Hey kids, I don’t send out bulletins like this often, but things are tight these days and so I decided to start putting my autobiography out there in downloadable PDF format. You can read about it on my site HERE or even download a copy for five smackers here.

In any case, all my best and thank you for all the support! =)

Calpernia

Mark 947 chronicles one woman’s progress from spirit to flesh, a literal transubstantiation by force of will. Raised as a boy by loving but religious parents in the rural heartland of Tennessee, Calpernia Addams found her way on an unlighted path from forbidden dreams to fulfillment as a scholar, showgirl and eventually, as a woman.

Sultry stage siren by night, intellectual chameleon by day, she worked her way to the top of Nashville’s underground entertainment scene without ever succumbing to drugs, alcohol or bitterness, and through it all never lost her heart. When love walked into her new life in the form of a handsome young Army private, it seemed everything had at last come together. Then at the pinnacle of her career, as she was crowned Tennessee Entertainer of the Year in front of hundreds of adoring fans, her love was murdered in his sleep sixty miles away by bigoted fellow soldiers, sparking a national controversy that resonates still.

Whether ablaze in the dazzle of the spotlight or haunting the woods of Tennessee in flannel and pigtails, Calpernia lives her life with the humor and spirit of a woman who can face anything and still move forward with hope intact.

Mark 9:47

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

- The Bible, King James Version

Hey kids, my latest blog is up at Psychology Today. I kinda tear into the whole debate stirred up by my “Bad Questions” video, but this time a mostly hetero audience will be reading it, so make sure you pop over and support me in the comments thread. You know how brutal they can be! =)

Thank you!

http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/transposition/200807/let-them-eat-cake

I’ve received emails from a very small handful of transsexual women over the years, dispatched from the deep closeted secrecy of whatever their version of stealth is, telling me that it would be better for “all of us” if I would just “keep quiet”. This isn’t the very widespread and debatable feeling of embarrassment over people identifying themselves as trans who relish being spectacles of trash television and outrageousness. With me, it’s usually more of a “sister to sister” chiding, like one old conservative church lady telling another one that she “really should reconsider that gaudy lawn ornament of the lady bending over and showing her bloomers… what will the other parishioners think?!” You know… kind of polite and sweet, yet still sticking their nose in where it doesn’t belong?

But I don’t think we’re in need of being shushed like Anne Frank about to play a game of Jenga while the Nazi’s are downstairs anymore. And I’m not even talking about being “loud and proud” in a gay pride parade. It’s the quieter daily-life things that a basically assimilated trans woman encounters all the time. For example, I refuse to make up lies about my first Sunday dress and my years as a Girl Scout when a stranger asks me about my past in order to spare them any discomfort with the facts of my history. I hate the fact that I had to transition, and would rather have been born with a female body. I don’t plan to bring it up as a conversational topic with every stranger I meet. But I will not be pressured to make up stories and lies by the Shush Brigade. I personally and internally claim my full history, including the torturous years of growing up forced into the male social role and having to transition my body to match my soul. And I still claim unqualified womanhood. How’s that for a brain twister? Trust me, in twenty years it won’t cause anyone to bat an eye.

I wrote a very short essay containing my feelings toward the Shush Brigade, which I’ve edited a little and posted below. I know that everyone will have their own feelings on this topic. Just remember, this is a response to being told how to live. I’m not telling you how to live. I’m telling you how I try to live. There’s a difference. 

To Transsexuals Who Are Ashamed of Transsexuals
Living in stealth can be comfortable, and I can’t deny that I would have tried if I hadn’t been outed so publicly in 1999. But ultimately the facts still exist that most trans women were assigned the male gender at birth, grew up being pushed toward the male social role, and had to undertake a colossally difficult transition to align their bodies and social roles with their hearts. You, Andrea, I and every other trans woman has been through some version of that process.

(Click READ MORE to read the rest of the essay… it’s not too long!)

Click HERE to Read More..

http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/transposition/200806/transsexual-author-calpernia-addams-gender-and-sexuality

Hi kids! Psychology Today has asked me to join their list of bloggers, which will be a big responsibility, but one that I welcome. I’ve made my introductory post, aimed at the much broader audience of PT, but look for upcoming posts written in a more “magazine-y” format on topics of interest to me. The REALLY interesting part of this will be reading the comments left by PT readers. Yikes… I’ll keep a Cosmo handy, ha ha!

I’m going to try to have a post up every Wednesday to start with. We’ll see how it goes, and I hope you’ll check them out along with me!

I was flattered to be asked to write a little about “Transamerican Love Story” for “The Advocate”. Check it out! =)

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid53707.asp

Click HERE to Read More..

Are you a "Professional Transsexual" cashing in on the trans community?

When people ask this question about me or my business, it generally makes me mad, because the term “cashing in” directly implies a cold, mercenary grab for money at the expense of higher values. It’s never used in a nice or appreciative sense outside of discussing literal bank transactions. But I suppose it’s good to respond if people are really asking this question out of legitimate curiosity. Here’s my general response to people who might feel like I am personally cashing in on being trans, cashing in on the community, or cashing in on being a trans activist.



There’s very little “cash” involved in being out as trans. If anything, I feel that I’ve succeeded in making a (modest) living in spite of being open about my transition, rather than my success being enhanced by being out. I taste the bitter fruits of being out with disheartening regularity each time I lose another job or boyfriend. I’ve worked hard under unsympathetic circumstances, I’m proud of the work I’ve done, and I think it stands up admirably next to most anything anyone I know has ever done.

Click HERE to Read More..

Yes, despite what you’ve been told, there is such a thing as a bad question! I’ve been in the public eye for more than a decade, and get asked shockingly inappropriate personal questions all the time. Most of them could be answered easily in the questioner’s own mind by thinking about it for around one second. What they’re usually really asking is, Do you know that I am judging you? And the answer to that is yes. This list may seem a little… angry, perhaps. But after so very many years, I would gamble to say that few people would handle these things as diplomatically as I try to do. If you’ve never asked me (or another person who has gone through transition) these questions, sit back and enjoy the list. If you have, don’t worry about it too much now, just think about it more next time. I am a Southerner through-and-through, so if you query me in person as to whether I minded that time you asked one of these questions, I will probably say, “No! Of course not!”, but I really did. I really, really did. Here are the ones I hate being asked the most, and in the spirit of the old MAD Magazine "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions", here are some responses to them: 

Click HERE to Read More..