SassySays.com - Drag History Month - January 11, 2012 - Calpernia Addams

Calpernia Addams (born February 20, 1971) is an American Author, Actress, Musician and a Spokesperson for transgender rights and issues.

Addams grew up in Nashville, Tennesee. She served as a Field Medical Specialist with the Navy and Marine Corps. During her last year in the military she came out as a transgender woman. Addams chose the name “Calpernia” from the William Shakespeare  play Julius Caesar (a variant spelling of Caesar’s wife Calpurnia) and its appearance on a tombstone in the film The Addams Family.

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. Winchell’s murder and the subsequent trial resulted in widespread press and a formal review of the U.S. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) military policy, ordered by President Bill Clinton.The case became a prominent example used to illustrate the failure of DADT to protect LGBT service members. Addams’ and Winchell’s romance and the crimes of their abusers are depicted in the film Soldier’s Girl, released in 2003. Addams was portrayed by Lee Pace. A subsequent New York Times article, “An Inconvenient Woman”, documented the marginalization and misrepresentation of transgender sexuality even by gay rights activists.

With Winchell’s death Addams left Nashville to move first to Chicago and then to Los Angeles.

In 2002, she formed Deep Stealth Productions in Hollywood with Andrea James. Deep Stealth creates educational and entertainment material around gender-identification issues and the experiences of differently-gendered people. Addams and James coached Felicity Huffman for her Academy Award-nominated performance as a transgender woman in the film Transamerica.

At the Sundance debut of Soldier’s Girl, Addams met Jane Fonda, whose son Troy Garity had played Winchell. Fonda suggested Addams 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 Beautiful Daughters.

A reality show series entitled Transamerican Love Story, featuring Addams choosing among eight suitors, debuted 11 February 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.” Addams writes a blog on gender issues for Psychology Today.

Addams has released a single entitled “Stunning”, available on iTunes.

For More Information: www.Calpernia.com