David Reimer Story Analysis

Analysis of the David Reimer Story The story of David Reimer is unquestionably an eye opener to the unknown world of gender identity in North America. This story was not only heartbreaking in nature, it also was quite disturbing. I tend to believe that doctors have their patient’s best interest in mind; however, that does not seem to be the case between Dr. Money and David Reimer. While watching the video of David story, I wanted to understand the Doctor’s theory, ponder whether I could accept his proposed validity, and answer the question of what I would do, as a parent, if I was placed into a similar situation as David’s parents. Dr. Money had a theory that pertained to nature vs. nurture. He referred to his theory as the theory of Gender Neutrality. The doctor proposed was that identity genes were neutral in the first two years of life and because of this a child could be raised as the opposite gender given the parent nurtured the child as that particular gender. I disagree with Dr. Money’s theory and I felt that he took advantage of David, and his family, by brainwashing them in order to enhance his own theory. After all he needed this experiment to work since he was the one who was bringing the notion that genders could in fact be

Nonetheless, I do know as a parent, I only desire the best for my children. I suppose in a similar situation, having my child transform into another gender would only add to the existing problems. Not only would my child have to deal with being anatomically incorrect, they would also have to struggle with their identity and who they are as a person. This is troubling because I realize life, as it is, can be stressful enough without trying to figure out what ones gender is. So, I don’t feel I would have taken the same steps as David’s parents did in this