became a baseball fan one year that the Detroit baseball team, the Tigers, won the world series), but I was very much into comic books of all sorts, and drawing, and building imaginary worlds with my younger brother. I had (still have) a younger brother and sister. We moved just about every three years and friendship relationships rarely outlasted the moves so my brother ended up being my best friend as well. Until I was in high school, most of our adventures were shared with each other.

Interview with Micheline Montreuil

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Micheline Anne Hélène Montreuil, a Quebec lawyer, teacher, writer, radio host, trade unionist, and politician from Canada. Hello Micheline!

Micheline: Hello Monika; how are you today?

Monika: I am fine, thank you. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Micheline: Well I could say that I am just an ordinary girl, but being also at the same time a little bit special because I am a transgender. Otherwise, on a professional level, I am just a lawyer, a professor of law, management, and ethics at university, a writer, and a lecturer.

Monika: You made yourself known with your struggles for transgender rights in Canada. Could you elaborate on some of your initiatives in this respect? 

Micheline: My first initiatives were about my name. I wished only to add the first name Micheline to my birth certificate to allow me to have a driver’s license under the name of Micheline Montreuil but unfortunately, the Registrar of civil status denied me this right.

Interview with Yuni Carey

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Yuni Carey, an American model of Cuban descent, dancer, and beauty pageant queen. Hello Yuni!

Yuni: Hello Monika!

Monika: Yuni, you look absolutely beautiful! What is the secret of your everlasting beauty?

Yuni: Aww thank you my love that's very sweet of you. Well, I like to stay on top of myself by always taking good care of my diet and eating well-balanced food as also maintaining straightforward nutrition. Few secrets would be hormones, which are very important, as well as dancing to stay in shape... And always on top of all, fashion and the best products for beauty. A trans woman has to always stay on top of things to be stunning.

Interview with Sheala Dawn Reinertson

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Sheala Dawn Reinertson, an advanced patient care technician, happy wife, and mother. Hello Sheala!

Sheala: Hello, it is a pleasure to be with you.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Sheala: Yes, thank you. I am 33 and came out as transgender at 31. Before then I had spent 8 years in the US NAVY, and am very proud of the time that I spent in the service. I am now making a great advancement in my career and in nursing school.
Monika: Your name hit the headlines in connection with The Name Change Project, which expanded to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a year ago and connects transgender people with volunteer attorneys. How did the project help you?
Sheala: That was honestly the only way I was able to complete my name change. In Pennsylvania, I had to go in front of a judge, I would have done the papers all wrong, they were also able to minimize the cost to me. Without that, I would not have been able to afford the name change.

Interview with Tela La'Raine Love

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Tela La'Raine Love, an American transgender activist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Hello Tela!

Tela: Greetings Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Tela: Sure, let me start by saying I believe this is a truly awesome thing you are doing for the transgender folk who can identify with the experience. I am honored that you wanted me to take part. With that being said you know my name is Tela La'Raine Love and I self-identify as a trans-experienced woman.

I view myself as a woman with trans-experience and not of the trans-experience because being trans is not the totality of my being but merely a facet of who I am. I am a trailblazer in the sense that I am one of the few trans-woman of color from south New Orleans, Louisiana that has chosen not to fully assimilate into a life of stealth. Why? That choice is simply not an option for me.

Interview with Jackie Enx

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jackie Enx, an Irish/American radio personality, percussionist, performer, instructor, and a founding member of such rock bands as Warrior (Virgin Records 1982-1984) and Rhino Bucket (Warner Bros and Acetate 1989-1993 and 2006-2009). Hello Jackie!

Jackie: Good evening, Monika.
Monika: It has been over 20 years since you left Rhino Bucket. What are you doing these days? Are you working on any new artist projects now?
Jackie: I’m always working on something new, I’ve always had a “next” mentality and I do work really hard at whatever I’m doing, and then it’s “next”.
Right now I’m playing drums behind SHANE DWIGHT who is a singer/songwriter out of Nashville and I’m producing, arranging, and playing with an Irish band that has relocated to San Francisco called THE GUV’RMENT.

Interview with Mey Rude

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Mey Rude, the Trans Editor at Autostraddle, a writer, blogger, and transgender activist. Hello Mey!

Mey: Hi!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Mey: Well, obviously, my name is Mey. I’m a transgender Latina who lives in Idaho in the US. I’m also a lesbian, and a comic book nerd, and a writer. I work as the Trans Editor for the website Autostraddle.com.

Monika: As Trans Editor at Autostraddle, you follow and comment on all the trends related to the visibility of transgender women in the media. Thanks to the success of “Orange Is the New Black,” “Transparent,” “New Girls on the Block,” and “True Trans With Laura Jane Grace” and other TV productions, we have faced increasing visibility of trans characters. Is it a stable trend?

Mey: I really hope so. I think that all the awards that have been going to “Orange Is the New Black” and “Transparent”, as well as the recent Emmy win for Laverne Cox’s TV documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word” will encourage more people to take a chance on trans stories and trans characters. And we’ve been starting to see that. There are going to be a bunch of new shows featuring trans characters this year, including several with fictional trans characters played by trans actresses, so I think that’s a very good sign.

Interview with Nicola Jane Chase

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Nicola Jane Chase, a British writer from near Liverpool, who currently lives in New York. A former globe-trotting DJ and radio personality, she is the author of “Tea and Transition” (2015). Hello Nicola! 

Nicola: Hey Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Nicola: That's always hard! But I'd say I am a supremely content New York woman with a transgender history.

Monika: Why did you decide to write your autobiography?

Nicola: In fact, it started out as a journal, a diary, I didn’t set out to write a book. It was relatively early in my transition and I realized that I was having experiences and going through events that had never happened before and may not happen again. Starting hormones, the first therapy session,  and so on.

Interview with Bianca Leigh

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Bianca Leigh, an American actress, writer, and singer. Hello Bianca!

Bianca: Witam, Monika!

Monika: “She’s got Bette Davis eyes, Joan Crawford facial expressions, Faye Dunaway angst, Norma Shearer hauteur, and Marlene Dietrich cross-sexual appeal.” Who is that woman?

Bianca: A press agent’s dream! LOL That woman is me on-stage, chewing the scenery. The off-stage me is much more sedate. A little boring, even.

Interview with Kayla Ward: Update

Monika: Hello Kayla! It has been 18 months since our first interview. What has changed in your life since then?

Kayla: I moved to Dallas, Texas, and began chasing my dreams of modeling and acting.

Monika: You look absolutely stunning! What is the secret of your beauty?

Kayla: Luck with genetics is about the only answer I can honestly give. I’d like to say it is due to eating healthy, consistent workouts, and always getting enough sleep but that doesn’t happen like it should.

Interview with Nika Fontaine

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Nika Fontaine, an inspirational Canadian artist based in Berlin, Germany, coffin designer, curator of the Kitsch Lexikon and Kitschypedia. Her works consist of glitter paintings, sculptures, video, music, photography, and performance art. Hello Nika!

Nika: Hello Monika! Thank you for the invitation, your blog played a big role in my process of acceptance!

Monika: Thank you! Could you say a few words about yourself?
Nika: I very much like your introduction, maybe I can just make it more precise. I am French Canadian and I have been living in Berlin for almost seven years now. I started the transition process one year and a half ago.

Interview with Emma Martin

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Emma Martin, a British IT consultant, clinical psychotherapist, and transgender activist. Hello Emma!

Emma: Hi Monika. Thank you for inviting me.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Emma: What can I say? Well, I’ve been married to the love of my life Linda for 37 years, spent most of my working life in IT with various companies ending up as an IT Manager for a major food manufacturer, then got a bit fed up with IT and trained as a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist. Now, retired, I consider myself to be a full-time writer. I’m also teaching myself 3D graphics design. As to hobbies, we have two retired greyhounds that will soon be the stars of a series of children’s stories I’m writing.

Interview with Marisa Allen

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Marisa Allen, a Belgian revue producer, and performer, director, and creator of the award-winning show ballet "The New Sensations". She has been The Designer of the Stars for more than 10 years. Hello Marisa!

Marisa: Hello dear Monika!

Monika: You look fantastic, Marisa. What is the secret of your beauty?

Marisa: I think it is love and happiness… it makes me glow.

Interview with Koko Jones

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Koko Jones, an American activist and a voice in the trans community, jazz percussionist and band leader that played for such artists as Whitney Houston, The Isley Brothers, Winard Harper, and Reggie Workman, the author of her newest album “Who's That Lady”. Hello Koko!

Koko: Hi Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Koko: Well I would say that I’m a musician, writer, composer, producer, educator, Buddhist, a parent, and a trans woman of color.

Interview with Jessica O’Donnell

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jessica O’Donnell formerly known as Jessica Cummings. She is an American transgender activist, video blogger, former co-host of Transition Radio. Hello Jessica!

Jessica: Hi Monika! Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to be a part of such a positive outlet for our community. I am truly honored to be included in this!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Jessica: Sure! I am a 40-year-old transgender woman who like others has struggled with my gender and identity my entire life. When I started daycare and through 1st grade, I thought I was a girl but learned very quickly that if I wanted to be accepted by others I had to act like a boy.

Interview with Stephanie Postma

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Stephanie Postma, a young Dutch video blogger that documents her transition on YouTube. Hello Stephanie!

Stephanie: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Stephanie: I am a 22-year-old female and student of beauty and wellness in the last year.

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

Stephanie: I was young and I thought I might be an inspiration for other young transgender ladies. I was only 14 when I uploaded my first YouTube video.

Monika: At which stage of the transition are you right now?

Stephanie: I’m finished! I would really like a boob job in a couple of years but for the time being it is enough. I am happy with myself and that is the most important issue for me.

Interview with Bright Daffodil

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Bright Daffodil, a British woman born intersex, a participant in many documentaries and interviews. Hello Bright Daffodil!

Bright Daffodil: NAMASTE Monika an absolute pleasure to meet you.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Bright Daffodil: I believe myself to be a Pleiadian, a star seed here in London, in human terms I’m an intersex person, a transgendered woman, but I’m at a stage in my life where gender to me is nothing more than the others' perception. I don’t see myself as any gender anymore, just as a soul having a human experience.
I think I have transcended gender to be really honest. For my soul, it’s easier to live a female experience however I don’t think I’m female or male in knowing my true self I am merely an organic being.

Interview with Victoria Divine

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Victoria Divine, a film director, producer, and performer from Argentina. Hello Victoria!

Victoria: Hello Monika, how are you doing?

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Victoria: I’d like to say that I am someone in constant urge for transforming myself and not just physically when I say ‘transforming’. I mean growing up, learning, discovering. I started to express my gender identity in Argentina, Buenos Aires during the 1970s.

I have been fascinated with trans women since an early age. At that time perhaps I didn’t know that I was one of them but over the years I realized that those spectacular women I used to see were a part of who I am.

Interview with Meghna Lama

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Meghna Lama, a Nepalese model, and beauty pageant queen. Hello Meghna!

Meghna: Hello Monika, Namaste!

Monika: Meghna, you look absolutely beautiful! What is the secret of your everlasting beauty?

Meghna: :) Thanks for your compliment. There is no secret about my beauty; we just have to think and feel that we are beautiful with the glow that comes automatically on our faces.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Meghna: I just feel that when we are born into this world we all have to face many difficulties and problems in every walk of life, regardless of whether are male, female, or LGBTI, so I don’t worry about it, and I always love to face it and at the end success comes close to me.

Interview with Kelly Star

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Kelly Star, an Australian model, and celebrity. Hello Kelly!

Kelly: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Kelly: I am strong, passionate, and driven with an aura of kindness. I am also compassionate to all living creatures living a Vegan lifestyle, which I believe keeps me looking young and radiating love all the time.

Monika: You hit the headlines in March 2015 when the American and Australian media presented you as a woman who claimed to have the “Largest Boobs in Australia.” Does the media attention help you with your career?

Kelly: Yes, by exposing myself (in more ways than one) I am hoping to further my career. It is a risk I am taking right now.