{"product_id":"shorn-toys-to-men","title":"Shorn: Toys to Men","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A poignant read about a little-known issue. What I'm telling my friends: particularly topical in these days of bullying stories and gay teens committing suicide, this brings to light just one man's tremendous struggle.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--Julie Kane, \u003ci\u003eThe Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Bracingly Honest.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Honest and triumphant! A must read for anyone battling darkness, seeking light.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--Justin Reed Early, Author of \u003ci\u003eStreetChild: An Unpaved Passage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat shapes a man's life more? Being molested at age seven, having a gruff father ashamed of him for being effeminate, or being humiliated by school bullies for being a sissy? In his memoir, \u003ci\u003eShorn: Toys to Men\u003c\/i\u003e, author Dennis Milam Bensie chronicles his journey from damaged boy, self-medicating by cutting the hair of shoplifted Barbie dolls, to confused young man, paying hundreds of gay street hustlers to shave their heads. Bensie demonstrates how hair can be currency--a moral gauge for good and bad, male and female, lawful and unlawful. The world of theater is his backdrop, a sanctuary where he gradually spins fantasy into reality. After getting his start in community theater, Bensie moves up to professional houses throughout the United States, turning his private sexual conflict over haircutting into a successful career as a skilled theatrical wig designer. Humorous and honest, this book is a uniquely tangled love story, a triumphant quest for love, forgiveness, and self-acceptance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVoted by \u003ci\u003eThe Advocate\u003c\/i\u003e as \"One of the Best Overlooked Books of 2011.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis revised edition includes a new epilogue.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAside from \u003ci\u003eShorn: Toys to Men\u003c\/i\u003e, DENNIS MILAM BENSIE has written two other memoirs: \u003ci\u003eOne Gay American\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThirty Years A Dresser\u003c\/i\u003e. His short stories and poetry have been featured in numerous publications and his essays have been seen in \u003ci\u003eThe Huffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, The Good Men Project, and Queen Mob's Teahouse. The memoirist is also a theater wig designer, having wigged shows all over the country, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Arizona Theatre Company. His costume and wig design for \u003ci\u003eValley of the Dolls\u003c\/i\u003e at Empty Space Theatre in Seattle garnered him a feature article in \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Design Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e and a \u003ci\u003eSeattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e Footlight Award for Best Design.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRaised in rural Illinois, Bensie has called Seattle home since 1991.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dennis Milam Bensie","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51160675025207,"sku":"9781736282205","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0934\/9926\/1239\/files\/imageloader_9c7e823e-1e3e-44d1-8dbc-c0cd132bbbe1.jpg?v=1759434288","url":"https:\/\/shop.queerbooks.com\/products\/shorn-toys-to-men","provider":"Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni's Room","version":"1.0","type":"link"}