An outsider's story gets under the skin

Kathleen Winter's tale about an intersex person living in Labrador owes something to the author's confrontation with Newfoundland

John Barber

From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Jun. 25, 2010 1:19PM EDT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/an-outsiders-story-gets-under-the-skin/article1618048/

What a nice purse," I say by way of small talk on meeting novelist Kathleen Winter at an outdoor cafe in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood. Innocently, I add that I wish I could have one like it.

"Why can't you have a bag?" she asks, suddenly serious.

"Because I'm a guy!"

"You mean because you're a guy you can't have a bag?" she asks. "This is a man bag, the one I've got."

"You're a woman. It's a purse."