Dennis Milam Bensie

Shorn Dennis Milam Bensie

"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."

--Julie Kane, The Library Journal

"Bracingly Honest."

--The New York Journal of Books

"Honest and triumphant! A must read for anyone battling darkness, seeking light."

--Justin Reed Early, Author of StreetChild: An Unpaved Passage

What 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, Shorn: Toys to Men, 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.

Voted by The Advocate as "One of the Best Overlooked Books of 2011."

This revised edition includes a new epilogue.

Aside from Shorn: Toys to Men, DENNIS MILAM BENSIE has written two other memoirs: One Gay American and Thirty Years A Dresser. His short stories and poetry have been featured in numerous publications and his essays have been seen in The Huffington Post, 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 Valley of the Dolls at Empty Space Theatre in Seattle garnered him a feature article in Entertainment Design Magazine and a Seattle Times Footlight Award for Best Design.

Raised in rural Illinois, Bensie has called Seattle home since 1991.