Interview with Joanne Borden

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Joanne Borden, a transgender activist from the USA, former industrial engineering consultant, president of two engineering societies, and happy father and grandfather. Hello Joanne!

Joanne: Hello Monika.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Joanne: When talking about myself it is rarely just a few words because I’m my favorite topic! In 89 years, anyone would have a lengthy biography so I have a great deal to say about myself. Briefly, I am a transgender woman who was always a happy person. As a friend once said, “You were always a happy person but now (after “coming out”) you are always happy!” I credit that to being a realist.

Interview with Michelle Diamond

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Michelle Diamond, an Australian transgender activist, and the first-ever Transgender Goal umpire for Australian Rules Football, making history for the trans community in Australia. Hello Michelle!

Michelle: Hello Monika, thank you for this opportunity.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Michelle: Well for starters I am a pre-op transsexual who has been transitioning for about 4 years now, been an activist for most of those years until I retired at the end of 2012 to follow my dreams. I ended up following my dreams and wanted to get involved in Australian Rules Football as a goal umpire and so I trained hard and worked on it to make sure I achieved my goals and make my dreams a reality, on the 26th of April 2014 I made history by becoming the first-ever transwoman to become a goal umpire here in Australia.

Interview with Brae Carnes

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Brae Carnes, a young transgender activist, and vlogger from Canada. Hello Brae!

Brae: Hello :)

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Brae: I am 23, and currently a trans rights activist. Specifically opposing the amendments made to bill c279 by Canadian senator Donald Plett.

Monika: You hit the headlines in February 2015 when the Canadian media covered your social media campaign against bathroom bans for transgender women. Were you satisfied with the way the media covered your campaign?

Brae: I was satisfied because it was coverage, which I was very grateful for. They somewhat simplified my campaign, which is understandable as anything trans* is hard for the public to understand.

Interview with Karine Solene Espineira

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Karine Solene Espineira, a Chilean-born transgender activist from France, one of the most inspirational and charismatic leaders of the transgender community in France, blogger, the author of "Transidentité: Ordre et panique de genre" (2015), "Médiacultures: la transidentité en télévision" (2015), “La Transyclopédie: Tout Savoir Sur Les Transidentités” (2012) – an encyclopedia of the transgender movement in France (but just not). She is a researcher at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, and a member of the coordination team of the international campaign Stop Trans Pathologization. Hello Karine!

Karine: Hello Monika! I’m very enchanted by this interview. Thank you for it. It is an honor to contribute to your blog, which is a precious source of information about our community. Our stories can contribute to the culture of our groups but also to the “common culture”. I also have to apologize for my English … but my Spanish is better and my French is fantastic!

Interview with Merryn Witherspoon: Part 2

Monika: It has been over a year since our first interview. You look fantastic! What has changed in your life since then?

Merryn: Many thanks, Monika! It’s nice to keep in touch. Yes, a lot has certainly happened since our first interview in March 2014 and which occurred at a time of great uncertainty just after my father had died and my mother was in a nursing home. She actually also then died early and I then had to decide whether or not to continue with my move back to North Yorkshire.

Ultimately, I did move back in early July, having decided to move into my late parent's house and convert it into a B&B as it’s located in a prime tourist area close to the North Yorkshire National Park and the historic city of York as well as being close to my birthplace of Scarborough on the north coast of England. It’s a very small rural hamlet with only about ten houses and I did wonder what the neighbors would make of me!

Interview with Valerie Lyn Brooks

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Valerie Lyn Brooks, a former US Navy Gunner, photographer, historian, and veteran advocate. Hello Valerie!

Valerie: Good Morning, Monika. It’s a pleasure to be interviewed.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Valerie: I am a Navy veteran, photographer, historian, veteran advocate and currently work in the field of Disaster Recovery.

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

Valerie: Actually, I am hitting my 1-year mark on HRT on April 2nd, 2015.