Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Quartet Books (2000), 294 pages
Description
In 1967, after a twin baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment that would alter his gender. The case would become one of the most famous in modern medicine-and a total failure. As Nature Made Him tells the extraordinary story of David Reimer, who, when finally informed of his medical history, made the decision to live as a male. A macabre tale of medical arrogance, it is first and foremost a human drama of one man's-and one family's-amazing survival in the face of terrible odds.
Media reviews
As John Colapinto makes achingly clear in this riveting, cleanly written and brilliantly researched account of a world-famous case, Money's effort to prove the plasticity of human sexual identity by transforming Bruce into Brenda was a cataclysmic failure.
User reviews
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
Eight-month-old David Reimer, an identical twin, had his penis accidentally amputated during a botched circumcison attempt in Winnipeg, Canada. At the direction of the famous psychiatrist Dr. John Money of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, this child's parents were directed to re-assign David's
This book is shocking. Not only for telling what outrageous physical and psychological assaults were made on this child, but also for revealing the fact that Dr. Money could perpetutate this farce for years with no loud voices raised against his ideas. This very brave and well researched piece of investigative journalism tells David's story with empathy and kindness. It is an amazing read with a moral lesson of note by the author at its conclusion. In the words of John Colapinto, it is every person's individual responsibility to define for himself who he is, and to assert that against a world that often opposes, ridicules, oppresses, or undermines him.
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sex to a girl and given the suggestion to later make available to him vaginal surgery and hormone treatments to grow breasts. This experiment did not go as planned, but Dr. Money continued to defend his position and influence others in psychiatry to go along with his mistaken ideas about nature versus nurture. At age 14, Brenda Reiner decided to once again become a boy. This book is shocking. Not only for telling what outrageous physical and psychological assaults were made on this child, but also for revealing the fact that Dr. Money could perpetutate this farce for years with no loud voices raised against his ideas. This very brave and well researched piece of investigative journalism tells David's story with empathy and kindness. It is an amazing read with a moral lesson of note by the author at its conclusion. In the words of John Colapinto, it is every person's individual responsibility to define for himself who he is, and to assert that against a world that often opposes, ridicules, oppresses, or undermines him.
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LibraryThing member PhoebeReading
I first encountered David Reimer’s story as a kid: my mother was getting her special ed certification and brought home a textbook on Child Psychology. At the end of one of the chapters, there was a brief sidebar about the case, which detailed its success, save for an incident when the little
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boy-turned-girl in question threw her panties over a neighbor’s fence.But, as I learned through John Colapinto’s powerful As Nature Made Him: The Boy who was Raised a Girl, that rosy-if-mischievous picture couldn’t have been further from the truth. David, born Bruce Reimer, was indeed raised a girl, Brenda, when doctors gave his parents no other feasible options after a botched circumcision at eight months old. Though this case was often touted by his doctor, John Money, as immutable proof that gender was completely a social construction, the truth is that Brenda had an incredibly unhappy childhood, marked by social difficulties and competition with her twin brother, Brian, and marred further by disturbing therapeutic sessions (which included forced viewings of pornography and graphic sexual conversations) administered by Money.Colapinto’s account is vividly and soundly written. It’s an incredibly fast-read and has the juicy journalistic quality of a good episode of Dateline, not to mention a similarly horrific car-crash-on-the-highway feel. Colapinto’s strong descriptions of David and his family are incredibly sympathetic; when, after finishing the book, I learned that both David and his brother Brian died at their own hands in 2004 and 2002 respectively, I fully felt the loss of their lives that had, I suppose, begun nearly four decades earlier.Before the publication of As Nature Made Him, the then-anonymous case of the Reimers was often cited by feminists as proof that it was nurture, not nature—upbringing, and not sex—that determines gender. The sad truth is that, had doctors been more open-minded about what constitutes a “boy” or a “man”, David Reimer would have never been subjected to castration, would never have had to endure therapy sessions with Money where he was forced to pose naked with his brother in order to model “proper gender roles”, would never have had to struggle in school and at home with the conviction that he wasn’t really a girl. The motives of the doctors were reductionist, as David himself says: “It just seems that they implied that you’re nothing if your penis is gone. The second you lose that, you’re nothing, and they’ve got to do surgery and hormones to turn you into something. Like you’re a zero. It’s like your whole personality, everything about you is all directed—all pinpointed—toward what’s between his legs. And to me, that’s ignorant. I don’t have the kind of education that these scientists and doctors and psychologists have, but to me it’s very ignorant.” (262)I do think that there’s a feminist lesson to be found in Reimer’s story: namely, that prescriptivist attitudes toward gender and sex are problematic, and that forcing gender models (and certainly genital surgery) on young children who cannot express their feelings about their own gender or sex is a dangerous game. Show Less
LibraryThing member melydia
In the late 1960s, the Reimers give birth to identical twin boys. When one is mutilated in a botched circumcision, they follow the advice of psychologist John Money to have the boy surgically castrated and raised as a girl. Money believes that people are sexually neutral at birth, that gender
This is not a novel. This actually happened. The whole thing is both highly disturbing and undeniably compelling. I was absolutely appalled at much of what went on under the guise of medicine, and at what lengths Money went to in order to confirm his cherished theories. The good news is that much of this led to changes in the field of sexual psychology, but that doesn't make it less infuriating to read about. Definitely recommended if you're at all interested in gender identity, but it's a bit hard to take at times.
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identity is entirely the product of environment, not biology. Identical twin boys give him the perfect opportunity to prove this theory. The "girl" rebels from the start, knowing something is wrong, but still the experiment continues, growing more disturbing over time. The psychologist even has the twins engaging in pretend sex play, nude, while he takes pictures.This is not a novel. This actually happened. The whole thing is both highly disturbing and undeniably compelling. I was absolutely appalled at much of what went on under the guise of medicine, and at what lengths Money went to in order to confirm his cherished theories. The good news is that much of this led to changes in the field of sexual psychology, but that doesn't make it less infuriating to read about. Definitely recommended if you're at all interested in gender identity, but it's a bit hard to take at times.
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LibraryThing member corinneblackmer
This compelling, disturbing, humane book forms a segment within a larger history of medical sexology stemming from Richard von Krafft Ebing and Sigmund Freud to Alfred Kinsey and Masters and Johnson to John Money and Richard Diamond. In brief, a surgical mishap turns into a titanic disaster because
Bruce Reimer has, as an infant, a condition that makes it painful to urinate and so the doctors decide to give him a circumcision, which is a perfectly reasonable decision and routine procedure. However, in a freak accident, the circumcision is botched, and Bruce's penis destroyed. The Reimers are told that their son "must live a life apart," never get married and never expect the ordinary social comforts and connections as other people. This reaction gives an absolute primacy to the possession of the penis and the remainder of the book goes on to explore how misguided such views are. The parents are desperate and enlist the assistance of Dr. John Money after they see him on television. His proferred solution? Turn the botched boy into a normal girl, and rename Bruce Brenda. The surgeries must be done as soon as possible, and the hormone therapies begun on schedule--for Dr. Money's theory is that gender identity becomes "imprinted" around the age of 2 1/2 and becomes increasingly difficult to alter after that window of time. Brenda undergoes a surgery to remove her testicles, which eliminates permanently the chance for reproduction. However, although the Reimers do their best to raise what had been their boy as a girl, the experiment fails miserably, and Brenda behaves like an aggressive, self-assertive boy who is nonetheless a ridiculed outsider who is held back in school. Despite these facts, Dr. Money reports in his research that the "twins experiment" (Brenda has a brother) has been a great success that shows that gender identity is not biologically determined but, rather, socially constructed and malleable. Indeed, Dr. Money writes several notorious books on the basis of what he and other regard as his great success in this famous case. Among other things, Dr. Money lauds consensual incest (whatever that could possibly mean), parents walking around naked in front of their children, children's sexual role play in preparation for adulthood, and so forth, including sympathetic treatments of rather repugnant perversions. Throughout, however, Dr. Money remains an adamant and unwavering homophobe, who sees homosexuality, as he sees gender identity, as socially acquired as opposed to biologically imprinted and, therefore, natural. David is rescued by a woman psychiatrist with whom he creates an anti-Dr. Money group and upon the insistence of this noble psychiatrist, under whom "patients actually got well," the parents tell Brenda of his actual past. At this point, Brenda changes his name to David, stops taking hormone therapy, and, eventually, gets married and becomes a father to the children of his wife. Sigmund Freud had been the first to posit the primacy of the penis in constructing sexual and gender identity, and one cannot imagine a more devastating rebuke of his theories than this book, which reduces the Oedipus Complex into an idle theory proferred by someone who did not have the means to know what he was talking about and therefore relied on prejudice and inspired best guesses. It is refreshing to hear that the field of pediatric medicine has advanced greatly since the time that the events in this book took place, but it is also sad that David, following his brother Brian, committed suicide.
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of theories of human sexuality and gender identity that have no empirical or scientific basis, but, rather, reflect the ego, the ambitions, and the self-delusion of the physician involved.Bruce Reimer has, as an infant, a condition that makes it painful to urinate and so the doctors decide to give him a circumcision, which is a perfectly reasonable decision and routine procedure. However, in a freak accident, the circumcision is botched, and Bruce's penis destroyed. The Reimers are told that their son "must live a life apart," never get married and never expect the ordinary social comforts and connections as other people. This reaction gives an absolute primacy to the possession of the penis and the remainder of the book goes on to explore how misguided such views are. The parents are desperate and enlist the assistance of Dr. John Money after they see him on television. His proferred solution? Turn the botched boy into a normal girl, and rename Bruce Brenda. The surgeries must be done as soon as possible, and the hormone therapies begun on schedule--for Dr. Money's theory is that gender identity becomes "imprinted" around the age of 2 1/2 and becomes increasingly difficult to alter after that window of time. Brenda undergoes a surgery to remove her testicles, which eliminates permanently the chance for reproduction. However, although the Reimers do their best to raise what had been their boy as a girl, the experiment fails miserably, and Brenda behaves like an aggressive, self-assertive boy who is nonetheless a ridiculed outsider who is held back in school. Despite these facts, Dr. Money reports in his research that the "twins experiment" (Brenda has a brother) has been a great success that shows that gender identity is not biologically determined but, rather, socially constructed and malleable. Indeed, Dr. Money writes several notorious books on the basis of what he and other regard as his great success in this famous case. Among other things, Dr. Money lauds consensual incest (whatever that could possibly mean), parents walking around naked in front of their children, children's sexual role play in preparation for adulthood, and so forth, including sympathetic treatments of rather repugnant perversions. Throughout, however, Dr. Money remains an adamant and unwavering homophobe, who sees homosexuality, as he sees gender identity, as socially acquired as opposed to biologically imprinted and, therefore, natural. David is rescued by a woman psychiatrist with whom he creates an anti-Dr. Money group and upon the insistence of this noble psychiatrist, under whom "patients actually got well," the parents tell Brenda of his actual past. At this point, Brenda changes his name to David, stops taking hormone therapy, and, eventually, gets married and becomes a father to the children of his wife. Sigmund Freud had been the first to posit the primacy of the penis in constructing sexual and gender identity, and one cannot imagine a more devastating rebuke of his theories than this book, which reduces the Oedipus Complex into an idle theory proferred by someone who did not have the means to know what he was talking about and therefore relied on prejudice and inspired best guesses. It is refreshing to hear that the field of pediatric medicine has advanced greatly since the time that the events in this book took place, but it is also sad that David, following his brother Brian, committed suicide.
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LibraryThing member ecw0647
This book will make you very angry; that a child could be so maltreated by an "expert," who clearly was in need of help himself, but who was so intent on proving a theory that he disregarded substantial evidence to the contrary. You'll be angry, too, with other professionals who were reluctant to
David Reimer was the victim of numerous mistakes. The first was a botched circumcision that essentially fried his penis. Then he became subject to the attempts of a famous sex researcher to verify his theories about the nature of gender development. The result was a lot of pain for David and his family.
Colapinto got permission from the family to write this book, and all conversations, everything in quotes, is from transcripts or documents. All the scarier.
It all began when David (then called Bruce) and his identical twin brother Brian were diagnosed with a condition called phimosis that circumcision normally repaired. Bruce was operated on first, but a serious mistake in the voltage levels of the electrical surgical device was made and his genitalia burned beyond salvage. The medical staff suggested that Bruce be raised as a girl. This was at a time when feminist theory, supported by some psychologists, proposed that gender identity had nothing to do with biology: it was all a social construct. Eventually, the parents were referred to Dr. Money at Johns Hopkins University. Money was a world-renowned sex researcher who apparently suffered from a multitude of sex hang-ups himself. Money had staked his reputation on the belief that sexual identity was socially determined, and he had worked with numerous transsexuals. When Bruce's parents showed up with an identical twin who had no male genitalia, it was an obvious answer to his prayers, for now he could develop data from a twin study to validate Money's theories. Money and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins had performed numerous sex reassignment surgeries on hermaphrodite children, but no such operation had ever been attempted on a child born with normal genitalia and nervous system, a distinction that the parents, Ron and Janet, never grasped until years later. Money's conviction was the procedure would be successful; "I see no reason why it shouldn't work," he told them. The decision had to be made early, because, according to his theory, there was a gender identity gate at which point the child was locked into a male or female identity. Bruce became Brenda and was raised as a girl. There were problems from the start, but Money insisted he was right and continued to promote the case as an example of the correctness of his theory of psycho sexual neutrality at birth.
In the meantime, at the University of Kansas, a young researcher was studying the role of hormones on behavior, and in a paper published in the late fifties, he marshaled considerable evidence from biology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and endocrinology to argue that gender identity is hardwired into the brain virtually from conception. Hermaphrodites had an inborn neurological capability to go both ways, a capability that genetically normal children would not share.
The researcher, Milton Diamond, was to become a thorn in Money's side as he marshaled considerable evidence of the role of prenatal hormones in determining gender identity. Moneys accusation that Diamond's alliance with unscrupulous media caused the cessation of what would have been the culmination and piece de resistance of his life's work, the twin study, finally pushed Diamond to a public response in the form of a paper. Money's work was still being used to support the behaviorist proponents in the psychological community, who were still trying to "convert" and "change" adult homosexuals back to a heterosexual orientation. In the meantime, Money had been uncharacteristically silent what was occurring with the twins. Diamond managed to track down the psychiatrist,Keith Sigmundson, who had been working with Brenda/David in the intervening years. Having seen firsthand the implementation of Money's theories, Sigmundson, after reading Diamond's papers and convincing himself of Diamond's research integrity, agreed that something needed to be documented publicly as to the outcome of the case.
By this time, Brenda had become David, reverting to male, and had married. His parents, after years of therapy for the whole family, had finally broken with Money, and told Brenda of the genital removal. David had married and wanted to put everything behind him, but finally agreed to meet with Diamond. Realizing after their conversations that his case was being used as evidence to support the implementation of Money's theories in other cases, he decided he had to speak out. The resulting paper warned physicians of the dangers of surgical sexual reassignment, especially for intersexual newborns, since "physicians have no way of predicting in which direction the infant's gender identity has differentiated." Assigning a sex, i.e. name, hair length, and clothing, was one thing, but irreversible surgical intervention had to be avoided until the child was old enough to determine and articulate. "To rear the child in a consistent gender, but keep away the knife," was the caveat expressed by as Diamond to Colapinto.
One of the more interesting side issues I think the book raises is the nature of authority, i.e. what constitutes being an expert. Certainly, being right, correct, and knowledgeable appears not to be criteria.
Note 2011. David Reimer committed suicide in 2004.
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challenge the "great" man even when their own evidence pointed in an opposite direction. But you'll be astonished and satisfied by the incredible fortitude of a young child who realized that something was wrong and in his own way stood up to the extraordinary pressure that was put on him.David Reimer was the victim of numerous mistakes. The first was a botched circumcision that essentially fried his penis. Then he became subject to the attempts of a famous sex researcher to verify his theories about the nature of gender development. The result was a lot of pain for David and his family.
Colapinto got permission from the family to write this book, and all conversations, everything in quotes, is from transcripts or documents. All the scarier.
It all began when David (then called Bruce) and his identical twin brother Brian were diagnosed with a condition called phimosis that circumcision normally repaired. Bruce was operated on first, but a serious mistake in the voltage levels of the electrical surgical device was made and his genitalia burned beyond salvage. The medical staff suggested that Bruce be raised as a girl. This was at a time when feminist theory, supported by some psychologists, proposed that gender identity had nothing to do with biology: it was all a social construct. Eventually, the parents were referred to Dr. Money at Johns Hopkins University. Money was a world-renowned sex researcher who apparently suffered from a multitude of sex hang-ups himself. Money had staked his reputation on the belief that sexual identity was socially determined, and he had worked with numerous transsexuals. When Bruce's parents showed up with an identical twin who had no male genitalia, it was an obvious answer to his prayers, for now he could develop data from a twin study to validate Money's theories. Money and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins had performed numerous sex reassignment surgeries on hermaphrodite children, but no such operation had ever been attempted on a child born with normal genitalia and nervous system, a distinction that the parents, Ron and Janet, never grasped until years later. Money's conviction was the procedure would be successful; "I see no reason why it shouldn't work," he told them. The decision had to be made early, because, according to his theory, there was a gender identity gate at which point the child was locked into a male or female identity. Bruce became Brenda and was raised as a girl. There were problems from the start, but Money insisted he was right and continued to promote the case as an example of the correctness of his theory of psycho sexual neutrality at birth.
In the meantime, at the University of Kansas, a young researcher was studying the role of hormones on behavior, and in a paper published in the late fifties, he marshaled considerable evidence from biology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and endocrinology to argue that gender identity is hardwired into the brain virtually from conception. Hermaphrodites had an inborn neurological capability to go both ways, a capability that genetically normal children would not share.
The researcher, Milton Diamond, was to become a thorn in Money's side as he marshaled considerable evidence of the role of prenatal hormones in determining gender identity. Moneys accusation that Diamond's alliance with unscrupulous media caused the cessation of what would have been the culmination and piece de resistance of his life's work, the twin study, finally pushed Diamond to a public response in the form of a paper. Money's work was still being used to support the behaviorist proponents in the psychological community, who were still trying to "convert" and "change" adult homosexuals back to a heterosexual orientation. In the meantime, Money had been uncharacteristically silent what was occurring with the twins. Diamond managed to track down the psychiatrist,Keith Sigmundson, who had been working with Brenda/David in the intervening years. Having seen firsthand the implementation of Money's theories, Sigmundson, after reading Diamond's papers and convincing himself of Diamond's research integrity, agreed that something needed to be documented publicly as to the outcome of the case.
By this time, Brenda had become David, reverting to male, and had married. His parents, after years of therapy for the whole family, had finally broken with Money, and told Brenda of the genital removal. David had married and wanted to put everything behind him, but finally agreed to meet with Diamond. Realizing after their conversations that his case was being used as evidence to support the implementation of Money's theories in other cases, he decided he had to speak out. The resulting paper warned physicians of the dangers of surgical sexual reassignment, especially for intersexual newborns, since "physicians have no way of predicting in which direction the infant's gender identity has differentiated." Assigning a sex, i.e. name, hair length, and clothing, was one thing, but irreversible surgical intervention had to be avoided until the child was old enough to determine and articulate. "To rear the child in a consistent gender, but keep away the knife," was the caveat expressed by as Diamond to Colapinto.
One of the more interesting side issues I think the book raises is the nature of authority, i.e. what constitutes being an expert. Certainly, being right, correct, and knowledgeable appears not to be criteria.
Note 2011. David Reimer committed suicide in 2004.
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LibraryThing member woosang
Horrifying story of a little baby boy, who suffered, firstly, during a circumcision accident and then every day of his life as he is forced to live as a girl.
The description of his treatment and the treatment of his brother at the hands of the supervising doctor is beyond horrific. To show small
The book is well written and a realy page turner. Your heart goes out to the boy and his family and you can't help but looking at the photos in the middle. Don't be afraid that the book may be too dry, it is written with the lay person in mind. Sympathetic to David and the choices his parents made in 1967.
A must read and extremely thought provoking.
The description of his treatment and the treatment of his brother at the hands of the supervising doctor is beyond horrific. To show small
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children pornography and to make them simular sex with each other just curdled my mind. And the total lack of listening to the patient is truely unbelievable that it was permitted for so long. The book is well written and a realy page turner. Your heart goes out to the boy and his family and you can't help but looking at the photos in the middle. Don't be afraid that the book may be too dry, it is written with the lay person in mind. Sympathetic to David and the choices his parents made in 1967.
A must read and extremely thought provoking.
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LibraryThing member wademlee
Though I've listed this in my glbt collection under T(ransgender), the subject isn't technically transgender or intersex, but rather is a biological male forced to lives 'as a girl' from the age of 2 to 15. The book attempts to make score a point for 'nature' in the nature vs. nurture debate as to
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which contributes the most to gender identity (and sexual orientation). However, it loses points in my book for furthering the gender role dichotomy ('proving' that the gender role imposition wasn't working because the child was aggressive, dominant, likes trucks & guns, etc.). Show Less
LibraryThing member swl
Incredible story, and a true model of research and reporting. I was not familiar with JC (I don't read Rolling Stone) but had come across his name in conjunction with the book which followed this one, a novel. Couldn't resist the buzz on this one though.
Top marks for sensitivity. Truly admirable
Top marks for sensitivity. Truly admirable
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determination to examine history, turning up tidbits that could only come from dogged sleuthing. And while the story is sensational, by the end you realize you've learned a great deal about a subject that deserves thoughtful attention, but has been buried beneath layers of shame forever. Show Less
LibraryThing member dihiba
John Colapinto is a good writer - both fiction and nonfiction. This is a very good book, told with senstivity but not sentimentality.
LibraryThing member ireed110
This book made me sad, and it made me angry. What happened to this person and his family is tragic -- what's horrifying is that it was (is?) a standard treatment for kids born with "ambiguous genitals." At the time the book was written (2000), the controversy over whether or not this was okay was
As far as the book itself goes, I think this amazing story could have been handled better. The book dragged in some parts, and was told out of order. The author is a journalist, and this read like one long article, or a series of them. The subject matter saved it - I think anyone could have written this book and it would be interesting. It's a tragic story that you will tell your friends and family about, and they will want to read about it when you are done.
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just beginning to brew. As far as the book itself goes, I think this amazing story could have been handled better. The book dragged in some parts, and was told out of order. The author is a journalist, and this read like one long article, or a series of them. The subject matter saved it - I think anyone could have written this book and it would be interesting. It's a tragic story that you will tell your friends and family about, and they will want to read about it when you are done.
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LibraryThing member EmScape
John Colapinto, a writer for Rolling Stone has been given the exclusive right to author the tale of David Reimer, who, a victim of a botched circumcision, had his sex reassigned at age two and lived the next twelve years as a girl. David is the victim of several doctors: the one who originally
This is an important book for any medical, psychiatry, or psychology student to read.
Edit: I was not aware of David Reimer's eventual suicide until after I wrote this review, and wish to alter my assertion that David is 'happy' and has 'overcome.' Although the book ends on this note, several years later the situation is different.
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performed poorly at his circumcision; Dr. John Money, who used his considerable influence to convince David's parents to agree to the gender reassignment (and still to this day insists his treatment was a success); and later psychiatrists who, cowed by Money's prestige and influence, persisted in pushing him towards femininity. However, David has overcome. He is a happily married man, a father and a provider who, although still haunted by his unusual past, has come to terms with it and speaks out against the practice of gender reassignment to infants with damaged penises. Unfortunately, it has only been recently that other victims of this practice, members of ISNA (Intersex Society of North America) have been heard by the physicians and psychiatrists responsible for its continuation even today. I was also impressed with the depth of research done by the author, who, as an entertainment writer, was probably unprepared for the difficulty he would face in addressing this rather sensitive subject both with David's friends and family members and with members of the Sex Research community who still insist David's reassignment as Brenda was successful and that the author and his subject sensationalized this book for the money and film rights. This is an important book for any medical, psychiatry, or psychology student to read.
Edit: I was not aware of David Reimer's eventual suicide until after I wrote this review, and wish to alter my assertion that David is 'happy' and has 'overcome.' Although the book ends on this note, several years later the situation is different.
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LibraryThing member Crowyhead
A moving and disturbing account of what happened when the medical establishment tried to "play god" with an infant boy's life. This is all the more poignant due to the fact that David Reimer (the boy in question) recently committed suicide.
LibraryThing member jeaneva
While I was reading this book, I kept sharing with others what I was reading. That's a sure sign for me when I'm reading nonfiction that it is exceptional. As a result of an unbelievably inept circumcision, this young man was turned into a physical "girl" and raised thus. I was appalled at the
I recently read that the young man had committed suicide. If true, a tragic end to a tragic life.
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inequity of the financial settlement and the "doctor" who USED this situation to promulgate his gender theories, falsifying results to shore up his ideas.I recently read that the young man had committed suicide. If true, a tragic end to a tragic life.
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LibraryThing member memccauley6
'As Nature Made Him' is the horrifying true story of David Reimer, who lost his penis as an infant after a botched circumcision. His parents, only under-educated teenagers at the time, believed in the expertise of John Money at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Money told them the best course was to
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castrate the baby and raise him as a girl, that nurture was more important than nature; gender could be changed with willpower, surgery and hormone treatments. The book recounts Brenda's lonely, mixed-up childhood and the devastating effect it had on the entire family. I was filled with rage at Dr. Money, who only wanted to promote his theories and stroke his own ego, no matter what the cost to patients or their families. This book is doubly devastating after hearing the news that David Reimer (formerly Brenda) had killed himself in May, 2004 at the age of 38 Show Less
LibraryThing member coolmama
Heart wrenching biography of David Reimer, born Bruce - after a botched castration his parents -- with the advice of "expert" sexologist Dr John Money who had his own priorities-- decided to raise Bruce as a girl named Brenda. After reading an interview with the author, the real question is how did
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David live for so long (he committed suicide in 2004). What a sad story, and so intreguing for us all -- who are we really? Show Less
LibraryThing member FKarr
amazing true story of boy who was raised as a girl; very disturbing description of how unsubstantiated social science can influence the real world; Dr Money is Freudian with disturbing sexual history whose research affected thousands
LibraryThing member ljhliesl
Colapinto tries not be sensationalistic. Meanwhile, I try to be sympathetic about the medical zeitgeist of 1967 and try not to mind that Dubrovnik is on the Adriatic, not the Aegean (77). Mostly I'm just horrified by circumcision. Maybe intersexuality was only beginning to be studied then but I
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thought circumcision had long since been debunked. Show Less
LibraryThing member pussreboots
I feel so sorry for the family involved and especially David. But at the same time I have issues with how this book is written. There is an underlying theme that these events are more tragic because it happened to such a GOOD family. It's tragic regardless of the family's background, beliefs,
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lifestyle. Over all the book is easy to read in that's it's written in a very straight forward manner, though the subject matter makes the book hard on the emotions. I have Glasgowgal's address and will be mailing the book to her soon. Show Less
LibraryThing member KamGeb
This was a fascinating biography. David's life is unique and very interesting. The book also gives an interesting history of the treatment of intersex children and how their treatment has changed over time. The book attempts to present all sides of the story and yet it seems to vilify Dr. Money.
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Makes me want to read other accounts of Dr. Money to see if he really was that bad, Overall a fascinating book about a subject I knew little about. Show Less
LibraryThing member kmajort
Stumbled upon this one day - blew my mind that doctors - and parents! - would do this to a child.
[Am not getting into circumcision and other genital mutilations at this point - don't get me started)
Recalled that I'd read it, recommended it to my daughter - at University - who was telling me of a
BTW - I find it difficult to rate nonfiction. Biographies are *much* different from DIY!
[Am not getting into circumcision and other genital mutilations at this point - don't get me started)
Recalled that I'd read it, recommended it to my daughter - at University - who was telling me of a
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documentary on intersexed individuals.BTW - I find it difficult to rate nonfiction. Biographies are *much* different from DIY!
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Subtitle: The Boy Who Was Raised As a Girl
From the book jacket: In 1967, after a baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment. On the advice of a renowned expert in gender identity and sexual reassignment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the boy was surgically
My reactions
This made me so angry! It’s been a week since I finished it and I thought I had calmed down, but just typing that synopsis from the book jacket stirred those embers in me. The unmitigated arrogance and superior attitude of Dr John Money made me want to hunt him down and do an experiment on HIM! (But he died in 2006…)
In writing the book, Colapinto did an excellent job of researching the various players in this tragedy. He provides considerable background on the development of sexual/gender identity theory, including interviews with many researchers and reporting from numerous professional journals. He gained the trust of David Reimer, his parents and brother and had extensive interviews with them, as well as with childhood friends, teachers and physicians who treated the boys. I think the book is balanced and truthful. I applaud David Reimer for the way he manages to survive the horror that was his childhood.
(Note:I could not help but look up the case on the internet, which is how I discovered that Money died in 2006, but also learned that both David and his brother committed suicide. )
From the book jacket: In 1967, after a baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment. On the advice of a renowned expert in gender identity and sexual reassignment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the boy was surgically
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altered to live as a girl. This landmark case, initially reported to be a complete success, seemed all the more remarkable since the child had been born an identical twin: his uninjured brother, raised as a boy, provided to the experiment the perfect matched control. My reactions
This made me so angry! It’s been a week since I finished it and I thought I had calmed down, but just typing that synopsis from the book jacket stirred those embers in me. The unmitigated arrogance and superior attitude of Dr John Money made me want to hunt him down and do an experiment on HIM! (But he died in 2006…)
In writing the book, Colapinto did an excellent job of researching the various players in this tragedy. He provides considerable background on the development of sexual/gender identity theory, including interviews with many researchers and reporting from numerous professional journals. He gained the trust of David Reimer, his parents and brother and had extensive interviews with them, as well as with childhood friends, teachers and physicians who treated the boys. I think the book is balanced and truthful. I applaud David Reimer for the way he manages to survive the horror that was his childhood.
(Note:
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LibraryThing member sarahlh
If this book doesn't make you angry at what this family - and most importantly that boy forced to live as a girl - went through, you didn't read it right. A startling effective account of a true story that should not be forgotten.
Subjects
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Nominee — 2000)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2000-01-14
ISBN
0732264863 / 9780732264864