Interview with Farrah Mills

Monika: Today I am hosting Farrah Mills, one of the most inspirational ladies from the United Kingdom, a London model, singer, entertainer, former adult movie actress, and YouTube vlogger. We are going to chat with Farrah about her career, music and movies, collection of Barbie dolls, ups and downs of show business, as well as her fascinating journey to womanhood. Hello Farrah!

Farrah: Hi there!

Monika: How are you holding up in the crazy COVID-19 times? Do you have any new projects now?

Farrah: I think like everyone this has been a tough and challenging time. I have just tried to stay safe and keep my family safe. Currently, I'm working on a new EP with my singing group called Tparty.

Monika: I guess this is the first trans ladies band in the UK, right? The band was formed in 2014 and it comprises you, Viktor Victoria, and Antonia Wood. Could you elaborate more on your music and the origins of the band?

Farrah: That's correct. The name Tparty was originally a once-a-month clubnite in London that Viktor started, and I and Toni were hostesses. Then we all decided to turn it into a group instead. Our sound is a blend of pop, electro, R&B, and '80s. Viktor writes 90% of all our original songs and I arrange the vocals and harmonies.

Interview with Eleanor

 

Monika: Today’s interview is with Eleanor, an American software engineer and transgender woman that documents her transition on Reddit.com as eleanorPDX. Hello Eleanor!

Eleanor: Hi Monika, thank you for interviewing me today!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Eleanor: I live in Portland, Oregon, with my wife Evan and our cat Percy and dog Riley. We're originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but we moved to Oregon five years ago because Oregon is much more accepting of LGBTQ people than Oklahoma is. We have not visited Oklahoma in several years due to safety concerns. For employment, I'm a software engineer.

Interview with Andréa Colliaux - Part 2

Monika: It has been almost seven years since I interviewed Andréa Colliaux, a French stewardess, transgender activist, the author of the autobiographical book titled "Carnet de bord d'un steward devenu hôtesse de l'air", one of the most inspirational women that I had the pleasure of talking to. Therefore I am extremely delighted that Andréa has decided to chat with me again. Bonjour Andréa!

Andréa: Hello Monika, long time, no see but I always have a look at your page on Facebook and I am always delighted to read the stories of all these extraordinary women who have chosen to transition from one gender to another and to live their life as a woman.

Monika: Andréa, you look so lovely! It seems that beautiful women never get old!

Andréa: Yes, I'm 55 years old now... and I feel like I am still 25 in my head! Still in the '80s. Listening to ABBA, and I think that growing old is not so bad especially when you feel so young in your mind. And I assume the fact is that I have had plastic surgery and injections recently. 

Growing old is not a problem to me, but in good health, physically and mentally. And then I sometimes wonder if the air conditioning in the plane does not preserve me like an old mummy!!!

Interview with Elin McCready

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Elin McCready, an American linguistics professor at Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University. Married for 20 years, she has three children with her Japanese wife Midori, but registering her female identity has endangered her marriage because Japan doesn't recognize gay marriage. Hello Elin!

Elin: Hi! Thank you so much for asking me to do this interview. It’s great to get the opportunity to raise awareness about our situation and about the general situation for LGBTQ+ people in Japan.

Monika: Your story hit the international headlines more than a year ago. Has anything changed since then?

Elin: We first started getting media attention when it became clear that the Japanese government was going to take a weird line on recognizing my transition. The situation in Japan is that, if you want to change the gender marker on your official documents, you must not be married or have minor children, and you must be sterilized, in addition to having a diagnosis saying that gender marker change is appropriate from a medical professional. Since I only satisfy the last condition, I would not have been able to change gender marker if I were Japanese; but since I’m not, I changed my marker in the US, which of course changes my Japanese paperwork. But since I’m married, allowing me to change the gender marker on all my documents would mean the de facto recognition of same-sex marriage, so the government didn’t want to do it.

Interview with Maryanne Marttini - Part 2

The interview is the continuation of the previous conversation with Maryanne Marttini, an American comedienne, writer, producer, and designer from Arizona. She is known for her stand-up comedy performances across the country, and brief appearances in Transparent and Glee. She is also part of a writing team that has developed an animated television series and a three-act play based on that series. Since starting her transition 12 years ago she has volunteered with The Maricopa Community College System for LGBTQ awareness, fundraising for scholarships, and Human Resources for LGBT education.

Monika: You co-operate with the Maricopa Community College System to raise awareness about LGBT rights. Could you say a few words about it?

Maryanne: When I joined The Desperado LGBT Film Festival, which is sponsored by The Maricopa Community College System (MCCS) with corporate and community sponsors, I met the Director of The MCCS Diversity Program for students and staff. MCCS has almost 280,000 full and part-time students and is the center of diversity for Maricopa County. The MCCS is dedicated to promoting diversity despite the reputation of Arizona being a red state.

Interview with Tanja von Knorring

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Tanja von Knorring, a Finnish businesswoman and human rights and transgender activist, co-chair of the 2019-2020 Board of Transgender Europe (TGEU), the roof-top organization of transgender organizations of Europe and Central Asia, fighting against discrimination and supporting trans people rights. She is also the Chairperson of the NGO Transfeminines of Finland, ex-chair of Transgender political committee of SETA – LGBTI Finland, board member in Trasek, and an array of other LGBTI associations. 

Hello Tanja!

Tanja: Hello, and nice to meet you, Monika, in these very special times we are living currently. I'm happy to have an interview with you.

Monika: Before we focus on your activism, I would like to touch upon your managerial career. You can boast a solid portfolio of managerial positions within the Finnish corporate community.

Tanja: Yes, I have had many both demanding and rewarding opportunities in my work life, first as a high ranked civil servant in civil aviation, then leading an airline for 8 years, and finally before giving more time to myself and the activism, as CEO in the transportation field for another eight years.