Cosmo Reporter: Chelsea Manning ‘Being Given Cosmetics, Female Underwear’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
ROBERTS: "Explain the access that Manning has to transition properly." 
PESTA: "Well, she just recently was granted hormones and some of the female grooming and clothing standards that are part of treatment. She's been given some cosmetics and female underwear, but she is still not allowed to grow her hair long. This came as a result of a lawsuit. She and aclu filed a suit after about a year without the medical treatment and it's a medical condition that military doctors had diagnosed her with it. So it was -- a year without that treatment." 
ROBERTS: "There's been more controversy about gender dysphoria and what that means to your medical development if you're going to transition. There are a lot of people who would not be compassionate to the story whatsoever because of people who consider Chelsea to have been a traitor as known as private Bradley manning. What is her mindset about how people interpret her and her actions as an army private and now as someone who's also transitioning to live authentically?" 
PESTA: "Well, she told me she doesn't really care what people think of her, she's trying to be herself and she didn't talk about the leak itself. Her lawyers are doing an appeal and that's not something she would talk about. But she talked a lot about how it's been a battle to -- an internal struggle throughout her life to figure out who she is. She didn't have support and when feelings started to come up, when she was 5 and 6 years old dressing in her sister's clothes and playing with her sister's things but didn't know what that meant. She didn't know what was happening, she was afraid of it and felt lonely and afraid of talking about it." 
ROBERTS: "How is she spending her time in jail? As you pointed out, the aclu and Chelsea manning actively sued and won access to proper hormone treatment and certain items." 
PESTA: "Still fighting about the hair." 
ROBERTS: "Still fighting about the hair. But how is she spending her time? What does she do in jail?" 
PESTA: "She said she does a lot of reading, newspapers and magazines and working towards a degree in political science, a correspondence course Haen has a job in woodworking and not been harassed or threatened, that she said while the other inmates might not necessarily support her, they are not intimidating her." 
ROBERTS: "One thing she's on Twitter and one of the last tweets from Chelsea manning, 22 hours ago, the article just hit stands, check it out there. Haven't gotten a chance to see it yet." 
PESTA: "We have to snail mail it to her." 
ROBERTS: "That's how you corresponded to have this interview?" 
PESTA "Right." 
ROBERTS: "How long did that take?" 
PESTA: "I looked at my e-mail, it started a year and a half ago, right around the sentencing I first reached out to her lawyer and over the next year I tried different avenues and eventually connected with her sister, who she was really helpful because she talked to Chelsea on the phone, and she decided she would like to talk to me about it. Then I had to snail mail the questions and got her answers back by mail and for follow-ups, I went through her aclu lawyer and he would call and ask her questions." 
ROBERTS: "For anybody torn on whistleblower or traitor, it's a fascinating piece in cosmo right now. Thank you so much."