Sydney Smith is known throughout the world as “Giraffe Woman” because she took five years to stretch her neck using painful metal rings. Overall, she just wanted to look like her favorite animal. Is that so wrong?!
You can read Sydney’s story here and learn why she wanted to alter her body in such a way to look like a giraffe and why she abandoned the quest later.
Dream Big and Long
Most people think of piercings and tattoos as body modifications, and they’re highly popular today. However, some people go the extra mile to appear how they want. Sydney was a special woman who tried to look just like a giraffe.
Dream Big and Long
Tender Age
Sydney is a Los Angeles, California resident, entrepreneur, marketer, and part-time model. She modified her body unusually at age 30. For five years, she wore 15 brass rings around her neck that weighed 5 pounds. What happened to her lifelong dream?
Tender Age
Inspiration from Other Continents
Sydney wanted a long neck in middle school, which was inspired because of the Southeast Asian tribal women in Burma and Thailand. She loved reading National Geographic magazine, which started her obsession.
Inspiration from Other Continents
It Was Possible
Aside from being fascinated by the unusual tradition of the Kayan Lahwi Tribe, Sydney loved giraffes. She enjoyed visiting the zoo and marveling at her favorite animal. That long and slender neck got her every time, and she wanted to be like them.
It Was Possible
She Really Believed
Since Sydney was young, experimental, and curious, she decided to elongate her neck by using necklaces she created from coat wire hangers. Sydney enjoyed looking in the mirror and pretending that she was a tribal woman. Her parents thought it was just a childish dream, but it was more!
She Really Believed
Mystifying Culture and Tradition
The Kayan Lahwi Tribe women wore rings around the neck from childhood, starting with four to five rings. As they get used to the weight on the collarbones, more are added. However, the coils don’t lengthen the neck; they push them down to give the illusion of a floating head.
Mystifying Culture and Tradition
Why Kayan Women Wear Coils
Experts have different theories about why tribe members use this practice. Some believe the women were abused and used the rings to hide their shame. Others believe that those rings make the women appear sensual to the men.
Why Kayan Women Wear Coils
Confusion Begins
Sydney saw results soon after creating rings from coat hangers. People could tell her neck was longer than the classmates, and many students called her Giraffe Girl. After a while, she wondered if she truly wanted to be like a giraffe, coming to an amazing decision.
Confusion Begins
Unexpected Empowerment Message
During Sydney’s confusion, she saw Lady Gaga, who helped inspire her decision, though indirectly. The music icon was in concert and wearing a “meat dress” to fight for a cause. The message made Sydney believe she should stand up for her beliefs, and that included the rings around the neck.
Unexpected Empowerment Message
Difficult Transformation
2011 marked Sydney’s official journey beginning. She was old enough to make her decision, and a friend created customized rings. Her friend soldered a few coils around the neck, but it caused her skin to burn. Still, she only cared about bringing out her inner giraffe.
Difficult Transformation
In a Hurry
Her friend was always around to make more brass coils, and Sydney became impatient. While her neck and collarbone adapted to the extra weight, she added more and more, thinking that she had to ignore the pain. After five years, she had 15 rings around the neck, stretching her neck 10 inches longer!
In a Hurry
Fame at the Door
Asian countries often have women with long necks, but that’s not normal in Los Angeles. Sydney became popular in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland, documenting her transformation each step of the way. Even Ripley’s Believe It or Not! had her for an episode.
Fame at the Door
Varied Reactions
Sydney was becoming more famous for her unique appearance and decided that the discomfort was worth it. She loved the modeling opportunities and instant celeb status. However, some people claimed she only wanted fame and disrespected an entire culture.
Varied Reactions
Rings Steal Life
Fame was addicting initially, and Sydney was in the public’s eye. Soon, it took its toll. People rushed at her in the store, strangers ambushed her, and most people only cared about the rings. She couldn’t swim or hike and found driving a challenge.
Rings Steal Life
Pain of Isolation
Sydney required a job where she didn’t interact with others and chose a kitchen position that was too hot. She was often jobless because of her movement limitations, and many of the men she dated were only interested in the rings or wanted her to take them off.
Pain of Isolation
Experts Weigh In
Dr. Johnathan Nissanoff is an orthopedic surgeon in California and says that brass rings are dangerous to wear. The Kayan Lahwi tribe start doing it younger, so there’s room for growth. However, Sydney was an adult when she began her quest, so it just pulled the collarbones down and affected her rib cage.
Experts Weigh In
Making a Choice
Sydney had good and bad days, and she’d given her life to have a giraffe-like neck. At one point, she wasn’t sure she should continue, changing her mind about removing the rings at the last second. They were an integral part of her identity because she was Giraffe Woman!
Making a Choice
Finally Removing the Rings
After much soul-searching, Sydney took her life back and asked her friend to remove the copper rings. He had to use a chemical to eat the glue holding them together. Now, she felt she had something to gain and looked at her neck for the first time in many years!
Finally Removing the Rings
Normal Life
Her neck looked longer now, but she was bruised, weak, and needed help. An orthopedic surgeon told her that her neck would go back to its normal size. She’s slowly gaining control and had to do neck exercises and therapy.
Normal Life
No Regrets
Looking back, Sydney tells the world she had no regrets. She did what she wanted, dealt with the pain and happiness, and enjoyed every moment the rings were around her neck. Now, she focuses on her daughter and husband, wanting to lock the rings away in a closet.
No Regrets
Boy Raised as Girl – David Reimer
David Reimer was born in Canada in 1965 and named Bruce Peter Reimer. His identical twin was Brian. These brothers had penis problems, so they were to be circumcised, but it didn’t go as planned. A general doctor used the wrong tool and method, leading to David’s penis falling off!
Boy Raised as Girl – David Reimer
Another Doctor to the Rescue
After a few years, David’s parents heard about Dr. John Money. He was a sex researcher at John Hopkins University, and his reputation was extensive. The Reimers booked a consultation, and the doctor convinced the parents to reassign the sex of the boy.
Another Doctor to the Rescue
Radical Philosophy
Dr. Money had much to prove. He wanted to put his theories into practice, and David’s situation made it possible. He thought that society and parental influences dictated sexual identity formation. He wished to use the baby to prove his thoughts, and the twin brother was the control.
Radical Philosophy
Signing Over Permission
The Reimers were farm kids and young themselves, so they didn’t understand gender progressions well. Dr. Money easily convinced them to turn David into a girl. That meant feeding the 2-year-old female hormones and performing surgery!
Signing Over Permission
Control and Experiment
David was a baby, and the surgery was the first ever conducted on someone developmentally normal. In fact, the procedure required a full castration. The remaining skin created a “cosmetic vaginal cleft.” Now, the boy could be raised as a girl, and Brian was the control.
Control and Experiment
David to Brenda
Dr. Money believed the experiment was a success. The parents changed the baby’s name to Brenda, and the twins adapted to the roles they’d been given. However, “Brenda” hated being a girl and disproved Dr. Money’s nurture/nature theory. However, he still took credit!
David to Brenda
The Hero
News about the doctor’s experiment spread, and he was featured in many publications. Time magazine even published an article about the case that feminine and masculine behaviors can be altered. However, “Brenda” was struggling.
The Hero
Insists She’s a Boy
Brian and David were identical twins and raised like that for the first months of life. Their parents couldn’t deny how frustrated “Brenda” was. David’s mother said that she tried teaching him to be a lady, but he insisted that he was a boy.
Insists She’s a Boy
Mental Breakdown
The pressure was too much. “Brenda” wanted to play with Brian’s trucks instead of her dolls and couldn’t find her place in society. She couldn’t use the boy’s bathroom and peed standing up while in the girl’s restroom. It led to a mental breakdown at 9 years old!
Mental Breakdown
Complicated Reality of the Experiment
Dr. Money was basking in success, but “Brenda’s” life was complicated. No one could deny her masculine traits, which led to bullying. Plus, she complained to her parents about being a boy and was told it was a phase. It led to the mother attempting suicide and the father developing alcoholism.
Complicated Reality of the Experiment
Sexual Rehearsal Play
Brenda’s treatment was ongoing. Both twins went to counseling and therapy to monitor the experiment’s development. One treatment method was for the boys to partake in warped behavior like a sexual rehearsal play. It strained her mental health more, leading to her developing schizophrenia.
Sexual Rehearsal Play
Perversion Continues
When the boys visited the doctor’s clinic, they were shown sexually explicit photos. David remembers that he was forced to remove his clothes and climb on the sofa on all fours. Brian had to go behind his sibling, pressing his crotch against “her” buttocks.
Perversion Continues
Cast a Dark Shadow
Many people praised Dr. Money’s theories, but allegations of his methods came to the surface. They claimed falsehood, but the truth finally came out. Regardless, he was still trusted to run more experiments on the Reimer twins!
Cast a Dark Shadow
Confession
Brenda often struggled with her identity, believing she was a boy raised as a girl. Eventually, a psychiatrist told her parents to tell the truth. They told Brenda about the surgery. He stopped all treatments, changed his name to David, and finally knew he was justified in his thinking.
Confession
Reversal
David grew up as “Brenda,” but he always felt like a boy. He immediately had surgery to remove his breasts and construct a penis. It was painful, but he wanted to go back to his biological sex. Still, he was deeply depressed and attempted suicide twice.
Reversal
Attempting a Normal Life
Despite his struggles, David chose to move on. He worked through challenges and met Jane, who offered a normal life. He couldn’t have kids, but he became a supportive and loving stepfather. Still, his dark moods haunted him.
Attempting a Normal Life
New Psychologist
David decided to get medical help in his 30s. Dr. Milton Diamond was a psychologist from the University of Hawaii and was also Dr. Money’s arch-nemesis. David told the psychologist everything, and they worked together to deny Dr. Money’s theories.
New Psychologist
Division
The world was divided when the truth came out. Those who supported Dr. Money didn’t want to believe that he was a predator and had used the twin boys. Many journalists and writers had things (good and bad) to say!
Division
Tragic Ending
David focused on making his life count when he learned the truth. That meant shattering the doctor’s theory and starting a family. However, he couldn’t fully overcome the trauma, taking his life on his 38th birthday.
Tragic Ending
The Dark Experiment
David’s suicide was heartbreaking. An experiment about sexual identity ended up overtaking his mind. Overall, people should always treat others humanely and never lie to them. Children deserve better than that!
The Dark Experiment