David Reimer

When Reimer was a baby, a doctor botched his circumcision, and sex researcher Dr. John Money convinced Reimer's parents of his theory that "gender identity" (a term Money coined) was not assigned by nature, but by nurture. He thus got them to castrate the child and raise him as a girl. Money said the "success" of the reassignment "proved" his theory, in part because Reimer was a perfect test subject: he had an identical twin brother. It was literally a textbook case, written up in medical, psychiatric and other texts as proof that gender was malleable -- and widely promoted by Dr. Money. But Money apparently never let on that over time, the experiment actually proved to be a disaster: Reimer, who was renamed "Brenda", preferred toy guns to dolls, and never adapted to his female personality. At 14, "Brenda" refused to continue taking artificial hormones, and when he learned the truth about his childhood he reclaimed his male identity, and the name David. But the psychological scars of his childhood, coupled with the death of his twin two years ago, overcame him. He committed suicide on May 4 in his hometown of Winnipeg, Man., Canada. He was 38. From This is True for 9 May 2004 Suggestions for further reading: Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School by C. J. Pascoe Amazon Price: $14.93 Customer Review: The book got here on the last day possible in the shipping range. I would not buy from them unless you did not need the book immediately and could wait for it. They were very helpful when I emailed them though.   The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man by Brett McKay, Kate McKay Amazon Price: $11.55 Customer Review: This book is a far-reaching and concisely written manual on manliness that aims to equip the (manly?) reader with the knowledge to be "the best man you can be" (pp.264). The husband-wife authors, Brett & Kate McKay, cover the predictable: gentleman...   Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Classics) by Judith Butler Amazon Price: $9.88 Customer Review: Most of the existing reviews give a good idea of how this book has come across to Amazon readers. I decided to create a review because I had a couple of points to add. The first is a reiteration - Butler's prose is, in places, exceedingly difficult t...   Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides Amazon Price: Customer Review: I checked this book out from the library and started reading it because my oldest sister had read it for a class a few years ago; I thought I would enjoy the book because I interpretted it is a being a narrative of someone who is intersexed. I was d...   The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin Amazon Price: $10.20 Customer Review: Ursula Le Guin truly outdid herself with this book. From the complex but brilliant plot-line, to the depth and intensity built into her characters; This book is hard to put down once started. Le Guin uses this book to explore the impact of sexual t...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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