At 12 her mother took her to a doctor. The doctor showed her to another, and then she was being shown at medical exhibitions. On one of these trips the mother spoke to a man who worked in sideshows. As she enjoyed travelling, the mother arranged for her daughter to join a sideshow.
In the 1940s Francis-Francine was earning $500 a week and essentially supported the entire cast. She added silicone to her left breast to heighten the half-man/half women effect, and did a simple striptease which quite confused the punters. Her relatives joined the show to get a cut. She generously obliged. She was also known for her gifts to young children, and as her appearance frightened some children, she had some one else do the giving.
- Marc Hartzman. “Francis-Francine Hodgkiss” American Sideshow Blow-Off. americansideshow.blogspot.com/2007/01/francis-francine-hodgkiss.html.
If she had been born a generation later, she would likely have been subjected to ‘corrective’ surgery and hormones. It is a shame that the only niche open at that time was carnival.
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