David Reimer Essay

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This is the story of one of the most famous patients in the history of developmental psychology. David Reimer born as a boy in 1965 in Winnipeg Canada, when he was eight months of age his penis was burned off. David's parents were referred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, home of the world's leading expert in gender identity, psychologist Dr. John Money, who recommended a surgical sex change, from boy to girl. As a result David Reimer was raised up as a girl for the first 14 years of his life. This is also the story of the psychologist who treated him, a man with a radical theory of gender roles. He proposed that a boy, any boy can be raised as a girl but the experiment went terribly wrong. It took the cost of a human life …show more content…
Dr. Money also mentioned to the Reimers that if they ever reveal the truth about their daughter the sex change would fail. Brenda grew up to be a pretty girl, every year she was taken to visit Dr. Money along with her brother to document the progress. According to Money's published reports through the 1970s, the experiment was a success. The twins were happy in their assigned roles: Brian a rough and tumble boy, his sister Brenda a happy little girl. Money was featured in Time magazine and included a chapter on the twins in his famous textbook Man & Woman, Boy & Girl. The reality was different at home, when Brenda started to behave in masculine manner. Brenda refused to play with her dolls and toys and was far more interested in playing with her brother Brian. It was becoming obvious to everyone around her that she was indeed very masculine and behaved as such. It was clear at this point that the experiment was not successful, as Dr. Money had anticipated. It was then that Dr. Money started to conduct interview with Brenda about the difference between a boy and a girl and the genital differences that distinguishes between them in an attempt from Brenda to understand what is was like to be a girl and behave like a
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