Calpernia Addams

Early life

Addams grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. She served as a Hospital Corpsman with the Navy. During her last year in the military, she came out as a transgender woman.{{cite podcast | access-date =March 11, 2008 | archive-date =March 4, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001732/http://gaypimp.com/index.php/content/view/13/36/ | url-status =live

Career

In 2002, Addams formed Deep Stealth Productions in Hollywood with Andrea James.{{cite press release | access-date = August 13, 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080905145357/http://www.deepstealth.com/news/index.php/weblog/deep_stealth_productions_celebrates_5_year_anniversary | archive-date = September 5, 2008 |access-date=August 13, 2008 }}

At the Sundance debut of Soldier's Girl, Addams met Jane Fonda, whose son Troy Garity had played Winchell. Fonda suggested she mount an all-transgender production of The Vagina Monologues. The production was to contribute funds and help raise awareness of violence against women; it became the subject of the 2006 documentary film Beautiful Daughters.{{cite web | access-date = August 13, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110527163402/http://www.houstonvoice.com/2006/2-10/arts/television/t1.cfm | archive-date = May 27, 2011 | url-status = dead

A reality television series entitled Transamerican Love Story, featuring Addams choosing among eight suitors, debuted February 11, 2008, on Logo TV.

In April 2008, Addams performed alongside Fonda, Glenn Close, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys, and others in a tenth-anniversary production of The Vagina Monologues at the Louisiana Superdome.

In May 2008, PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) chose Addams as PFLAG's spokesperson for their educational campaign, This Is Our Love Story. Addams said, "I hope This Is Our Love Story will help young transgender people as they come out. By seeing the happy, confident woman I've become, I hope I can act as a role model for these young people at a critical moment in their development."{{cite news | access-date = September 13, 2008 | archive-date = July 12, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080712030455/http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=1768&MediaType=1&Category=26 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://archive.today/20081231222951/http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/authors/calpernia-addams | url-status = dead | archive-date = December 31, 2008

Addams has released a single entitled "Stunning", available on iTunes. She co-produced the song "The Vagina Song" by Willam Belli, from his debut album The Wreckoning, and made a cameo in the song's music video.

In 2015, Addams appeared in the international premiere of "Trans Scripts" a new play by Paul Lucas at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. The production received 24 four- and five-star reviews, a Fringe First Award, a High Commendation from Amnesty International and was shortlisted for the Feminist Fest Award, the Best of Edinburgh Award, and the Holden Street Theater Award.

Personal life

In 1999, while working as a performer, Addams began dating PFC Barry Winchell. Word of the relationship spread at Winchell's Army base where he was harassed by fellow soldiers and ultimately murdered on July 4, 1999. Winchell's murder and the subsequent trial resulted in widespread press The case became a prominent example used to illustrate the failure of DADT to protect LGBT service members.

Works

• Calpernia Addams, Mark 947: A Life Shaped by God, Gender, and Force of Will (Writers Club Press, 2002).

References

References

1. France, David. (May 29, 2005). "An Inconvenient Woman". calpernia.com.
2. Addams, Calpernia. (2002). "Mark 947: A Life Shaped by God, Gender, and Force of Will". Writers Club Press.
3. Abcarian, Robin. (July 29, 2017). "California Journal: A sailor in transition is rocked by President Trump's anti-transgender tweets". Los Angeles Times.
4. France, David. (May 28, 2000). "An Inconvenient Woman". The New York Times.
5. "The V-Day Event Of The Decade | V to the Tenth". V10.vday.org.
6. (May 19, 2008). "PFLAG: Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays". Community.pflag.org.
7. Belli, Willam. (October 25, 2010). "The Vagina Song". YouTube.
8. James St. James. (October 27, 2010). "The Vagina Song". [[World of Wonder (production company).
9. "Trans Scripts".
10. (August 27, 2015). "Scotsman Fringe First Winners 2015".
11. McElroy, Steven. (August 28, 2015). "Edinburgh Festival Fringe Offers Stories That Are More Personal, Less Political". The New York Times.
12. "2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival Awards".
13. "Edinburgh Festival: Freedom of Expression Award 2015".
14. {{cite court. M.J.]]. U.S. Armed Forces Court of Appeals]]. (June 17, 2003). link
15. link. (March 3, 2016 CNN)
16. Becker, Elizabeth (February 2, 2000). Pentagon Orders Training to Prevent Harassment of Gays. ''The New York Times''
17. Pear, Robert (December 12, 1999). President Admits "Don't Ask" policy Has Been Failure. ''The New York Times''