Jul 6, 2007

Biography tells first sex change recipient's story

By Terri Schlichenmeyer / Book Reviewer

"The First Man-Made Man"
By Pagan Kennedy
Bloomsbury
$24, 214 pages

Chances are that as soon as you were old enough to form cognizant thought, someone was asking, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Did you want to be a cowboy, a nurse or a fireman? Maybe it was in your future to be a truck driver, a veterinarian or a teacher.

Laura Dillon wanted to be man when she grew up. Laura always felt that she was born in the wrong body, and in the new biography "The First Man-Made Man" by Pagan Kennedy, you'll see that Laura got what she wanted - and more.

Born in 1915 and abandoned 10 days later, Dillon always felt embarrassed by the dresses and dolls that her elderly aunt-guardians foisted upon her. Laura wanted desperately to be a boy, and she craved belonging in a male society that she had mythologized for herself.

For Dillon, puberty wasn't kind. She hated her blossoming body. Even more, she hated that boys saw her as a woman. "But I wasn't," Dillon said. "I was just me."

On the cusp of adulthood and able to get male hormones from a pharmacy, Dillon began her transformation. She dressed in men's clothing as her shoulders squared and her voice deepened. She grew a goatee, took up smoking a pipe, and started penning thoughts on gender and identity. As World War II overtook Great Britain, Laura Dillon became Michael Dillon.

In the early to mid-1950s, Great Britain had a "mayhem law" that forbade removal of male anatomical parts from any potential soldier. America had no such laws, but the subject was little-discussed by doctors. Gender reassignment surgery was an anomaly.

Still, Dillon persisted. He discovered a sympathetic doctor who was willing to give him the surgery he needed. The surgery was successful as far as Dillon was concerned - by all accounts, he was proud of it - but psychological support was never offered. Dillon was on his own.

Part history, part biography, and part medical story, "The First Man-Made Man" is an intriguing book about a man ahead of his time and a society that wasn't ready for him. Author Pagan Kennedy portrays Michael Dillon as a lost soul, forever searching for a place where he could be himself; always on the periphery, never quite belonging. The good news is, Kennedy doesn't lower herself to being maudlin. Her writing is lively, albeit factual and highly respectful.

The other side of this fascinating book is Kennedy's two-pronged timeline of plastic surgery and gender study. Because of horrifying World War II injuries, several forward-thinking doctors saw the need for reconstructive surgery, which spawned an industry that not only became vital to war victims but to people who weren't satisfied with their bodies, including those who longed for gender reassignment.

"The First Man-Made Man" is a good read for anyone who likes unusual historic biographies or has an interest in gender studies.




ROYAL PAINS REVEALED

"On Royalty"
By Jeremy Paxman
PublicAffairs
$26, 370 pages

Picture this: a much-beloved Princess, a "breath of fresh air" to the British throne, dies. There is an immediate outpouring of grief as conspiracy theories buzz all over England. Tributes are hastily made. Songs are devoted to her memory.

Sound familiar? Then you might be surprised to know it happened in 1817 when George IV's daughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales, died giving birth to a stillborn child.

Imagine if the new leader of our country got into power by virtue of his or her birth. The idea might make you shudder, but it happened that way in Great Britain for centuries. In the new book "On Royalty" by Jeremy Paxman, Anglophiles and Anglophobes alike will get a detailed, firsthand peek inside the castle walls of the Royal Family.

According to some sources, over 700 million people watched as Charles, Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer over 20 years ago. It was, some sighed, a real-life fairy tale. But others wondered what all the fuss was about. The monarchy doesn't do much anymore. Politically, the Queen is just a figurehead. Surely she's not as powerful as, say, Henry VIII or even great-granny Victoria.

Paxman says that over the years there have been polls and movements to abolish the British monarchy, but the truth is, only about a fifth of the Queen's British subjects believe that the royal family has worn out its welcome. How has such an institution survived the centuries, and what good is it anyhow?

By weaving history and royal biography, Paxman shows how the monarchy has morphed from one of absolute power to one that is infinitely less politically potent. In between, he writes of a king who invited his mistress to his crowning ceremony while his wife stood outside the door, knocking. He writes with great drama about the execution of a king who was considered a near-saint (and the subsequent executions of his executors). He admits the frailties of today's monarchy as he examines Prince Charles' future and that of Charles' sons. He looks at the rumors that refuse to die, the possible murder of a modern-day king, and the life and death of a princess.

It has been said that George Washington refused the title of "King," instead preferring that of "Mr. President." After reading this book, you'll never wonder why. "On Royalty" is a Brit-watcher's dream, filled with who-was-who history, dishy details, scandalous situations, and plenty of little-known facts about the House of Windsor (the Queen, for instance, once received a small live alligator in a biscuit tin as a gift from an admirer).

Royal-watchers know that the British monarchy is notorious about closing ranks, but author Jeremy Paxman was given an amazing amount of accessibility to the throne. It shows in this easy-to-read, easy-to-enjoy book.