ABSTRACT
This chapter moves from late nineteenth-century interest in wild and feral children, to the exhibition of children as animals in Victorian circuses and sideshows, namely children that were deemed “hybrid” or “trans-species.” Sideshow acts of children with hypertrichosis, an uncontrolled growth of hair on the body, such as Krao Farini, who was billed as “the monkey girl,” and Fedor Jeftichew, “Jo-Jo, the dog-faced boy,” drew large crowds of curious spectators from all classes in England and America. The acts often purported to serve scientific advancements in evolutionary theory from Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) and Descent of Man (1871) by revealing the missing link between man and beast in the form of a hirsute child. The manner in which audiences, scientists, promotors, and the press depicted Krao and Fedor reflect a racist, xenophobic, and anthropocentric belief system. Krao and Fedor were not only entertainment but evidence of British superiority over other cultures and other species; however, because they were children, unlike other “hairy acts” like Julia Pastrana or Maphoon, Krao and Fedor were not considered irredeemably savage but redeemably young and able to be molded by Victorian etiquette and education.
