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.