Interview with Tara Wels

Monika: Today I would like to present to you an inspirational woman. Tara Wels is an Algerian-born restaurant owner and transgender activist. Her restaurant "Oh! Quai Latin" is a lovely place in Paris, which is friendly to the LGBTQ + community. Hello Tara!

Tara: Hello Monika! I am Tara Wels, a transgender woman in Paris in France. I try to transmit kindness to the LGBTQ + community by facilitating the diversity of genders in my restaurant called Oh! Quai Latin.

Monika: How are you doing in these crazy pandemic times?

Tara: This period is very difficult to live for everyone but I try to stay positive and to create new ideas for the future.

Monika: You were born in Algeria. Did you have a happy childhood?

Tara: Yes, I was born in Algiers in a caring, loving family, surrounded by love. I was the only boy with 3 sisters.

Interview with Catriona

Monika: Today I have invited Catriona, a Scottish transgender lady, LGBTQI+ advocate, gamer, and photographer that documents her transition on social media. Hello Catriona! 

Catriona: Hi Monika, thank you for having me.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Catriona: I am a 37-year-old transwoman from Glasgow, Scotland. I began my transition at the age of 34 and began documenting it shortly after.

Monika: Why did you choose Catriona for your name?

Catriona: Quite simply if I had been assigned female at birth, Catriona would have been my name.

Monika: What inspired you to share your intimate life moments on social media?

Catriona: There is still too much misinformation and incorrect assumptions about what it is to be a transgender person. By sharing snippets of my life and experiences I hope to show people that whilst I am a transgender woman that is only a small aspect of my life.

Interview with Angelica Volkonskaya

Monika: Today I am going to talk with Angelica Volkonskaya, a businesswoman, model, and transactivist from the capital city of Minsk in Belarus that shares her transition story on social media. I have never interviewed a sister from Belarus before, so I am very happy to meet you. Hello Angelica!

Angelica: Hello everyone! Hi Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Angelica: I am from the glorious city of Minsk. I am very glad that my passport includes the same information that I have always wanted to correct. And I am proud to say that according to my passport data, I am already Angelica. This is not an easy way, but it is worth living as you always wanted and felt.

Monika: You seem to be a woman of many talents.

Angelica: It is very difficult to talk about myself. Usually, other people talk about us because they can give a more accurate assessment. To say how good I am, I am not interested. I know only one thing, I constantly challenge everything and everyone, because I understand that in order to achieve something I must be strong in spirit.

Interview with Marissa du Bois

Monika: Today my guest is Marissa du Bois, an American software engineer working on AAA Games for a fortune 50 company. She is an award-winning LEGO maker and contributor to CodeProject.com. She is the inventor of multiple DIY LEGO electronic devices including two point-and-shoot cameras, a digital picture frame, a LEGO computer, and a self-orienting panoramic camera. Marissa has contributed multiple props for a series of commercials for the LEGO group. Marissa is an Ally-Award winning corporate LGBT employee resource group leader and helped influence an Amicus Brief in support of Bostock vs. Clayton County as well as the Business Statement for Transgender Equality. She is an avid gardener and lives in Oregon with her husband of 10 years. Hello Marissa!

Marissa: Hi thanks for interviewing me. I read your interviews frequently and I appreciate the candid first-person perspective of the people you feature.

Monika: How are you holding up in these crazy pandemic times?

Marissa: Doing well, got my first vaccine dose, and hopefully seeing the light at the end of the tunnel soon. The quarantine has allowed me to focus a lot of my energy on engineering, gardening, and 3D printing hobbies, but I’m looking forward to getting out and spreading my wings soon.

Interview with Alessia Bergamo

Monika: Today I am going to interview Alessia Bergamo, an Italian model, showgirl, beauty pageant queen, and TV personality, holding the title of Miss Trans Italia 2013. Hello Alessia!

Alessia: Hello Monika! With this interview, I hope to give courage and esteem to all the transwomen who are facing this difficult transition path like me. I would like to make it clear that we too can become accomplished, beautiful and famous on TV as much as cis women.

Monika: You are a woman of many talents. Could you say a few words about yourself? 

Alessia: Like the majority of transgender women, in the past, I had a bad life full of difficulties. I put a lot of effort to be fulfilled as an artist and known throughout Italy on TV as a columnist and soubrette.

For many years I have been working in the best Italian clubs as a sexy star with my burlesque shows. I am also a model of artistic nude, glamour, and cosplay photos. I could achieve it thanks to the first place I won in the national beauty contest of Miss Trans Italia, which gave me a lot of visibility throughout the nation.

Interview with Louise Croucher

Monika: Today I am going to interview Louise Croucher, a British aspiring writer from London who has recently put down the pen to start her own handmade candle-making business. She is the author of “The Butterfly on Fire: Mind, Body and Soul” (2017), “The Butterfly on Fire: Caterpillar to Chrysalis” (2018), and “Horned Winged Blessed” (2019). Alongside her career as a writer, she is now the founder of The Arlete Way Ltd., a company that promotes better well-being and standard of mental health through a three-week routine that involves a wonderful selection of essential oil gift sets. Hello Louise!

Louise: Hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Louise: Well, you already know the main points of interest about me! I grew up in South East London, and other than my time living in Japan, I have lived in London all my adult life. A few years ago I moved into my own flat in North West London, and I love it there.

I'm a transgender woman, and write mostly dystopian fantasy. The transgender element is usually incorporated naturally, to show how societies could potentially just treat it as a normality - which is my ultimate goal and outcome.

Monika: Louise is a nice name. Why did you choose it?

Louise: It was what my parents said they would have chosen if they had given birth to a natal girl. I liked it. So that was that! I specifically wanted to go with something simple and perhaps even mundane, so that I could blend in when I have to.