Monica J. Romano, Italian activist and the first transgender woman elected in Milan

Monica Romano, prima transgender eletta a Milano: «Mi ha chiamato Zan,  lotto per le donne uccise dall'odio»- Corriere.it

My name is Monica J. Romano and I am an Italian activist, writer and politician.

I’m the first transgender woman elected in Milan as a municipal councilor.

I created the first Gender Register for transgender people in Italy, approved by the City Council of Milan on May 16, 2022.

Contacts: info@monicaromano.it

My history

I was born male in 1979 in Milan. I came from a working class family. My mother is from La Spezia and my father is from Sicily. My mother, Francesca, passed me the passion for study and culture and my father, Nino, waiter in a restaurant, passed me passion for politics and Marxist view. In 1997, I graduated from high school (classical lyceum).

In 1998 I rejected the male gender and I began to live socially as a girl, choosing the name Monica.

The family supports me with great courage.

In the same year I began my activism in associations and Italian LGBT movements, fascinated by my mentor Deborah Lambillotte. My best-known battle is for transgender’s right to work.

My activism has been going on for more than twenty years.

In 2006 the Italian State, by judgment of the court, recognizes the name Monica as my legal name.

Of the masculine name which has been assigned to me at birth I keeps at an informal level only the “J”, to give memory, love and witness to the first nineteen years of my life, but also to highlight a political positioning of rejection of binary logic, passing logic and normalizazion that have always oppressed transgender, non binary and gender non-conforming people and communities.

In 2007 I graduated in Political Science.

In 2008 I wrote my first book “Transsexuality as Object of Discrimination”, essay about discrimination of transgender people in contemporary society.

In 2015 I wrote “Stories of XY girls”, a bildungsroman based on the story of my life and in 2017 I wrote “Gender (R) Evolution”, memoir about my activism, both books published by Ugo Mursia.</ref>

In 2021 I ran for municipal elections in Milan with the Democratic Party supporting Mayor Beppe Sala and I took 938 votes. I won the election and I became the first transgender person elected as municipal councilor in the history of Milan.