Greg Hernandez over at Out in Hollywood has written up our pleasant chat from the red carpet of the GLAAD Media Awards. We discussed the refreshing change of attitude of the dating show, and the Thomas Beattie coverage.

Full post:

* A quick chat with Calpernia Addams and Andrea James of “Transamerican Love Story"

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Logo sponsored a Transamerican Love Story car in the LA Pride parade. Star Calpernia Addams, host Alec Mapa, FTM suitor Jim Howley, and sassy sidekick me had a great time! Thanks to all who came down and threw us a wave or ran up to the car to snap a pic or say something nice.

Some of my Flickr photoset of the event:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreajames/

Update: Miss Meesh got a few good ones, too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pop-diva/sets/72157605524581341/

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Logo is sponsoring a Transamerican Love Story car in the LA Pride parade. Scheduled to ride are star Calpernia Addams, host Alec Mapa, FTM suitor Jim Howley, and yours truly.

The 2008 parade will take place Sunday, June 8, starting at 11:00 a.m. The parade will run west along Santa Monica Blvd. from Crescent Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd.

Be sure to check out all the great activities:

• LA Pride website

Don’t forget my pals Calpernia, Jamison, and Keo are appearing in Alec Mapa’s hilarious show No Fats Femmes, or Asians all weekend too!

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Netflix members: Click here to visit the exclusive Logo section and rent Transamerican Love Story Season One now!

Not a member? Click here to see what you’re missing!

Go now, check out the trailers, and add it your rental list!

From the NetFlix Transamerican Love Story listing:

Logo, cable’s first all-LGBT network, presents this new twist on reality and dating shows. Transgender Calpernia Addams begins the series with eight potential suitors. As episodes progress, Addams narrows down the field, leaving only one lucky guy. Along the way, viewers get to know Addams, her friend and adviser Andrea James, and the would-be dates, all of whom have some big surprises in store. Alec Mapa ("Ugly Betty") hosts the show.

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• Transamerican Love Story (saro via myspace)

• Love is a many-gendered thing (kirby @ movie dearest)

Also, an Advocate piece by Calpernia herself:

• The Reality of Love (calpernia addams via the advocate)

And even though I promised, here’s a hilarious report about the GLAAD Awards from Micah McCain.

• I’m GLAAD that’s over... (micah mccain @ shut up! i know!)

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Transgender firsts: Last year, primetime series “Ugly Betty” and “Dirty Sexy Money” plus daytime drama “All My Children” introduced transgender characters. Logo’s new dating show “Transamerican Love Story” just concluded its premiere season.

With luck, TLS will be up for a GLAAD nom next year.

David Mermelstein has another Variety piece on LGBT media issues in advance of the media awards. Excerpt of “2007 shows steady progress for gay cause”:

If there was big news in TV this past year, it was that GLAAD had finally relented and embraced the work of gay nets like Here and Logo, which the org had previously resisted honoring, arguing that fare from mainstream sources could better use the encouragement.

I certainly agree with this! Onward and upward, I say!

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• Meet Shawn, Winner of Transamerican Love Story! (bianca @ school for scandal)

Shawn makes a lot of insightful comments about how someone gets shaped by editing on shows like these, and what it’s like for a straight guy to be on a show that definitely had a gay male undercurrent to its aesthetic (I said as much during deliberations a couple of times, but that never made it in the show):

That said, the editing is what it is. If you met me in person, you’d have a totally different impression. Even if you go on my myspace page, you’ll see there’s a lot more to me than is portrayed on TV, and there’s a lot more to the show than is portrayed on TV. There were times when I cringed, there were times I felt uncomfortable on the show like in the beginning, when I didn’t participate in the whole harem worship thing. That was real- I was not having that, never in my life would I throw myself down in front of any person like that, whether they were my idol or not. That kind of behavior is reserved for my mother on her deathbed. A lot of the activities were very flamboyant and not something I’m into at all. One of the things that came out on the show was people would say “oh you’re homophobic, or you’re not comfortable with this,” well, you know what? I’m straight. I never wanted to act gay, I wasn’t there to act gay. But it was a show for a gay network, so they had a lot of “gay friendly activities,” in other words, strip all the clothes off the dudes.

Thanks to Bianca for the great interview!

Below: Shawn just before the final elimination.

From Transamerican...

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Rachel, a latecomer to watching the show, has weighed in on the final episode:

• Transamerican Love Story Finale - Spoiler Alert (rachel @ perfect girl)

And none other than Calpernia herself has summarized the last episode and explained some of her decisions:

• Transamerican Love Story - Episode 08 Thoughts (Season Finale!) (calpernia @ calpernia.com)

Now, I literally did a spit take on her Sleestak reference (look it up, youngsters):

But my analogy was a much more modern one, with another child of the 80’s and daughter of Tennessee:

Lisa Marie has been slowly appropriating the Calpernia Addams Look ™ over the last year or so, but she’s not fooling anyone! Don’t settle for imitations!

All kidding aside, I am very glad that Calpernia found a new boyfriend on the show, and I am certain Shawn will continue to bask in the emotional intimacy and deep level of commitment that is the hallmark of a relationship with Calpernia.

OK, maybe that wasn’t all kidding aside. But this is. I do want to take a second to thank all the guys who participated (yes, all of them). This genre is silly and may seem to be a departure from the usual activist stuff I do, but I actually believe this opened a few eyes about what it’s like to date trans people, and I believe it helped take away some of the mystery and stigma surrounding our love lives. These guys took a risk most guys with an interest in trans women don’t take, and they were open and honest about their feelings. To me, they were the stars as much as Calpernia, and I am grateful to each of them for appearing on the show.

And as much as I have made fun of Calpernia throughout the process, I think she was a class act in a genre known for a dearth of classiness. It’s the first time I think audiences at home got a glimpse of the Calpernia I know, who is smart, funny, bizarre, and an all-around entertaining and talented lady. Y’know, the real Calpernia. I hope y’all get to see more of that side of her in the future!

You can always get an iTunes season pass to Transamerican Love Story and watch the whole 8-episode series commercial-free. That’s six hours of entertainment for the whole family!

Thanks to everyone who checked in here, and be sure to check back for a daily blog post about something or another!

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From Transamerican...

From Transamerican...

Above: Shawn and Calpernia at final elimination.

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Since I wasn’t there when Calpernia eliminated Jim on Transamerican Love Story, I don’t have a photo, but Jim has photos and an interview at the links below:

• TLS: Take Eight (jim via wow report)

• Episode 49: Interview with Jim Howley (via trans-ponder)

Since the blogosphere has quieted down at this point, here’s a forum post:

• Transamerican Love Story (via titled forum project)

And finally, the Mahalo entry for TLS.

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• Transamerican Love Story finale (nexy @ nexy’s cocoon)

• Series Finale: Across the universe. (shawn @ transameriblog)

Shawn awarded me best quote of the show for my “I hope they like what’s in my box” bon mot in the country western episode. This will no doubt make our producer Julio’s day, because he was tittering like a schoolgirl as I gave him several versions of that from which to choose.

Trivia: the same house was used for the 2007 film Cougar Club, which is why I never got in the hot tub and hovered on any toilets. Cougar Club managed to get some actors who have appeared in some of my fave movies, including Carrie Fisher, Faye Dunaway, and Joe Mantegna, but the best coup was Joanie Laurer aka Chyna the wrestler (as opposed to Chyna, Calpernia’s drag mother).

And no, I didn’t audition for Cougar Club, so STFU.

Below: Poolside at the TLS mansion, Joanie Laurer aka Chyna grabs a hapless young man for a session of dirty foot sex.

Below: Wide shot of the cougar pool party at the TLS mansion.

Below: The obligatory “parents come home early in the middle of the sex party” scene.

Below: The irrepressible Fay Dunaway picks up a young dude at a daytime TLS mansion pool party.

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