David Reimer: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
|
==Infancy==
Reimer was born in [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], on 22 August 1965, the eldest of identical twin boys.{{sfnm |1a1=Harper |1y=2007 |1p=43 |2a1=Rolls |2y=2015 |2p=133}} He was originally named Bruce and his identical twin was named Brian.{{sfn|Rolls|2015|p=133}} Their parents were Janet and Ron Reimer, a couple of [[Mennonite]] descent who had married the previous December.{{sfn|Rolls|2015|p=133}} At the age of six months, after concern was raised about how both of them urinated, the boys were diagnosed with [[phimosis]].{{
The parents, concerned about their son's prospects for future happiness and sexual function without a penis, took him to [[Johns Hopkins Hospital]] in [[Baltimore]] in early 1967 to see [[John Money]],{{sfn|Colapinto|2001a|p=49}} a [[psychology|psychologist]] who was developing a reputation as a pioneer in the field of sexual development and [[gender identity]], based on his work with [[intersexuality|intersex]] patients.{{sfn|Mann|2016|p=184}} Money was a prominent proponent of the "theory of
Money and physicians working with young children born with [[intersex]] conditions believed that a penis could not be replaced but that a functional [[vagina]] could be constructed surgically. It was also the safest and most conventional pathway to take: Money told the parents it was what would be best for the boy.<ref name=BBCHealthCheck/><!-- the closest to this is Colapinto-2001 p.32: "it was easier for surgeons to construct a synthetic vagina than to create an artificial penis", but that source doesn't support the claim. --> Money also claimed that Reimer would be more likely to achieve successful, functional sexual maturation as a girl than as a boy.{{sfn|Colapinto|2001b}}{{page needed|date=June 2016}}{{Failed verification|date=June 2016|reason=cannot find a supporting quote for this in Colapinto-2001 (print copy) }} For Money, a case where identical twin boys were involved where one could be raised as a girl provided a perfect test of his theories.<ref name=bbc-horizon-tv-2000>{{cite episode |date=7 December 2000 |title=The Boy Who Was Turned into a Girl |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/boyturnedgirl_transcript.shtml |series=[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]] |publisher=BBC |access-date=19 May 2015}}</ref><ref name=bbc-horizon-tv-followup>{{cite episode |year=2005 |title=Dr Money and the Boy with No Penis |series=[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]] |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 September 2014}}</ref>
This was later expanded into the [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' best-selling]] biography ''[[As Nature Made Him|As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl]]'' (2000),{{sfn|Koch|2017|p=143}} in which Colapinto described how—contrary to Money's reports—when living as Brenda, Reimer did not [[gender identity|identify]] as a girl. He was ostracized and bullied by peers (who dubbed him "cavewoman"),<ref name=BBCHealthCheck/>{{sfn|Karkazis|2008|p=74}} and neither frilly dresses (which he was forced to wear during frigid Winnipeg winters),{{sfnm |1a1=Colapinto |1y=2001 |1p=115 |2a1=Warnke |2y=2008 |2p=21}} nor female hormones made him feel female. By the age of 13 years, Reimer was experiencing suicidal depression and he told his parents he would take his own life if they made him see Money again.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Finally, on 14 March 1980, Reimer's parents told him the truth about his gender reassignment,{{sfn|Eskridge|Hunter|2003|p=127}} following advice from Reimer's [[endocrinologist]] and [[psychiatrist]]. At 14, having been informed of his past by his father, Reimer decided to assume a male gender identity, calling himself David. By 1987, Reimer had undergone treatment to reverse the reassignment, including testosterone injections, a double [[mastectomy]], and two [[phalloplasty]] operations.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} On 22 September 1990 he married Jane Fontane and would adopt her three daughters.{{sfnm |1a1=Beh |1a2=Diamond |1y=2005 |1p=12 |2a1=Goldie |2y=2014 |2p=187 |3a1=Rolls |3y=2015 |3p=144}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Boodman |first=Sandra G. |date=29 February 2000 |title=A Terrible Accident, a Dismal Failure |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/2000/02/29/a-terrible-accident-a-dismal-failure/83850bc4-b27a-417e-ba85-3693a4cafdd0 |work=The Washington Post |access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>
In addition to his difficult lifelong relationship with his parents, Reimer had to deal with unemployment and the death of his brother Brian from an overdose of [[antidepressant]]s on 1 July 2002. On 2 May 2004 his wife Jane told him she wanted to separate. On the morning of 4 May 2004, Reimer drove to a grocery store's parking lot in his hometown of Winnipeg<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news |last=Woo |first=Elaine |date=13 May 2004 |title=David Reimer, 38; After Botched Surgery, He Was Raised as a Girl in Gender Experiment |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2004/may/13/local/me-reimer13 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=B12 |access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref> and took his own life by shooting himself in the head with a [[sawed-off shotgun]].{{sfnm |1a1=McQuail |1y=2018 |2a1=Rolls |2y=2015 |2p=145}} He was 38 years old.<ref name=nyt-obit>{{cite news |date=12 May 2004 |title=David Reimer, 38, Subject of the John/Joan Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/12/us/david-reimer-38-subject-of-the-john-joan-case.html |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=The Canadian Press |access-date=19 May 2015}}</ref> He was buried in St. Vital Cemetery in Winnipeg.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Vital Cemetery Burial Search |url=http://www.winnipeg.ca/ppd/cemeteries/cemetery_stvital_alpha.stm |publisher=City of Winnipeg |access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref>
==Legacy==
|publisher=Transcript Verlag
|isbn=978-3-8394-3705-6
|ref=harv
}}
: {{cite book
|last=Mann
|first=Sandi
|year=2016
|title=Psychology: A Complete Introduction
|location=London
|publisher=John Murray Learning
|isbn=978-1-4736-0930-3
|ref=harv
}}
| |||