Lianne Simon, has kindly agreed to a character interview starring Mairead, in honor of her debut release, Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite.
About The Author:
Guest Post:
Mother of a
Faie Child—Lianne Simon
Lianne:
Jamie Kirkpatrick is the main character in Confessions
of a Teenage Hermaphrodite. Today I’m interviewing her mother,
Mairead.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick, would you tell us a
little about your family background?
Mairead: All right. The Wilkinsons—that’s my maiden name—were from Yorkshire in England. They came to America in the early 1900s. My father was a steelworker. My twin sister and I graduated from nursing school together. Gordon—my husband that is—his grandparents were from the borders area of Scotland. His parents were dairy farmers. The two of us met during World War Two. Gordon had gotten himself shot in Germany and I was one of the nurses who took care of him while he was recuperating. After the war we married and bought ourselves a little bungalow in Oswego, Illinois. Our first son, Scott, was born in 1946. Jameson followed in 1954. And Alicia in 1957.
Lianne: Eight years between Scott and Jamie?
Mairead: Yes. I had several miscarriages. As it was, Jameson weighed less than five pounds when he was born. I was more concerned about his small size than what was between his legs.
Lianne: But wasn’t giving birth to a faie child traumatic?
Mairead: Jameson’s condition came as a shock, yes, but I worked as a nurse in a pediatrics department at the hospital. I’d seen intersex babies before. My only immediate concern was the doctors all seemed intent on butchering my baby’s genitals.
Lianne: Isn’t that a bit overstated?
Mairead: I think not. Their protocol called for removing his gonads, reducing the size of his phallus, and creating a vaginal canal. They claimed they wouldn’t destroy nerve function, but how can something that’s been cut off feel anything? And the neo-vagina would require regular dilation. Would you do that to your baby? Especially when he might still think he’s a boy after all of that?
Lianne: No, ma’am. I—
Mairead: You worked with a support group, didn’t you?
Lianne: Yes. I—
Mairead: Well, then. Does feminizing surgery guarantee a feminine gender?
Lianne: No. In my experience the most reliable way to determine the gender of
a faie child is to ask them. And the child
might tell you what you want to hear. Mightn’t she, Mrs.
Kirkpatrick?
Mairead: Perhaps. With Jameson it was always difficult to tell. He was such a meek child.
Lianne: Did Scott play with Jamie at all?
Mairead: Well you need to consider that Scott was eight years older. And he was very much the athlete. Jameson was small for his age and frail. Scott didn’t like seeing his little brother get hurt.
Lianne: So Jamie played with her sister and her cousin? Were they close?
Mairead: Jameson played with his sister and his cousin. And, yes. They were three peas in a pod.
Lianne: Didn’t Jamie live as a girl for a while?
Mairead: It’s best that he put that all behind him. Jameson is legally male and the doctors say changing genders at his age is a bad idea. It’s not fair to him to keep questioning his gender.
Lianne: What would be so wrong with Jamie living as a girl? She’s petite—I
mean four-foot-eleven is on the short side even for a girl—and you
have to admit she’s pretty when she smiles.
Mairead: You’re not going to let this alone, are you?
Lianne: Why are you so set against it?
Mairead: What Jameson has between his legs is too small for a boy and too big for a girl. If he lives his life as a woman, what chance is there that he’ll find a man who’ll accept him as female?
Lianne: And that justifies forcing her to live as a boy?
Mairead: Lianne. Lianne. You don’t get it, do you? If there’s a little princess somewhere behind Jameson’s emerald eyes, she has to start living life for herself instead of pretending to be Jameson. If we made him live as a girl, how would we ever know that wasn’t all just pretend?
Lianne: I think that’s it.
Mairead: That’s what?
Lianne: I’m not really sure what triggered the desire to write about kids
like Jamie. I just woke up one day knowing I had to. She’s so
gentle-spirited. It would take a lot for her to go against her
parents. Kids like her are amazing—they’re so resilient. Instead of
confronting you, she’s living her life in books and in
dreams. I can see it in her eyes. I want my book to help parents realize
their faie child may be hiding who they really are. I want to free
Jamie's little
princess.
Mairead: Are you sure it’s not your own childhood issues you’re imagining in him?
Lianne: Pff! Tomboy and bookworm hardly qualify as serious problems. You
haven’t even told her about her vagina, have you?
Mairead: It’s just a little pouch and it’s sealed behind fused labia. Telling him would only cause additional confusion.
Lianne: But Jamie has a right to
know what she is and what her options are. That might be all it takes to
wake her up. Perhaps if she had a chance to be a girl for a while. In
peace. Away from her
parents.
Mairead: He’s not that brave. There would have to be someone giving him a nudge now and then. While I might agree with you, I could never take a direct hand in such an endeavor.
Lianne: Yes. I suppose she'd need someone to act as a catalyst. Well, thank you for talking to me, Mrs.
Kirkpatrick.
Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite :
Author:Lianne Simon
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Born between the sexes, Jamie must leave behind a young girl's dreams to become the man her family expects. Jamie was born with a testis, an ovary, and a pixie face. He could be a boy after minor surgery and a few years on testosterone. At least, that's what his parents always say; but he sees an elfin princess in the mirror. When a medical student tells Jamie that he should have been raised female, he explores and discovers the life he could have as a girl. The elfin princess can thrive, but will she risk losing her family and her education for a boyfriend who may leave her, and a toddler she may never be allowed to adopt?
Find Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite Online:
Happy reading until next time!
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