Since I’m new here, and don’t do major log-on time, forgive me if this has been discussed before…this weekend, my sisters and I got into a long discussion about Siamese twins, a subject that has always fascinated me. The discussion focused mainly on the Hensel twins that have been in the news in the past 2 years (not to sound or be disrespectful, but they are basically a two-headed person, two utterly delightful little girls that are, for all intents and purposes, one person from the shoulders down). My younger sister is convinced that they are basically one person, and so therefore would have received only one birth certificate at birth, and will also get only one Social Security number when that is issued to them. Also, we argued as to whether they would married one person or two. I’m familiar with Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins and their lives, how they were esentially two people who married two women…but Abby and Brittany Hensel…I’m just not sure. Any Doper out there who can shed some light on the practical aspects of “how far does seperateness go when you are dealing with Siamese twins?”
Cruel, and inaccurate. To outside appearances, this may be the case, but it would be better to say “they are two people who share one body” (although that’s pretty bad too; makes them sound like they have multiple-personality disorder). They each have independent control of their own facilities. Therefore I would be willing to bet that they have two different SSNs and two birth certificates.
As far as marrying, that’s open to speculation, since I haven’t seen any mention made as to how they’d approach it (their lives are rightly kept private). There’s only one reproductive system shared between the two, and I’d venture a guess that they’re incapable of reproducing.
And let’s call them conjoined, shall we? Siamese sounds so, I don’t know, so exploitative.
I found this info on a webpage discussing one pair of conjoined twins who were later separated:
It appears as though each twin had her own birth certificate. I haven’t found anything on Social Security numbers yet, but I would imagine that they would be separate, too.
Frogstein, sorry if my question seemed cruel to you. That was not my intention in the least, since I look at the Hensel girls - and their parents - with a lot of respect and admiration. Also, didn’t really understand your comment on their reproductive systems, since having a working reproductive system is definitely not the only requirement for someone to marry. My interest is not in the private lives of conjoined twins, but rather, how does the legal system see them? If you have listened to the Hensel twins for more than a minute you can tell them don’t have a problem with seeing themselves as two seperate persons - and understandably so. But I’m just questioning the logistics of future employment(two paychecks?), benefits, etc.
The oldest pair of still-conjoined twins* has two SS#'s, but only one passport. I would assume that precedent would apply elsewhere.
*Don’t recall their names, but it’s two guys, probably about 40 now, joined at the hips/waist, and facing each other. They live in Gibsonton, FL, home of many current and retired sideshow performers.
Nene227, I didn’t necessarily think you were being cruel; just that the wording that you chose sounded cruel. I have seen the Hensel twins (that is, I’ve probably seen and read the same things about them that you have) and I have been impressed by their energy, their cheerfulness, their will, and their lack of self-consciousness (at least, what the media shows). Since they are being kept sheltered by their town and family, we can’t actually know exactly what they are like, since they choose what they want to show us. I’m not saying this is bad, but it does make speculation difficult since we only know part of the story. Incidentally, there’s a surprising lack of information about them on the web.
That said, I have to say that I have been wondering the same things as you. I mentioned the single reproductive system regarding marriage because it’s one of the few bits of information we have on them. AFAIK they’ve been noncommittal on the subject on marriage (regarding whether it’d be to one person or two), but either way would require openmindedness, and I’m not just talking sexually.
For those interested, here is a site about the Hensel twins, but the OP’s questions are not answered. They have two hearts and two stomachs, three kidneys and three lungs, and one reproductive system.