Chapter 4. Controversial Issues

The infamous case of John/Joan

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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.
Controversial Issues
4.2: The infamous case of John/Joan

The story of David Reimer is often referred to in the context of intersexed surgery and how our sex and gender are biologically and socially influenced. I will introduce David’s story and ask questions for you to consider, but I encourage you to further investigate to learn the end of the story. The following recollections come from an article written by John Colapinto (2004), based upon his book written with David Reimer entitled As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl.

David Reimer was born, with a twin brother, on August 22, 1965, in Winnipeg, Canada. His parents (described as farm kids) and family became famous because of David’s tragic experience. At the age of 8 months, the boys were taken to the doctor to be circumcised. The doctor used an electrocautery needle and, when doing David’s circumcision, unintentionally burned off his entire penis. The family was referred to a renowned doctor of the time, Dr. John Money at John Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, who was known for his expertise in gender identity. Under the advice of Dr. Money, the parents decided to have David’s genitals altered to appear as female, changed his name to “Brenda,” gave him estrogen treatments, and raised him as a girl. Throughout his childhood, Brenda was described as acting “boyish” and self-reported feeling like a boy. However, under the advice and fairly routine care of Dr. Money, Brenda’s parents pushed on, keeping this secret from Brenda. Some of the practices and procedures that Dr. Money used to ensure the success of this “gender experiment” have since been deemed incredibly controversial and potentially unethical. This experience was extremely difficult and guilt-ridden for Brenda’s family. “Her” mother attempted suicide, and her father struggled with alcoholism.

When Brenda was 14, a psychiatrist convinced her parents to tell her what had happened. David reported sudden feelings of relief and reassurance that he was not “crazy” for feeling like something was not right. After the news, David started the process of transitioning back to being a male. He underwent reconstructive masculine genital surgery and testosterone treatments. Whereas David continued to struggle with severe depression associated with this experience and attempted suicide a couple of times in his 20s, he eventually found love and married.

Question 4.1

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Question 4.2

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Question 4.3

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Question 4.4

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Question 4.5

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