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Hurricane Helene charges toward Florida's Gulf Coast, expected to strike late today as a dangerous storm; Millions of Illinois' convenient voting method gains popularity; House task force holds first hearing today to investigate near assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania; New report finds Muslim students in New York face high levels of discrimination in school.

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Biden says all-out-war is threatening in the Middle East, as tensions rise. Congress averts a government shutdown, sending stopgap funding to the president's desk and an election expert calls Georgia's latest election rule a really bad idea.

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The presidential election is imminent and young rural voters say they still feel ignored, it's leaf peeping season in New England but some fear climate change could mute fall colors, and Minnesota's mental health advocates want more options for troubled youth.

Wisconsin Author: Bullying is Epidemic

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Monday, December 8, 2014   

MADISON, Wis. - A new novel called "Double Exposure" about an intersex teen athlete, explores bullying, and Wisconsin author Bridget Birdsall says the story is based on real experiences. The main character was born with ambiguous genitalia and raised as a boy.

At age 15, to escape bullying, the young adult changes gender identification, moves across the country to Milwaukee, and finds success with a girls' basketball team. A teammate jealous of her skills finds out about her past and exposes her former male identity, which leads to more bullying. Birdsall says the bullying portrayed in the novel isn't that uncommon. She calls it "epidemic" and says people may not realize how common the problem is.

"If they don't have children they may not," she says. "But those of us who have had children in the school systems or do now; and it's not just grade school, it's middle school, high school, all the way up into college, there's issues, especially for anyone who's different in any way."

Birdsall says educators and students themselves are grappling with strategies to deal with the problem in an effective way.

In the story, the 15 year old finally begins to feel comfortable with herself for the first time after finding success with the girls' basketball team. Birdsall says the novel, which is based on a true story, has many layers.

"It's a basketball story, it's a story about bullying and it's a story about self-empowerment," says Birdsall. "In the end, it's a story about friendship and self-acceptance, and my hope is that the book will actually become a healing talisman."

Birdsall says "Double Exposure" contains a number of life lessons.

"Raising compassion for ourselves, whether we're the person who maybe didn't speak up when somebody was being bullied, or we're the person who was actually bullied," she says. "I wanted to give people hope and an idea that there is a way out, they don't have to live by somebody else's definition of who they are." Double Exposure is published by Sky Pony Press.




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