Geneviève, a French-Québécoise native, details her Québécoise childhood in the 80s, and childhood trauma. She describes what she thought was a quiet, suburban childhood in a blue-collar neighborhood. Her dad, a milkman, and her mother a bank-teller, who dreamt of being a primary school teacher. Still, at the age of 9, her father left, and she rarely saw him again. She also learned eventually that her father had done many illegal things to the family, without her knowledge. Still, she believes she had a good childhood and is very grateful to her mother Suzanne LaBadie, a devout Catholic, who was always praying and did her best to raise her kids on her own, with a step-dad later joining the family.
Since her father left and having grown up poor, she searched for worldly things and relationships to validate her hurt, and became a sex addict who was angry with men. In searching for healing, at the age of 16, she had her first boyfriend and her first sexual experience. Over time, she had many promiscuous encounters with men and women, having had long relationships with women too. For a while, Geneviève thought she was bisexual. From the age of 27, she spent 8 years as a prostitute. Prostitution is not a choice, and though legal, being sexually violated is not a job. It must be talked about.
After exiting prostitution for good, she had three children with an Asian man. She understands God as her perfect father and has lived in Australia for twenty years, dealing with her trauma through art and research. In terms of childhood safety, it’s important to teach kids to deal with their emotions. That is, to talk about their feelings when they are young and to not tell them to ‘not cry’. Conversations about childhood trauma need to be had and addressed.
