Happy New Year Everybody!

The Hermaphrodite: Annabel

Kathleen Winter’s novel titled "Annabel" reveals the truth about a hermaphrodite child born in Labrador in the 1960s. This book was inspired by a true story told to the writer by an acquaintance and it's heating up the bookshelves.

Here's a jist of the storyline:

Wayne, born into the harsh, rural landscape of Labrador, Canada, in 1968, is a hermaphrodite. It is his father who ultimately decides to raise him as a male and names him. Only Wayne’s parents and their friend Thomasina Baikie, also present at his birth, are aware of his gender duality. The two women silently battle against Wayne’s father’s gender assignment, and as Wayne grows older, he must contend with the two genders struggling for dominance within him. His father, Treadway, a trapper who spends most of his time outdoors, works hard to steer Wayne away from his feminine side. His mother, Jacinta, becomes increasingly estranged from her husband as she mourns the loss of her female child...

Story Continues...

The Hermaphrodite: Papia

A hermaphrodite has fallen to death in Dhaka Bangladesh. According to a report on their website, a hermaphrodite died and six others were injured after they were beaten by a mob in the City's Badda area on Thursday, December 23rd:

Following the death of Papia, 32, more than a hundred hermaphrodites staged a demonstration protesting the murder and demanded punishment to the killers. The injured--Sumi, 25, Shapla, 28, Shanta, 16, Munmun, 25, Masuma, 25, and Mohona, 25--were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
According to the injured, around 20 locals of Nayanagar at Bhatara beat them up mercilessly and pushed Papia off the rooftop of a six-storey building.

Story Continues...

Merry Christmas

The Hermaphrodite: Peppermint Patty

Received as an email alert from an avid reader of this blog, an anonymous submitter has directed my attention towards an episode from the 'Peanuts 1970's Collection Vol. 1'. Within this volume, there's an episode titled, "There's no time for love, Charlie Brown" that features the character "Peppermint Patty". The anonymous submitter has shared that in 1973, Charles M. Schulz's introduced the character "Peppermint Patty" as a way to introduce hermaphrodites into society. Here are two pictures submitted from that episode:

The Hermaphrodite: Dione Kae-Tomaselli

Born as a male hermaphrodite who underwent a sex change operation in 1998 to be become a female, Dione Kaeo-Tomaselli sued the Hawaii Department of Public Safety for violating her civil rights. In 2009, Kaeo-Tomaselli was sentenced to 10 years in prison, for a crime that she (or he) wouldn’t specify. Upon the arrest, he was placed in a men’s prison where he was raped.  According to reports, “she (or he)  was sexually assaulted by an inmate during her first week in prison, and was being transferred to the Women's Community Correctional Center 2 months later, where she remains. Dione Kae-Tomaselli is seeking punitive damages for, “cruel and unusual punishment, gross negligence, deliberate indifference, sexual assault and battery and negligent infliction of emotional stress”.

Story Continues...

The Hermaphrodite: Saira

The Owner of Saira, 'John Conchie' had no idea that his dog was born as a hermaphrodite. The 46 year old warehouse worker took his dog in for a check-up at the vet where he was told that she was born as a hermaphrodite. The vet's surgeon Richard Weston later revealed that he never encountered a canine hermaphrodite during his 30 years of practice in Wigan, Great Manchester. The vet's surgeon went on to share that, 'The animal came in for a routine check-up and after we did X-Rays, we found it had both male and female sexual organs'. It's being reported that it took two surgery sessions to remove Saira's male sex organs during a gender reassignment process and now the canine is living life as a female and can even birth puppies.

Update: The Hermaphrodite Chaz Bono

"I hope it's going to help change hearts and minds on this issue so that people can fully understand," -- The Hermaphrodite Chaz Bono reveals to Entertainment Tonight as he prepare to showcase a documentary about his transformation from female to male at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Click here to watch his brief interview with Entertainment Tonight (ET).

Hermaphrodite: Lea T

"I will always feel uncomfortable, but it will make my life a little easier, and I will look in the mirror and see something I like more." ---The hermaphrodite Lea T reveals to many sources as she awaits her sexual reassignment surgery in Milan.

Story Continues...

Contents of Voodoo Packages

A 59 year old passenger arriving at Dulles International Airport in Virginia from Ghana en route to Maryland - on Dec 3 didn't make it through the Customs and Border control. The passenger's suitcase contained a hedgehog, elephant tails, chameleons, skins from genets (a catlike species indigenous to Africa), seed pods, sheets soaked with the blood of sacrificed chickens and a lot of soil and herbs. The passenger revealed to agents that these items were for spiritual purposes.

In 1937, Life Magazine ran a article entitled, "Black Haiti: Where Old Africa and the New World Meet" - this article provided nine steps on how to conduct a voodoo ritual. It also provides a clear understanding as to reasons why the 59 year old Ghana passenger was carrying such items into Maryland. Are members of a Voodoo cult residing somewhere in Maryland? The 59 year old passenger wasn't charged with any crimes; however, officials incinerated all of the items, except for the elephant tails, which violated endangered species laws. They were seized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Here are the first two steps on how to perform voodoo filled rituals depicted in the 1937 Life Magazine article:

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The Hermaphrodite: Zeng Jing

A 20-year-old University student from Pengshui county, Chongqing Municipality has discovered that she was born as a hermaphrodite.

Comments from Zeng's roommates in college and information sought on the Internet encouraged the student to seek medical attention to validate her inner and outward appearance. As a result, Zeng and her mother attended a scheduled doctor’s appointment at Southwest Hospital where Dr. Lu Gensheng discovered that Zeng was born as a hermaphrodite.

Doctor Lu revealed to Zeng and her mother that Zeng has small breasts, small testis, no uterus, a vagina and a small penis.

Doctor Lu also shared that the student has the option to reshape her body into either male or female, but in either case she would never be fertile - meaning she cannot have children.

Story Continues...

The Hermaphrodites In Mexico: Muxe

"Men aren't allowed in the market [Juchitán market]..unless they're a muxe." Quoting: Natalia

Isabella Tree of the Guardian, travels to Mexico to discover that the majority of residents in the town of Juchitan were born as hermaphrodites [ Muxe] and if you're not born as a Muxe, you're not accepted in the town's popular market.

Click here the read more.

Story Continues...