Transcript of an interview 11-22-10.

"Good evening. I'm here with Ms... is it Ms?"

"Close enough. I identify as female. No need to dust off third gender pronouns."

"Right. Ms. Terra Sheer, newly elected member of congress for the 5th district. Ms. Sheer, you have the... interesting reputation as being the first openly hermaphroditic member of congress. That must have made your election particularly challenging."

"A bit. It helped that in this district we had four different candidates running at once. If things had polarized a little more, I probably wouldn't have stood much of a chance. As it was, all three candidates were on the conservative end and that left a lot of voters with no one to support. I guess I became an "Eh, why not?" vote."

"Before your victory, you were a lawyer, correct? Specializing in representing herm clients and acting as a lobbyist for the Janus group... a PAC for addressing issues affecting herms?"

"Correct. Herms make up only one percent of the population, so there are many legal gaps in which herms are marginalized or forced to be covered by laws regulating other genders. For instance, until last year in Texas, herms couldn't qualify for maternity leave if pregnant because that state legally counted them as male. Ironically, lots of local governments refused paternity leave because, being pregnant, they clearly couldn't be male. So herms get caught in a lot of catch 22's."

"As you pointed out, you identify yourself as pretty solidly liberal. Would that be correct?"

"Social liberal, yes. I'm a little less liberal when it comes to economics, though. I consider myself an economic realist."

"You also have the interesting reputation as the first political candidate caught in a sex scandal who increased in the polls."

"::laughs:: Yes. The tea party candidate dug up some footage of me having sex on film back in college. It turned out to be an effective fundraising tool. I think, had I not been a herm, it would have been more damaging. I think a lot of people just expect herms to be so sexual that I got a pass on it."

"It also helps that you're so young."

"Not the youngest, by five months. I thought I had it nailed at 26 too. Go fig."

"Being so young, and with your reputation, do you believe being a herm is an asset or a liability for you?"

"Being a herm is who I am. My mom and sire were herms. My sisters are herms. Do others think it's a liability, sure. But I'm not going to change who I am. If that means I don't get reelected in two years, so be it."

"That's a bold statement. What are your priorities in Washington?"

"Well answer the needs of my consitutents, of course. More specifically, work to get the economy back on track. Make sure education is effective. Keep the healthcare bill and make it more effective and efficient. And work towards significant deficit reduction. If people on the right want to engage in dollar for dollar tax increases with spending cuts, then we can play."

"Well, if anyone can thrive in both worlds, I expect it to be you, Congresswoman Sheer."

"I certainly hope so. ... Okay.... so if that's it, would you care to come to dinner with me tonight? We could have a little fun afterwords and you can enjoy a bit of boy and girl in the same serving."

"Um... that mic is still live, Ms. Sheer."

"Oh, is it? Huh. Still, that's not a yes or no..."