Middle Sexes (PART 1)
(msexes03.jpg)
(msexes02.jpg)
(msexes04.jpg)
(msexes01.jpg)
(diane02.gif)
Kato, what do you mean by "Middle Sexes"?
(kato3.gif)
... good question, Diane... Actually, I watched a documentary titled "Middle Sexes" at the Vancouver Public Library.
(lib70621a.png+lib70621a2)
■"Actual List"
This is the list of movies I've recently viewed at the library... Look at the red-rectangled title in the above list!
I see... You watched "Middle Sexes" on May 25, huh?
That's right.
(lib70621b.png)
■"Actual Page"
I see... so you jotted down the following comment, huh?
This is a 75-minute American television documentary directed by Antony Thomas in 2005.
This film explores the issue of gender and sex, beginning with transgender women dancing at a nightclub.
Then it introduces you to the murder of Gwen Araujo, a teenage transwoman is described in detail by the narrator.
(gwen001.jpg)
Several acquaintances killed her after finding out that Gwen was born male because two of them had sexual relations with her.
The film then looks at different treatment of gender-variant and people of different sexualities across cultures and history.
Quite interesting is a story of heterosexual college men who were shown gay pornography.
Their physical response was measured.
Men who were considered homophobes were more aroused, but claimed they had no reaction.
This then goes back to Gwen Araujo, who was killed by two men who were insecure about their sexualities because they had sexual relations with her.
All of this supports the theory that people are more likely to get angry at sex, gender, and sexuality differences because they are insecure about their own sexuality or gender identity.
It is one of the profoundly thought-provoking documentaries I've ever watched.
I see... Because some people are insecure about their own sexuality or gender identity, they're more likely to get angry at sex, gender, and sexuality differences, huh?
I think so.
So, Kato, what impressed you most in the above documentary?
In the film I see a tansgender woman called Calpernia Addams.
Calpernia Addams
(calpurnia2.jpg)
Calpernia Sarah Addams (born February 20, 1971) is an American author, actress, musician and spokesperson and activist for transgender rights and issues.
Addams grew up in Nashville, Tennessee.
She served as a Hospital Corpsman with the Navy and United States 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.
Career
In 2002, she formed Deep Stealth Productions in Hollywood with Andrea James.
(msexes03.jpg)
<iframe width="420" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j5WoHyRMBbE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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.
(solgal02.jpg)
<iframe width="420" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8OdZfdXrcw4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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 film Beautiful Daughters.
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."
Addams writes a blog on gender issues for Psychology Today.
Addams has released a single entitled "Stunning", available on iTunes.
Addams 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.
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.
SOURCES: "Calpernia Addams"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I see... So, Kato, you are quite attracted to the above transwoman, huh?
Yes, I am.
How come?
Well... she looks more feminine and prettier than an ordinary woman.
Do you really think so?
How about you, Diane?
Maybe so, but I think she is more like Pandora's box.
Pandora's box? What do you mean by that?
You see, Kato,... Pandora opened the box and all the evils flew out, leaving only "Hope" inside once she had closed it again.
Yes, I know the episode, but what do you really mean by that?
As you jotted down in the above comment, because some people are insecure about their own sexuality or gender identity, they're more likely to get angry at sex, gender, and sexuality differences. While working as a performer, Calpernia Addams began dating PFC Barry Winchell.
(calpernia4.jpg)
<iframe width="500" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vEhcAQqS82o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Then word of the relationship spread at Winchell's Army base where he was harassed by fellow soldiers and ultimately murdered, because those soldiers are insecure about their own sexuality.
I see... So you're saying that Calpernia Addams made those soldiers awake their insecure gender identity, aren't you?
Yes, I am... In due course, those soldiers got angry at Winchell and killed him.
By opening Pandora's box, Calpernia Addams performed an action that might've seemed small or innocent, but that turned out to have severely detrimental and far-reaching negative consequences, eh?
You're telling me, Kato... By the way, you also watched "Call me Malcolm." Tell me about it.
(lib70621c.png)
■"Actual Page"
This is a 90-minute documentary about Malcolm---a transgender male.
He shares his reflections with candor, eloquence and compassion.
As his travels end in New York after meeting many transgender people, his future seems to hold greater opportunities than he ever could have dreamed.
It is an inspiring, informative and heartwarming documentary.
(malcolm01.jpg)
Trailer
<iframe width="500" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ss3yRLOTfME" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Full movie
<iframe width="500" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sh4Pv10lFyc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Malcolm used to be a girl. And now in the final year of seminary after transgender surgery, he struggles with faith, love, and gender identity. In due course, he also met Calpernia Addams.
(malcolm02.jpg)
So Malcolm will eventually become a minister, huh?
Yes, actually, he's already been ordained as minister.
(malcolm04.jpg)
(malcolm03.jpg)
Calpernia congratulates him.
Malcolm is a devoted Christian, huh?
Yes, he is as devoted as you are.
I'm NOT that devoted.
Don't be so modest, Diane. At least, you've been a regular churchgoer.
(laugh16.gif)
(To be followed)
