Review By John S. Hall
Although recently a lot of media attention has focused on the other 'f-word'—courtesy of Isaiah Washington's and Ann Coulter's hateful comments—the dreaded other 's-word' ( i.e., 'sissy' ) has thankfully fallen into disuse. Nevertheless, it survives as an historical artifact, an epithet flung in the faces of boys who didn't conform to American society's rigid gender norms.
Just as gay academics attempted to reclaim 'queer' in the 1990s and Michael Thomas Ford afforded some slight dignity to 'faggot,' so Kevin Sessums lays claim to 'sissy' with some degree of possessive pride.
The child of a sports coach father and bundle-of-frustrated-ambitions mother, Sessums had the misfortune to be born in rural Mississippi in 1957. In addition to the prejudice he experienced firsthand because of his self-evident flamboyance, he also witnessed ( and unwittingly participated in ) the racism so then-ingrained into Southern life that it was practically second nature. Indeed, while he befriended his grandparents' African-American maid Mattie May, his casual use of the 'n-word' cut her to the quick and ultimately poisoned their friendship.
Like many of the great literary works to emerge from the South, Mississippi Sissy contains a great deal of darkness in its core: Racism, homophobia, general narrow-mindedness and other all-too-human failings parade across its pages. Initially bewildered by his son's effeminacy, Sessums' father becomes increasingly angry and violent. By age eight, Sessums would be an orphan, his father and mother dying within a year of each other; he and his two younger siblings would be raised by their maternal grandparents. When religious fervor caught him during adolescence, a traveling preacher took him under his wing—and proceeded to sexually molest him, committing 'spiritual murder,' preying as well as praying. And at age 19, he discovered the battered and bound corpse of his mentor, murdered by a stranger whose kindness he had unfortunately sought.
And yet, a determinedly fierce optimism and hope shone in defiant contrast to all the darkness on display. It can be heard in Mattie May's voice as she mutters 'Poi-ti-er' repeatedly while picking cotton for a quarter per pound so she can eke out a living. It's heard in the weak voice of Sessums' mother, dying of esophageal cancer, as she tells him, 'I've always lived my life as if I were taking down shorthand dictated by someone else. Don't you dare do that. You be your own special word, Kevin.'
Also, occasional moments of humor illuminate this memoir's dark landscape with blinding intensity. Imagine giving Eudora Welty, the revered short-story writer, a ride home after a party, and realizing to your horrified chagrin that your gym clothes are still in the passenger seat—while the award-winning author holds your jock strap daintily between two fingers! Imagine persuading your grandmother to make you a Halloween costume of the Wicked Witch of the West, and the reactions to your wearing it to the local carnival! Imagine watching a movie in the theater as an adolescent and realizing that, gay or not, you're getting turned on by the sight of Audrey Hepburn's camel toe.
Anyone who grew up feeling like an outsider—whether because of one's sexual orientation or some other factor—will enjoy Mississippi Sissy immensely. It's not always an easy read, and is bound to dredge up long-forgotten childhood memories ( as it did for this reviewer ) . Its setting—rural Mississippi during the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s—makes a refreshing change to the sameness that seems to pervade gay memoirs as of late, and it's oddly comforting to know that at least one other gay man out there can hold the works of both Jacqueline Susann and Eudora Welty in equal esteem!
Although Mississippi Sissy has a somewhat abrupt denouement—Sessums moves to New York City after attending the trial of the man who murdered his mentor, Frank Hains—it does have a happy ending. Sessums went on to become a highly regarded writer and editor for magazines like Vanity Fair and Allure. After reading this book, it's easy to see why he did so many celebrity profiles and interviews, because he does a fantastic job of capturing the essences of people through their speech patterns. 'That's what most sissies do when we are children,' he writes. 'We sit apart and we listen.'
