My Views On Hypertrichosis

I believe that mistreating anyone who’s different is terrible. People can’t help whether or not they’re different. People can’t all be exactly alike, and if we were, then the world would be a very dull place. People should never be mistreated due to their race, religion, weight, gender, or appearance. That’s why I believe that treating people with odd medical conditions such as Hypertrichosis is just as bad as being racist, sexist, and/or prejudice. It’s terrible that people with this condition were locked in cages, treated like animals, and used as public entertainment.

                Just because these people are different from you and me, it doesn’t mean that they deserve to be mocked and laughed at. It’s a tragedy when girls suffering from this condition may never get married, or if a little girl can only be respected after becoming famous, or if siblings admit that they spent most of their childhood locked in a cage. Hypertrichosis doesn’t make these people monsters, let alone werewolves; it just makes them special and unique. That is my view on the repression and cruelty that has been exhibited towards sufferers from Hypertrichosis.

Sideshows

Sometimes sufferers from Hypertrichosis are exhibited as circus freaks and the subjects of mockery and entertainment. Here are just a few earlier sideshow examples:

Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy

I mentioned Jo-Jo The Dog-Faced Boy earlier in my blog as well. This young sufferer from Hypertrichosis is one of the most famous examples. His birthname was Fedor Jeftichew, and he was born in St. Petersburg. As a child, Jo-Jo stayed with his father until his father's death. Barnum; a ringmaster who took Jo-Jo in after his father's death described Jo-Jo's father as savage and uncivilized. During Barnum's show, Jo-Jo was forced to growl and act like a dog and he was often scorned or mocked during his performance.

Krao, the Darwin's Missing Link (1876-1926)

A fellow sufferer from hypertrichosis, Krao was first exhibited in 1880 at the age of six. Just as Darwin’s Origin of Species theory was a hot topic, and Barney; the ringmaster used Krao to prove Darwin's theories. Krao was a very intelligent and well-read child who toured with Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey. She later died in 1926 at the age of forty-nine.

The lives for these two sufferers from Hypertrichosis were anything but ordinary. People like this don't deserve to spend their lives as sideshow performers. They also don't deserve to be displayed like zoo animals and taunted for their appearence.

Trials

Hypertrichosis may have been the culprit for medieval mistreatment to history’s so-called “werewolves.” So, what actually is a werewolf or lycanthropy? Is it a fact based on concrete evidences? Is it a myth, fabrication of feeble minds? Is it an exaggeration of some other things? Such as a person suffering from Hypertrichosis?

During the medieval werewolf trials, several people were accused of being werewolves due to their wolf-like resemblance. Many of these accused “werewolves” were described as having matted hair covering their bodies and faces and short stocky physiques. These people were often put on trial and killed. Their punishments were similar to those of the Salem witch trials (burning at the stake, hanging, stoning, etc.).

Perhaps some of the accused were actually suffering from Hypertrichosis. If so, then that would mean that several people died as a result of man’s inability to deal with the strange or unknown? These people could’ve been the subjects of cruelty, misunderstanding, and superstition during the medieval period. http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/werewolf5.htm

A 'Werewolf' Family's New Hope

Werewolf’ family to be treated in Nepal

March 26, 2012 |

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KATHMANDU (AFP) - A family suffering from a rare genetic condition in which hair grows all over the face arrived in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Sunday for treatment of their “werewolf-like” appearance.
Devi Budhathoki, 37, her daughters, aged 13 and five, and 12-year-old son say they have endured constant humiliation because of hypertrichosis, which causes hair to sprout between their eyes and across their brows.
“My children have talked about a new life ever since we received word that the hospital was going to treat us,” said Budhathoki, a farmer from the remote northwestern village of Khare, near the border with the Tibetan border.
Sufferers from hypertrichosis, also known as “werewolf syndrome”, have in previous centuries been used as freakshow performers at circuses. “My son is fed up with the mockery he is subjected to and he has told his friends that he will be back with a new face so they can no longer tease him. More than myself, I’m worried about my children,” Budhathoki told AFP.
This family's mistreatment is just another example of how cruel and upsetting sufferers from Hypertrichosis lives can be. Treatment for their condition will hopefully ease their torment.

What do you do when children are locked in cages?

Twenty-two year old Danny; a man who also suffered from hypotrichosis and his brother Larry spent most of his childhood in a traveling freak show. He even said that it was like he and his brother were animals. Chuy even says that he and his brother were shown off to the audience while in a cage. This is the perfect example of discrimination and cruelty. Just because people are different, it doesn’t mean that they’re not human beings. Children don’t deserve to be locked in cages and shown off to the world like zoo animals. Though Danny says that he doesn’t remember much of his childhood, it’s still wrong. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/200401/real_life_wolfman/

The 'Werewolf' Family's Outcry

 Families who suffer from this often beg for treatment of their condition. Families such as Devi Budhathoki's; a thirty-seven year old Nepal man whose family has been the subject of ridicule for years. He and his daughters and twelve-year-old son also have a mild form of hypertrichosis.
Budhathoki went on to say that, “My children have talked about a new life ever since we received word that the hospital was going to treat us,”.

Sufferers from hypertrichosis, also known as “werewolf syndrome”, have in previous centuries been used as freakshow performers at circuses. I find this to be very wrong and very, very cruel. People don't deserve to be locked in cages or mocked for their appearence.

 “My son is fed up with the mockery he is subjected to and he has told his friends that he will be back with a new face so they can no longer tease him. More than myself, I’m worried about my children,” Budhathoki goes on to say.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/entertainment/26-Mar-2012/-werewolf-family-to-be-treated-in-nepal

The Wolf Girls

Hypertrichosis can be very cruel when its genes are passed down. Three sisters, Savita, 23, Monisha, 18, and 16-year-old Savitri Sangli, inherited the disorder from their father.

The sisters must use special creams every day or risk rapid hair regrowth. Despite the negative effects of the condition, these three girls still dream of  getting married. Unfortunately, in their small Indian village of Sangli, unmarried women have few prospects.

“Marriage is not an option for us, it’s not likely to happen, who is going to marry us when hair keeps growing on our faces" quotes one of the sisters.

Life would be difficult anywhere for the three girls, but India in particular, is sensitive to rare and unique health conditions; laws against discrimination are not enforced here. This means that the oldest sister, Savitri, is never able to withold a job for more than fifteen days. When her hair starts growing, her employers fire her.

The girls' mother, Anita says her three daughters are desperate to find a way to fund laser hair removal surgery to remove the hair. She estimates that the surgery will cost £4000 which is approximately $7,000 US dollars per daughter.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvBTjpRLkXA&feature=related