Interview with Ally

Today’s interview will be with Ally, a transgender woman that documents her transition on Reddit.com as Hey_Im_Allison. More recently she has launched the YouTube channel Allycat Makeup, which aims to help Transgender women learn to do makeup. Hello Ally!

Ally: It’s a real pleasure to speak with you, Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Ally: I am a 25-year-old transgender woman and I have been transitioning since June of 2016! The three things that I enjoy the most in my life are traveling, music and makeup. I’ve managed to see 15 different countries, played guitar for half of my life, and in the last 7 months became absolutely makeup obsessed. I’m openly trans and believe in being proud of being transgender.

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

Ally: When I had first truly admitted to myself that I was transgender and needed to move forward with the transition, I had wanted to express those thoughts in a very concrete manner. I suppose posting on Reddit was my way of declaring it to the world in a way that I could not take back. From that point onward I felt it would be an interesting way to document my journey and how much has changed.

Interview with Anastasia-Eva Kristel Domani

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Anastasia-Eva Kristel Domani, an inspirational Ukrainian transgender activist from Kyiv, journalist, blogger, and fashionista, the Founder and President of the Foundation "All of Us - Women!" and Head of Kyiv Transgender initiative group “T-Woman – Ukraine” (since October 2016). Hello Anastasia!

Anastasia-Eva: Hello Monika!!! Thank you for the idea about the interview. I’m really excited about this!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Anastasia-Eva: My full name is Anastasia-Eva Kristel Domani, I was born on 1 February 1979, and live in Kyiv. I have felt like a woman since childhood. Yes, I am a transgender woman. After study at secondary school, I entered the Kyiv National Economic University in 1996 and successfully graduated 5 years later. During years of studying, I kept a secret about the fact of my female soul and about the interests and character that live in me. I secretly wanted to be a woman. Parents and friends could not know about it, because we lived in the first post-Soviet years, and the stereotypes about the two sexes, that a boy cannot become a girl after birth were around me.

Interview with Annie Wallace

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Annie Wallace, a Scottish actress from Aberdeen, one of the most prominent LGBTQ persons in the UK, computer science and sound engineering specialist, musician, known for her role of Sally St. Claire in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, the first-ever British transgender actress to be nominated for a BAFTA award, listed no.17 on the 2015 Rainbow List and no.39 on the 2016 Pride Power List, winner of The 2016 National Diversity Awards "Celebrity of the Year" award. Hello Annie!

Annie: Hi!

Monika: Are you a descendant of Sir William Wallace that we know so well from the well-known film Braveheart (1995)?

Annie: I could be, couldn’t I? I suppose all Wallaces are, somewhere down the line… but I have no proof of that whatsoever!

Interview with Cecilia (buttercupcece)

Monika: Today’s interview will be with Cecilia, a woman of trans experience that documents her life on Reddit.com as buttercupcece and on Instagram as cc.skates. Hello Cecilia (cc)!

cc: Hi!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

cc: Well, I’m a college kid, 20 years old, right now with a plan to transfer universities from Northern Michigan in Marquette Michigan to Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids Michigan.

I’m gonna be studying Diagnostic Medical Sonography, whatever that means. Skateboarding is my absolute biggest passion, but I also love to trail run, surf the great lakes, ice & rock climb, cook, eat, get tattoos, and just generalized punk shit.

Interview with Anshu Christa Jacobson

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Anshu Christa Jacobson, the Headmistress of the Budo Ryu Kai, one of the most sought after instructors in the traditional and eclectic martial traditions, member of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and said to be the only non-Japanese to receive a Menkyo Kaiden (The highest level license that exists in Japanese martial arts.) and Sokeship (inheritor and grandmaster) of a koryu bujutsu/ninjutsu tradition. Hello Anshu!

Anshu: Hello! It is an honor to be asked to do an interview with you!

Monika: You are quite a lady, could you say a few words about yourself?
Anshu: Well… I’m a very eclectic person that does many things. Outside of the martial arts I also work in the adult entertainment industry as an escort/courtesan (geisha) and erotic dancer.
I’m also very open about my spirituality as I am an active pagan who practices Wicca. Wicca is a nature religion, that is derived from very old spiritual and magical practices that help one become more connected to the earth.

Interview with Marie-Pierre Pruvot

Monika & Elaine: Today it is our pleasure and honor to interview Marie-Pierre Pruvot, also known as Bambi, one of the most inspirational transwomen in France, a former showgirl of Le Carrousel de Paris, actress, French literature teacher, the author of two biographical books. Hello Marie-Pierre!

Marie-Pierre: Hello, dear friends.

Monika & Elaine: The French transgender cabaret culture is regarded as one of the most important elements of the history of transwomen in France. Your unforgettable shows at Chez Madame Arthur and La Carrousel attracted a lot of interest, which helped the audience to get acquainted with the trans phenomenon. How do you recollect those years?

Marie-Pierre: I left Algiers at age 18 and I came to Paris to work at Mme Arthur’s and at the Carousel. It was 1953. Coccinelle was 22 years old. She was already famous in France and the French-speaking world.