Dr Money: David Reimer
Aim:
Money wanted to see whether children are born gender neutral and explain that gender is a result of upbringing. He wanted to support his theory of gender neutrality.
Case description:
Bruce and Brian were identical twin boy who at the age of 7 months were taken for circumcision to correct a medical problem, Bruce was treated first. However, an accident during the procedure resulted in Bruce’s penis being completely burnt off so that it was unrecognizable.
After the accident the Reimer's happened to see a TV programme where transgender issues were being discussed and the theory of gender neutrality was explained by Dr John Money.
They contacted Dr Money and asked his advice. He believed that all children were ‘gender neutral’ until the age of about 2 years old, meaning
that boys and girls were essentially the same until then. Because Bruce Reimer was less than a year old when the accident happened,
and the decision to raise him as a girl was made before the age of 2, it would be possible, according to Money, to raise Bruce as a girl called Brenda and no one would ever know ‘she’ was actually a ‘he’.
Acting on this the Reimer's decided to raise Bruce as a girl.
From before she was 2 Brenda was dressed in female clothing, encouraged to play with ‘girls’ toys and always told that she was a girl – she was not aware of the accident at all! Basic genital surgery was performed on Brenda at the age of 2.
At the age of 12, Brenda was given Oestrogen to try to encourage female puberty and prevent male features developing such as a deepening voice or facial hair.
Money tracked Brenda’s development over her childhood by organising annual visits for her and Brian to the University. In these he would
ask them questions about their preferences and behaviour.
Analysis:
Money reported that Brenda had adapted to the role of female and stated that this was consistent with his theory. He noted that Brenda liked wearing dresses and wanted to be a doctor or teacher when she grew up. He compared this to her brother who wanted to be a fireman. Money believed that comparisons about boys and girls showed that Brenda knew her gender was female and had helped her to adapt.
Conclusion:
Dr Money concluded that it is possible to raise a boy as a girl.
Case update: (exam hint: this is part of the case, but not Money’s 1975 study)
However Brenda was considered by everyone who knew her to be a tomboy who liked to play with her brother’s toys and enjoyed aggressive play. She reported feeling ‘different’ and her teachers said she was generally more masculine than feminine. Brenda was even seen urinating standing up. Either Money did not know or he chose to ignore this evidence.
Brenda consistently refused to have further surgery and at the age of 15 was having severe emotional and behavioural problems, even threatening her parents that she would commit suicide if they made her see Dr. Money again.
Her parents then decided that she should be told the truth about who she was and Brenda finally knew she had been born a boy. From this
point onwards Brenda became known as David and lived as a male.
At the age of 16, David had plastic surgery to create a penis and at the age of 22, further surgery was conducted to make the penis more realistic. During his mid-20’s, David married a divorcee with 3 children to whom he became a step-father finally fulfilling his masculine identity.
After Dr. Money published his findings and reported that you could successfully raise a boy as a girl, David and his family appeared in a documentary where they put forward their views on what happened. David and his brother Brian reported that Money had used unethical practices to encourage the development of their different gender identities, including photographing them naked in different sexual positions.
This could never be proven as 2 years worth of the case notes on the twins were never released by Money.
David’s brother, Brian, had mental health problems (he developed schizophrenia shortly after finding out the truth about his twin). In 2002
Brian was found dead in his apartment after an overdose of drugs. After losing his brother, David became depressed, his marriage broke down
as a result of financial pressures, and then in 2004 he committed suicide.
Evaluation:
Generalisability:
The case study only followed one child and the results may not be applicable to all other children. For example David had an identical twin brother which may have also influenced his gender behaviour.
Reliability:
The case study collected in depth and detailed information. However the behaviour of the twins was misreported by Money as he always claimed that the study was successful in the reassignment of Bruce’s gender, but David’s later testimony argued against this. This means
that the conclusions from the original study were false and did not represent the true findings. Money may also have encouraged the parents to change Bruce’s sex in order for his own gain in supporting his theory.
Application:
This study strongly suggests that gender reassignment surgery may not always be successful so careful consideration should be taken over what gender to raise an intersex child. If biology is likely to have the biggest effect this should be considered first.
Validity:
Real-life case so it has high ecological validity because the boy’s life and the events that happened to him were all real and not manipulated in any way. This means that the conclusions drawn about the importance of biology on gender identity are based on a real experience and not the result of an experimental condition.
Ethics:
Numerous ethical issues surround this case study. The twins were allegedly encouraged to pose naked in sexual positions which they said was
degrading. However there was no evidence to support this claim. Being involved in the case study was alleged to have been a factor in the mental break down of Brian Reimer, and the later suicide of David, suggesting the twins were not protected from mental harm.
Aim:
Money wanted to see whether children are born gender neutral and explain that gender is a result of upbringing. He wanted to support his theory of gender neutrality.
Case description:
Bruce and Brian were identical twin boy who at the age of 7 months were taken for circumcision to correct a medical problem, Bruce was treated first. However, an accident during the procedure resulted in Bruce’s penis being completely burnt off so that it was unrecognizable.
After the accident the Reimer's happened to see a TV programme where transgender issues were being discussed and the theory of gender neutrality was explained by Dr John Money.
They contacted Dr Money and asked his advice. He believed that all children were ‘gender neutral’ until the age of about 2 years old, meaning
that boys and girls were essentially the same until then. Because Bruce Reimer was less than a year old when the accident happened,
and the decision to raise him as a girl was made before the age of 2, it would be possible, according to Money, to raise Bruce as a girl called Brenda and no one would ever know ‘she’ was actually a ‘he’.
Acting on this the Reimer's decided to raise Bruce as a girl.
From before she was 2 Brenda was dressed in female clothing, encouraged to play with ‘girls’ toys and always told that she was a girl – she was not aware of the accident at all! Basic genital surgery was performed on Brenda at the age of 2.
At the age of 12, Brenda was given Oestrogen to try to encourage female puberty and prevent male features developing such as a deepening voice or facial hair.
Money tracked Brenda’s development over her childhood by organising annual visits for her and Brian to the University. In these he would
ask them questions about their preferences and behaviour.
Analysis:
Money reported that Brenda had adapted to the role of female and stated that this was consistent with his theory. He noted that Brenda liked wearing dresses and wanted to be a doctor or teacher when she grew up. He compared this to her brother who wanted to be a fireman. Money believed that comparisons about boys and girls showed that Brenda knew her gender was female and had helped her to adapt.
Conclusion:
Dr Money concluded that it is possible to raise a boy as a girl.
Case update: (exam hint: this is part of the case, but not Money’s 1975 study)
However Brenda was considered by everyone who knew her to be a tomboy who liked to play with her brother’s toys and enjoyed aggressive play. She reported feeling ‘different’ and her teachers said she was generally more masculine than feminine. Brenda was even seen urinating standing up. Either Money did not know or he chose to ignore this evidence.
Brenda consistently refused to have further surgery and at the age of 15 was having severe emotional and behavioural problems, even threatening her parents that she would commit suicide if they made her see Dr. Money again.
Her parents then decided that she should be told the truth about who she was and Brenda finally knew she had been born a boy. From this
point onwards Brenda became known as David and lived as a male.
At the age of 16, David had plastic surgery to create a penis and at the age of 22, further surgery was conducted to make the penis more realistic. During his mid-20’s, David married a divorcee with 3 children to whom he became a step-father finally fulfilling his masculine identity.
After Dr. Money published his findings and reported that you could successfully raise a boy as a girl, David and his family appeared in a documentary where they put forward their views on what happened. David and his brother Brian reported that Money had used unethical practices to encourage the development of their different gender identities, including photographing them naked in different sexual positions.
This could never be proven as 2 years worth of the case notes on the twins were never released by Money.
David’s brother, Brian, had mental health problems (he developed schizophrenia shortly after finding out the truth about his twin). In 2002
Brian was found dead in his apartment after an overdose of drugs. After losing his brother, David became depressed, his marriage broke down
as a result of financial pressures, and then in 2004 he committed suicide.
Evaluation:
Generalisability:
The case study only followed one child and the results may not be applicable to all other children. For example David had an identical twin brother which may have also influenced his gender behaviour.
Reliability:
The case study collected in depth and detailed information. However the behaviour of the twins was misreported by Money as he always claimed that the study was successful in the reassignment of Bruce’s gender, but David’s later testimony argued against this. This means
that the conclusions from the original study were false and did not represent the true findings. Money may also have encouraged the parents to change Bruce’s sex in order for his own gain in supporting his theory.
Application:
This study strongly suggests that gender reassignment surgery may not always be successful so careful consideration should be taken over what gender to raise an intersex child. If biology is likely to have the biggest effect this should be considered first.
Validity:
Real-life case so it has high ecological validity because the boy’s life and the events that happened to him were all real and not manipulated in any way. This means that the conclusions drawn about the importance of biology on gender identity are based on a real experience and not the result of an experimental condition.
Ethics:
Numerous ethical issues surround this case study. The twins were allegedly encouraged to pose naked in sexual positions which they said was
degrading. However there was no evidence to support this claim. Being involved in the case study was alleged to have been a factor in the mental break down of Brian Reimer, and the later suicide of David, suggesting the twins were not protected from mental harm.