Check out Andrea James’ new YouTube Channel @ http://www.youtube.com/andreajeanjames for lots of informative videos. You didn’t know her middle name was “Jean”, did you?

Click here to watch Andrea Jean James’ videos at http://www.youtube.com/andreajeanjames
Click here to Subscribe to Andrea Jean James’ YouTube Channel to get the latest videos as they come!

Right now she has a whole series of videos up from the National Women’s Studies Association 2008 Conference. They detail the controversy around disgraced Northwestern professor J. Michael Bailey‘s transphobic book “The Man Who Would Be Queen”, and co-worker Alice Dreger‘s support and subsequent attacks against people who disagreed with Bailey’s book. 

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..

My good friend Krista Benson of Tiny Dragon Productions was kind enough to post some video she shot from the Los Angeles Pride Parade:

Along with some embarassing slow-motion video of me jiggling in a bikini, if you dare to watch. Click “Read More” to see that, but be warned it’s not pretty!

Click HERE to Read More..

WOW, being in the Los Angeles Pride Parade with Andrea, Alec Mapa and Jim Howley was the perfect kickoff for Summer in Hollywood. As always, Andrea has a great blog entry with some of her wonderful photos.

Also, check out the pix snapped by Meesh, one of the brains behind the scenes of Transamerican Love Story, and a friend in real life, too!

Photos by LadyMissMeesh

Support Elke Kennedy, mother of murdered Sean Kennedy, needs people to come support her at the killers’ sentencing. Much like Justin Fisher, one of Barry Winchell’s murderers is now a free man walking the streets, her son’s killer is up for AT MOST 18 months of jail time. 18 months. If you are in the Greenville, SC, area, please go stand by her in court.

From Sean’s Mom:

We’ll it is finally here. The sentencing hearing for Stephen Moller, the young man who murdered Sean last year, is scheduled for June 11th 2008 between 11 am - 12 pm (exact time will not be available till next Tuesday).

As a reminder, this is a plea hearing, not a trial, and we will ask for the maximum sentence under the involuntary manslaughter charge. But even with that, best case we can hope for is for Stephen Moller to go back to jail for 18 month (a 5 year sentence will require him to only serve one third!)
Worst case will ne that he will walk out a free man!!!!

Anybody that can be there to show their support to the family and to show the Solicitors office and the state that we are not happy with the current law and the injustice in Sean’s case, please be there by 11am.

Thank you for all of your support and if you can, we will see you on June 11th in front of the Greenville County court house of East North Street, downtown Greenville.

Sean’s Last Wish
Board of Directors
P.O. Box 5697
Greenville, SC 29606
Phone: 864-884-5003
http://www.seanslastwish.com

The mission of Sean’s last wish is to empower the community

* through educational diversity programs

* through non violent conflict resolution

* through community involvement

Last night I had the privilege of presenting the award for transgender writing at the Lambda Literary Awards ("Lammies") at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The Advocate says:

The Lambda Literary awards on May 29 brought the best and brightest LGBT writers and book lovers to Los Angeles for a celebration of queer literature dripping with bawdiness.

Ann Bannon was there, a pioneering lesbian author who wrote some of the earliest and most popular of those pulp lesbian novels:

Ann Bannon is known as “The Queen of Pulp Fiction” for the best of all reasons: the author and her books reside in a class by themselves. “The Beebo Brinker Chronicles,” a series of five original paperbacks published by Gold Medal Books from 1957 to 1962, are the most celebrated of our early lesbian novels, and to this day their central character, Beebo Brinker, remains the most iconic figure in all of lesbian fiction.

Patricia Nell Warren was there, author of ”Frontrunner”, one of the best selling lesbian romance novels of all time.

Several of my friends were there, including Michael Rowe, who has written about Barry and me in several excellent pieces, an excellent example of which is included in his great new book, ”Other Men’s Sons”. Steve Pride from KPFK was there, and the adorable Christopher Rice was there to assume leadership of the Lambda Literary board. Nominee and friend (remember him in episode 5 of Transamerican Love Story?) James St. James was there, so we got some mugging for the camera in, too.

Advocate Article: http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid55079.asp
Lambda Literary Foundation site
Photos by Valerie Kelly

http://www.blogher.com/podcast-blogher-talks-calpernia-addams

BlogHer, Inc. (http://www.blogher.com), one of the top women’s online networks and the Web’s number-one guide to blogs by women, today published an exclusive audio interview with author, entertainer and activist Calpernia Addams to bring her unique perspective on body image to the ongoing “Letter to My Body” initiative. This is BlogHer’s third exclusive podcast in support of the campaign, which is designed to inspire self-esteem, realistic body perception and open discussion on body image amongst women.

Click HERE to Read More..