Nina Arsenault
Encyclopedia
Nina Arsenault is a Canadian
transsexual columnist
, freelance writer, actress and sex-trade worker
.
She was born Rodney and grew up in a trailer park in Beamsville, Ontario
. She has stated she has two master's degrees. At one point prior to her transition, Arsenault was an instructor at York University
, where she taught acting.
She has said her moment of truth about what she was came in August 1996 and her transition was in full force around 1998. By 2007 she had undergone over $150,000 in cosmetic surgery in her transition, financed through work in the sex trade.
Arsenault wrote a regular column on transgender
issues for 36 issues of fab
, a biweekly Toronto
-based LGBT
magazine. Her last column was in early 2007.
She has appeared on the television
series Train 48
and KinK
, as well as the Showtime movie Soldier's Girl
.
She had a well-publicized encounter with Tommy Lee
where he flirted with Arsenault for some time before discovering that Arsenault was transsexual, and subsequently left in a hurry.
Arsenault appeared in a one-act play written especially for her by Sky Gilbert
in November 2007 entitled Ladylike. She is also in the process of writing her memoirs, to be called The Silicone Diaries and has done a one-woman stage show by the same name.
She appeared also in The Jon Dore Television Show
, appearing the episode "Manly Man". She stated the reason why she does not want to remove her male genitals:
In 2010, she will perform a new autobiographical play entitled i was Barbie.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
transsexual columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
, freelance writer, actress and sex-trade worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
.
She was born Rodney and grew up in a trailer park in Beamsville, Ontario
Beamsville, Ontario
The community of Beamsville is part of the town of Lincoln in the province of Ontario in Canada. It is located along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and lies within the fruit belt of the Niagara Peninsula...
. She has stated she has two master's degrees. At one point prior to her transition, Arsenault was an instructor at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, where she taught acting.
She has said her moment of truth about what she was came in August 1996 and her transition was in full force around 1998. By 2007 she had undergone over $150,000 in cosmetic surgery in her transition, financed through work in the sex trade.
Arsenault wrote a regular column on transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
issues for 36 issues of fab
Fab (magazine)
fab is a Canadian magazine which targets the gay community. The magazine publishes biweekly issues in Toronto, Ontario. It publishes alternate weeks to the city's other biweekly gay publication, Xtra!...
, a biweekly Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-based LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
magazine. Her last column was in early 2007.
She has appeared on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Train 48
Train 48
Train 48 was a Canadian television soap opera, broadcast on Global Television Network or CH airing from 2003 until 2005.Train 48 was based on the format of an Australian television program called Going Home....
and KinK
KinK
KinK was a Canadian documentary television series, which first aired in 2001 on Showcase. The series profiled some of the more unusual edges of human sexuality, primarily the kink and fetish scenes. It was filmed in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg; the fifth season, set in Halifax, Nova...
, as well as the Showtime movie Soldier's Girl
Soldier's Girl
Soldier's Girl is a 2003 drama film produced by Showtime. It is based on a true story: the relationship between Barry Winchell and Calpernia Addams and the events that led up to Barry's murder by fellow soldiers. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Frank R...
.
She had a well-publicized encounter with Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
where he flirted with Arsenault for some time before discovering that Arsenault was transsexual, and subsequently left in a hurry.
Arsenault appeared in a one-act play written especially for her by Sky Gilbert
Sky Gilbert
Schuyler Lee Gilbert, Jr. is a Canadian writer, actor, academic and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre in Toronto, Ontario at York University and the University of Toronto, before becoming co-founder and artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times, a Toronto theatre...
in November 2007 entitled Ladylike. She is also in the process of writing her memoirs, to be called The Silicone Diaries and has done a one-woman stage show by the same name.
She appeared also in The Jon Dore Television Show
The Jon Dore Television Show
The Jon Dore Television Show is a mockumentary-style sitcom, based on an idea by Jon Dore and John Brunton. The show stars Canadian actor and comedian Jon Dore, of recent Canadian Idol co-host fame. The Comedy Network ordered 13 half hour episodes of the series, which premiered on October 17,...
, appearing the episode "Manly Man". She stated the reason why she does not want to remove her male genitals:
In 2010, she will perform a new autobiographical play entitled i was Barbie.
Quotes
- "I've had sex with two professional athletes, a movie star, two TV personalities, the CEOs of two Fortune 500 companies, four guys who worked for the mob, a string of strippers, many male models, a bunch of body builders, loads of night clubbing suburban guys ... all of them straight."
External links
- Official website
- Arsenault's column at Fab Magazine.
- Nina Arsenault on Twitter