Interview with Hannah Warg

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Hannah Warg, a Swedish transgender vlogger and adult actress, known for her YouTube vlog called “Ask a Transsexual”. Hello Hanna!

Hanna: Hello Monika!

Monika: On 8 July 2010 you recorded your first episode of “Ask a Transsexual” YouTube vlog series. Since then you have had 195 videos, 5,868,923 views, and 15,340 subscribers (as of 5 January 2014). This is a fantastic result …
Hanna: I wasn't really aware I had so many subscribers and views, but yes, that is amazing and I'm very happy people enjoy what I do! 
Monika: Who is the average inquirer?
Hanna: I put them in two categories, males attracted to transsexuals, usually asking questions of sexual nature and the other category is of other transgendered people, who want help in one way or another. Usually to help make up their mind, or how to get practical help on how to transition.

Interview with Michelle Enfield

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Michelle Enfield, a Navajo transgender activist and advocate, HIV counselor, and the winner of the 2012 Alexis Rivera Trailblazer Award. Originally from Lukachukai, Arizona, she lives in Los Angeles, California. She has first-hand experience working with homeless youth, and specifically with the Native American population providing HIV education and support. Michelle is a member of the Transgender Service Provider Network (TSPN) and co-chair of the Underrepresented Cultural Communities with the LA Department of Mental Health. Hello Michelle!

Michelle: Hello Monika. Thank you for your time and effort to connect with the many transgender advocates and activists throughout the world.

Monika: Could you say a few words about your career so far?

Michelle: I’ve been in the HIV field, professionally, for over five years, although I’ve been involved in HIV for many more. I was introduced to HIV/AIDS via a story in Reader’s Digest when I was a freshman in high school. At the time, I had a boyfriend whom I was intimate with. After the first time, we had sexual relations, I read the article and got scared of sex. I learned some information on HIV/AIDS through magazines but they didn’t make me an expert, by any means.

Later on, after high school, while still living on the Navajo Reservation, there were a couple of people I knew, close to me, that died from complications of AIDS—but it wasn’t talked about. My friends and I were told by our departed friends’ family that they died of walking pneumonia. Of, course, there was more to those stories, but no one insisted on getting more than the half-truth that was told.

Interview with Deja Nicole Greenlaw

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Deja Nicole Greenlaw, an inspirational American transgender activist, and advocate. Hello Deja!

Deja: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about your activism and yourself?

Deja: I have lobbied in government buildings in Washington DC and Hartford, Connecticut for trans rights but I believe that my biggest and most important activism is being out at work and having many people interact with me.

I deal with many people from several departments in a manufacturing environment and with hundreds of manufacturing plants all over the globe. Anyone who interacts with me can say that they know a transgender person and working with one is not an issue. If someone they know says something negative about transgender people they can refute it because they have the first-hand experience with working with me.

For the majority of the people I work with, I am the first transgender person that they have ever met. A few of them may have had issues with me in the beginning but now they are all very accepting of me.
The same goes for the community that I live in, the stores that I patronize, the doctors and staff that I interact with. They all know a transgender person. By being open and out and about I am helping to change people’s thoughts about transgender people. I believe that is my greatest contribution to activism.

Interview with Robyn-Jane

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Robyn-Jane, inspirational woman, blogger, transgender artist, and leader of the band "Robyn-Jane". Hello Robyn!

Robyn: Hi Monika, it's so great to have the chance to talk to you.

Monika: What are you doing these days?

Robyn: Having undergone my gender reassignment surgery last year on April 10, I am finally getting the chance to be the woman I was always meant to be. It has meant that work on our new album 'Bitter Honey' has been somewhat delayed but it has been a beautiful and life-changing experience.

Monika: You are a member of the band named "Robyn-Jane". How did you start playing together?

Robyn: We started playing together some years ago to back another artist who has since become part of our lineup. Our sound evolved from playing straight Blues and Country into the more sassy cabaret blues style we have today.

Interview with Jamie Roberts

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Jamie Roberts, an American transgender activist, a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, a public defender in LaGrange, former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta based organization called Georgia Equality, Treasurer of Atlanta Gender Explorations. Hello Jamie!

Jamie: Hello Monika!

Monika: For many years you have been involved in transgender advocacy and activism. What are the current challenges for the transgender community in Atlanta?

Jamie: I believe the biggest challenge for the Trans community in Atlanta is to create stable short-term emergency shelters as well as longer-term supportive housing for Trans people. The shelter and care system we have to deal with now in Atlanta is private and faith-based, which means they think that their god does not approve of Trans people, and any Trans person who seeks shelter with them must be housed according to the sex or gender assigned to them at birth and that your clothes you wear in their shelter must reflect the same.

This policy, universal throughout the city, presents an untenable choice to Trans women in particular, who must be housed with abusive men and wear male clothes to get shelter. This intolerable situation leads some Trans women to commit suicide and others to rely on sex work to survive. If no one is going to give us shelter that is safe and respects our dignity, then we as a community must figure out a solution ourselves.

Interview with Stephanie Battaglino

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Stephanie Battaglino, an inspirational woman, transgender advocate, and activist, working with a number of LGBT organizations, serving on the Board of Directors of both the LGBT Community Center of New York and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), Out & Equal Workplace Advocates’ Transgender Advisory Committee, Corporate Vice President at a major life insurance company in New York and the founder and owner of Follow Your Heart LLC – in which she delivers to companies and organizations educational workshops, training, and motivational keynote speeches focused on personal empowerment and how to create transgender inclusive workplaces. Hello Stephanie!

Stephanie: Hello Monika! Thank you so very much for the opportunity to be a part of your website. I’m truly honored to be included among so many inspirational women.

Monika: You transitioned in October 2005 and were the first transgender person to do so at your company. What kind of challenges did you face then?

Stephanie: Well, there were a few. First of which is that there were no specific protections in place for transgender employees in my company at that time, specifically with regard to gender identity and expression.

Secondly, the culture of the company is quite conservative and male-dominated, so I was very concerned that, as is the case with so many transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, I would lose my job the moment I came out.