Interview with Naomi Ceder

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Naomi Ceder, an American Python language programmer, blogger, transgender activist, lead software architect and developer at Razor Occam, former IT Director and Python developer at Zoro Tools, Fellow of the Python Software Foundation, and the author of The Quick Python Book. Hello Naomi!

Naomi: Hi Monika! Thanks for interviewing me!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Naomi: As my intro says, I’m a Python developer and systems architect. I’m currently working in London and Düsseldorf, which has been a lot of fun. 

Monika: Being a Python guru, how would you explain the importance of this programming language to persons that are not IT experts?

Naomi: I doubt I’m a guru, although most people who know me would probably say I’ve always been a teacher. Python is a very powerful and readable language that is also fairly easy to learn. It’s also a high level language, meaning you can get more done with less code. All of that makes it enormously useful in all sorts of areas – web applications, big data, scientific computing, day-to-day administration, etc. It continues to grow in popularity; for example, it’s one of the top languages at Google.

Interview with Jessica Vorster

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

Jessica: Hi Monika! Thanks for inviting me to do this interview!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Jessica: I’m a transgender woman, 22 years of age. I’m just trying to find my place on this world. I’ve been living full time since December 2013 and have been on HRT for a year and 10 moths now. I’m a happy go lucky kind of person that likes to talk and help people. 

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

Jessica: At first I wanted to raise money in order to go for surgeries, but people wanted to hear the story behind the story so I have been working on a few new videos that will be up on YouTube soon.

Interview with Alice Denny

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Alice Denny, a British poet, and transgender activist from Brighton, England. Hello Alice!

Alice: Hello Monika, it’s a pleasure to meet you - so to speak.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Alice: Well I came out and transitioned later in life than most, after bringing up a family. As such transition has given me a new lease in life, a new energy. It has presented some interesting issues with relationships. I Identify primarily as a woman, parent, poet etc. and trans is more coincidental, a reference to my development that has little current relevance. Although in practice it has a big impact on the way I interact in the world and the world treats me.

Monika: Some time ago you attended a meeting in Prague, the Czech Republic. How important is networking for transgender activism?
Alice: I did Monika but I don’t think of myself as an activist as such; there are some fabulous activists and advocates out there. Meeting people from other areas and countries – from the next street even- is so important because it reminds us we are not alone, helps share experience and work to fight prejudice – which is considerable around the world.

Interview with Abby Grace Hughes

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Abby Grace Hughes, known to friends and family as Abby-Grace. She is a video blogger that documents her transition on YouTube and on her blog. Hello Abby!

Abby: Hello Monika, thank you for this privilege. So much has happened in my life. From coming out at around 6, to struggling through puberty and school. Touring the UK in my Rock band in the 80s and early 90s. Transitioning in my early 20s to turning away to have children.

Three gender dysphoria caused nervous breakdowns putting me into psychiatric help. Coming out. Starting hormones. Changing name. Being beaten up for being trans. Life threatened. Had people arrested. I falsely had the police called out on me. Falsely tricked and lied about. Ran away from the UK to the States. Got stuck in Germany during my connecting flight because of a slight error on my Visa which cost an extra $800. 2 years RLE now as good as complete. Finding work here and processing my Visa. Then I’m off to college if I can.

I think I am now better equipped to help people having gone through it all, so there was a reason.

Interview with Venus de Mars

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Venus de Mars, a transgender artist from Minnesota, poet, singer, songwriter, painter, and leader of the punk-glam band All the Pretty Horses. Hello Venus!

Venus: Hey Monika ;)

Monika: When did you decide that music will be your profession?

Venus: Ha! OK... well Hmm. I guess it started as a desire way back when I was a kid... you know. The glamour... seeing the portrayals, lifestyles, etc. in media from back then. That kind of attracted me to it all...but I was way too shy to sing... I didn't think I could really, so I just concentrated on playing the guitar. Started on acoustic when I was like 10 years old... and did basic lessons, but I branched out on my own and tried to learn classical, and flamenco... all that stuff, but rock still called to me.

Interview with Alessandra Bernaroli

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Alessandra Bernaroli, a transsexual activist from Bologna in Italy, whose legal victory was an important step for transgender rights in Italy. Hello Alessandra!

Alessandra: Hello Monika, thanks for this opportunity to talk about LGBTI Civil Rights!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Alessandra: I was born a man in 1971 and lived my life forcing myself to adhere to the image that the society established for people who had a male appearance. In my teen years, there was neither Internet nor so much “correct” information about transsexualism, so I always tried to deny my intimate feelings, believing that they were wrong and that it was happening only to me and no one else in the world.

However, that was not true; now I know it! So I behaved trying to look as manly as possible, and I succeeded easily in doing this also because of my physical appearance, which was, at that time, indubitably a male appearance both in aspect as well as in attitude. Year after year my deep feeling to be a woman didn’t disappear, of course.

I graduated in economics, served one year in military service, practiced charted accounting and finally worked as a clerk. In the meantime, I found love and I got married. Until then, it was 2005, and I was a man!