Interview with Johanna E.

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Johanna E., an inspirational Austrian woman, stewardess, yoga instructor, and celebrity star from the German reality show about transgender people titled “Transgender - Mein Weg in den richtigen Körper”. Hello Johanna!

Johanna: Hi Monika, I feel very happy about this interview.

Monika: Why did you decide to apply for the casting to “Transgender - Mein Weg in den richtigen Körper”?

Johanna: It was pure instinct and ambition. When I saw "Transgender" for the first time two years ago, I have felt envy and a strong need to participate in that TV show as well. There was no certain reason, I just wanted to be part of that. I considered it as my next goal.

Monika: What are your impressions about the participation in that show?

Johanna: My impression is that the production team is really serious about the topic and about us, the participants. Nothing respectless was shown in the shows though they could have. For example, there were pictures of me attending an erotic dance class where I did not hide my gender and you could see everything because I wore tight leggings. But they did not show. On the other side, the show is quite superficial cause it's more about operations.

Interview with Julie Nemecek

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Rev. Dr. Julie Nemecek, an American transgender activist, lecturer, professor, ordained Baptist minister, and Presbyterian Church elder. She was born in Chicago, Illinois but Michigan has been home for many years. In 2007 she hit the national headlines when she was fired from Spring Arbor University when she came out as a transgender professor. In 2008 Julie was appointed co-executive director for the LGBT civil rights organization Michigan Equality to become the first transgender person to serve as executive director for a statewide civil rights organization. Hello Julie!

Julie: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Julie: I am 63 and retired, but still active for LGBTQ rights and equality. I will have been married 42 years this June; have 3 boys – all married – and 5 grandchildren with another on the way.
Monika: In 2007 you made headlines for being fired by Spring Arbor University after saying you were going to transition into a woman. Are you still bitter about that act of discrimination?
Julie: Not really. I have had a lot of support from former colleagues and students. It was mainly the Board that had issues (fearing lost revenue and/or students). I worked for 18 months AFTER they knew I was trans and transitioning.
We reached a mediated settlement to my Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint after 13 hours of negotiation over two days. They knew they were in a difficult position because they taught the standards of care that I was following and had admitted a transgender student to a graduate program based on her Christian witness.
One positive outcome was that their act of discrimination brought me over 100 media interviews in 2007 including Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and even Christianity Today. This, along with two other highly publicized trans stories in early 2007, had a collective impact of bringing trans issues to the forefront of public thought.

Interview with Maki Gingoyon

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Maki Gingoyon, aka Maki Eve Mercedes, a Filipino trans woman beauty queen, most well known for winning Queen of Cebu 2010, and being one of the Queens for Super Sireyna 2013. Hello Maki!

Maki: Hey Monika! Thanks for having me on your blog. And it is nice to meet someone like you, a fellow transgender woman making a difference in promoting a good image among trans women.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Maki: I am 24, turning 25 this year, and I am a transgender woman from the Philippines. I studied BS Psychology, unfortunately, I was not able to finish it due to some family issues, which challenged me to be independent and work my a** out by applying for a call center job. This is a very common job opportunity in the Philippines, especially for 2nd-year college students who want to work. That actually helped me to support myself and my transitioning.
And currently, I work as a digital online marketing director for a transgender dating site together with my boyfriend.

Interview with Kenna Henderson

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Kenna Henderson, an American writer, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of the book titled "I'm Not The Man I Used To Be" (2012). Hello Kenna!

Kenna: Hello! I’m very flattered that you would consider me for an interview. I see all the lovely ladies you have talked with and wonder “What on Earth am I doing here?”.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Kenna: I’m sure you’ve heard the term “late bloomer”. I was born in 1941, knew without a doubt by age six that I was transgender, and I kept it secret for more than five decades. I don’t remember how I learned it was something to be ashamed of, but I had no relatable examples in the media and no one I could talk to.
It was only in 1994, when I gained access to the internet, that I began to understand what I was dealing with and realized that there were a lot of other people like me. From that point on, I began to evolve. It took another ten years or so for me to know and accept exactly where I fit on the gender spectrum - and find peace.

Interview with Tammy Powers

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Tammy Powers, an American transgender activist, the owner of the bike shop in San Francisco. Hello Tammy!

Tammy: Hi, thank you for contacting me. I’m glad you want to ask me some questions about me and my bicycle shop, A Tran’s Bay Bike Shop.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Tammy: Sure, I’m a businesswoman, part-time stand-up comedian, helpful, sincere, trustworthy, tenacious, lover of dogs, and I make the best vegetarian lasagna you ever had.

Interview with Dallas Denny

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Dallas Denny, a writer, editor, behavior analyst, pioneer, and leader in the transgender rights movement in the USA, recipient of IFGE's Trinity and Virginia Prince Lifetime Achievement Awards and Real Life Experience's Transgender Pioneer Award. Hello Dallas!

Dallas: Hi, Monika, and thanks so much for having me!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Dallas: Let’s see, what do I want to say about myself… I live in a tiny town called Pine Lake, population 800, which happens to be in the middle of Metropolitan Atlanta, just 10 miles from downtown. It was started in the 1930s as a lake community resort so Atlantans could vacation in the country.
Today Pine Lake still looks like a girl scout camp, heavily wooded with cabins and cottages and of course a lake, but the city extends 50 miles past it! My house is mere feet from the lake, and all of the lake is a park. The town is filled with artists and interesting people of all sorts—and several other transpeople live here.