"Dr. Money and The Boy with No Penis":
Summary:
Bruce Reimer and his twin brother Brian were born on August 22, 1965. Both babies were healthy but yet both were going to have a very hard life. Seven months after birth, the twins went to the hospital to get the routine circumcision. Bruce was the first of the twin to undergo the procedure, however, an accident occurred during the process. Unfortunately, Bruce's penis was burnt off due to the electrical equipment malfunctioning. The doctors informed the parents of the situation and the parents were unsure of what was to come. They continued to raise him as a boy until they saw a show about transgender people. The parents decided then that they would raise Bruce as a girl named Brenda.
Brenda lived 13 years of "her" life, not knowing her true identity. The parents also kept this information secret from the twin brother, Brian as well. The only rule that the parents were to abide by was that they were not allowed to tell Brenda about her true identity because doing so might ruin the idea she has about her gender identity. Gender identity is refers to one's sense of oneself as a male, female, or transgender. This is what Brenda grew up struggling with her entire childhood. Although she looked like a girl, she still enjoyed playing with trucks and things that boys would normally play with.
As Brenda got older, she become more and more of a tomboy, in the way she looked and the way she dressed. This in the way that she felt she could express her gender. Gender expression refers to the way in which a person acts to communicate gender within a given culture. Since, Brenda was dressing in more boyish clothes, she was viewed as more of a tomboy than a girl. This idea also correlates with the struggle that Brenda was going through with the differences between sex and gender. The sex of a person is indicated by his or her biological status, meaning male, female, or intersex. On the other hand, gender is defined as the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person's biological gender. In Brenda's case, she doesn't fall under any of these categories, or definitions. The title that most appropriately fits her, would be intersex. Intersex refers to a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. Brenda would best fit in this area, because although she was born a boy, the accident made her lose the male reproductive anatomy. This means that she wouldn't be considered a boy, but a girl instead.
When the Reimer parents informed the twins about the true identity of Brenda, they were the ones that caused the coming out. Coming out is when one acknowledges and accepts their own sexual orientation. Because Brenda was only thirteen when she was told, she was not quite old enough to know which sex she was attracted to, or her own sexual orientation. Since, after finding out, she wanted to become a boy, it can be assumed that she was attracted to the female sex.
Brenda, who was now know has David, lead a normal life after that. He got the surgery to reconstruct the male anatomy. He also, was married and from that marriage he was able to become a father. However, he slowly began to slip into depression because he felt as though he was unable to please his wife. Although they did not get a divorce, the wife wanted to take a break. This along with many other factors is what pushed him over the edge into ending his life with a bullet through his head on May 5, 2004.
Bruce Reimer and his twin brother Brian were born on August 22, 1965. Both babies were healthy but yet both were going to have a very hard life. Seven months after birth, the twins went to the hospital to get the routine circumcision. Bruce was the first of the twin to undergo the procedure, however, an accident occurred during the process. Unfortunately, Bruce's penis was burnt off due to the electrical equipment malfunctioning. The doctors informed the parents of the situation and the parents were unsure of what was to come. They continued to raise him as a boy until they saw a show about transgender people. The parents decided then that they would raise Bruce as a girl named Brenda.
Brenda lived 13 years of "her" life, not knowing her true identity. The parents also kept this information secret from the twin brother, Brian as well. The only rule that the parents were to abide by was that they were not allowed to tell Brenda about her true identity because doing so might ruin the idea she has about her gender identity. Gender identity is refers to one's sense of oneself as a male, female, or transgender. This is what Brenda grew up struggling with her entire childhood. Although she looked like a girl, she still enjoyed playing with trucks and things that boys would normally play with.
As Brenda got older, she become more and more of a tomboy, in the way she looked and the way she dressed. This in the way that she felt she could express her gender. Gender expression refers to the way in which a person acts to communicate gender within a given culture. Since, Brenda was dressing in more boyish clothes, she was viewed as more of a tomboy than a girl. This idea also correlates with the struggle that Brenda was going through with the differences between sex and gender. The sex of a person is indicated by his or her biological status, meaning male, female, or intersex. On the other hand, gender is defined as the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person's biological gender. In Brenda's case, she doesn't fall under any of these categories, or definitions. The title that most appropriately fits her, would be intersex. Intersex refers to a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. Brenda would best fit in this area, because although she was born a boy, the accident made her lose the male reproductive anatomy. This means that she wouldn't be considered a boy, but a girl instead.
When the Reimer parents informed the twins about the true identity of Brenda, they were the ones that caused the coming out. Coming out is when one acknowledges and accepts their own sexual orientation. Because Brenda was only thirteen when she was told, she was not quite old enough to know which sex she was attracted to, or her own sexual orientation. Since, after finding out, she wanted to become a boy, it can be assumed that she was attracted to the female sex.
Brenda, who was now know has David, lead a normal life after that. He got the surgery to reconstruct the male anatomy. He also, was married and from that marriage he was able to become a father. However, he slowly began to slip into depression because he felt as though he was unable to please his wife. Although they did not get a divorce, the wife wanted to take a break. This along with many other factors is what pushed him over the edge into ending his life with a bullet through his head on May 5, 2004.
Contributions to World of Psychology and Dr. Money's role in David's life:
David's story caught a lot of interest with the world of psychology. This is because it was the perfect example of what happens when a person puts nature verses nurture to the absolute test. His story spiked the interest of a psychologist by the name of Doctor John Money. Dr. Money was the one who pursued this experiment entirely. He wanted to see if nature would be able to overpower the nurturing aspect of life. Dr. Money became a big part of David Reimer's life. He would observe the way that David would interact with others and how he would play and what toys he would play with.
Did Dr. Money help or hurt the process? Explain.
In my opinion, I believe that Dr. Money didn't help the process for David. I say this because, through everything David still went against what Dr. Money recommended him to do. Also, I believe that some of the things that the doctor did to "help" with the process was very unethical. For example, when he "yelled" at the twins to remove their clothes and then proceed to go into sexual positions to demonstrate the difference between a girl and a guys genital area was very uncalled for. Although it did allow for David to notice a difference between him and his brother, it did not help the process. In my opinion, Dr. Money was trying to do everything possible to help him seem like the experiment was a success even though it was the complete opposite in the end.
David's story caught a lot of interest with the world of psychology. This is because it was the perfect example of what happens when a person puts nature verses nurture to the absolute test. His story spiked the interest of a psychologist by the name of Doctor John Money. Dr. Money was the one who pursued this experiment entirely. He wanted to see if nature would be able to overpower the nurturing aspect of life. Dr. Money became a big part of David Reimer's life. He would observe the way that David would interact with others and how he would play and what toys he would play with.
Did Dr. Money help or hurt the process? Explain.
In my opinion, I believe that Dr. Money didn't help the process for David. I say this because, through everything David still went against what Dr. Money recommended him to do. Also, I believe that some of the things that the doctor did to "help" with the process was very unethical. For example, when he "yelled" at the twins to remove their clothes and then proceed to go into sexual positions to demonstrate the difference between a girl and a guys genital area was very uncalled for. Although it did allow for David to notice a difference between him and his brother, it did not help the process. In my opinion, Dr. Money was trying to do everything possible to help him seem like the experiment was a success even though it was the complete opposite in the end.
Resources for this Journal:
http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexuality-definitions.pdf
http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexuality-definitions.pdf