Dangerous Dogmas: The Tragedy of David Reimer

Disclaimer: The following article mentions suicide, self-harm, and sexual abuse. Please read at your own discretion.

On the fourth of May, 2004, 38-year-old David Reimer shot himself in the head in his car in the parking lot of a grocery store in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Reimer’s life was filled with incredible misfortune and trauma. But Reimer was no ordinary man- he led an extraordinary life, both as a man and a woman. The story of David Reimer serves as a case study for the treatment of intersex children as well as the ethics of psychological research. But most importantly, it is a crucial testament to the reality that no scientific discipline is immune from dogmatic thinking.

David was born Bruce Peter Reimer on the 22nd of August, 1965. Early on in his infancy, Reimer underwent circumcision for treatment of phimosis, a condition that affects the foreskin of one’s penis. Unfortunately, the operation did not go as planned: a botched attempt at cauterization permanently damaged Reimer’s organ. Distraught, his parents sought help at the newly established gender clinic at John Hopkins University. There, under the counsel of John Money, one of the leading sex psychologists in America at the time, Reimer was recommended for a sex change. David underwent several surgical interventions, including castration and hormone therapy, and was raised as a girl named Brenda. These procedures would inflict irreparable physical as well as psychological damage on Reimer.

In scientific literature, sex refers to the biological characteristics of the individual on account of which they are classified as either male or female at birth. This includes things such as sexual anatomy or the presence of a Y chromosome. Gender, on the other hand, is a social phenomenon- it refers to the roles or behaviours that we typically associate as being masculine or feminine. Finally, gender identity is one’s self-identification with a certain gender.

With regards to gender identity, there were two schools of thought- essentialists, who held the view that gender identity is innate and predetermined at birth, and social constructivists, who were of the opinion that gender identity is artificially constructed by human society. John Money belonged to the latter group. Like the famed British philosopher John Locke, Money envisioned the mind as a sort of blank slate (tabula rasa) that was devoid of any innate concepts. One’s behaviour, preferences, and identity were purely molded by upbringing and society.

For Money, David was the perfect subject to test his theories of gender neutrality, as David had an identical twin who could be used as a control subject. Identical twin studies are useful in psychological research as they can help determine the extent to which a particular trait is influenced by genetic or environmental factors.

Money continued to supervise and counsel the Reimer twins over a period of 13 years. He conducted several experiments on them, the most disturbing of which included exposing each twin to pornographic material and forcing them to simulate sex acts with one another. Afterward, Money published several papers that claimed that Reimer’s transition had been a success- that he had actually conformed to his prescribed gender identity. These studies would become highly influential within the medical community. Indeed, the conclusions of Money’s work were so impactful that several medical institutions adopted sexual reassignment as a protocol in the treatment of intersex infants.

In reality, David experienced significant psychological distress and struggled with his gender identity throughout his childhood and adolescence. His mother recalls how she had broken down when she saw him ripping apart his dress, coming to the painful realization that David’s transition had been a failure. When David was a teenager, he learned the truth about his past and decided to transition back to being male. David would remain male until his death.

Milton Diamond, an academic sexologist and opponent of Money’s theories, tracked down David in 1997. Diamond was the first to alert physicians that the model, proposed by Reimer's case, of how to treat infants with intersex conditions was faulty. David's experience became widely known in the 1990s after he and his brother were featured in a book called "As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl," by John Colapinto, which was later turned into a documentary. Following his brother’s death 2 years earlier, David died by suicide in 2004 at 38.

Today, we know that gender identity (as well as human behaviour in general) is determined by one’s genetic makeup as well as their pre-natal and social environment. John Money’s theory of gender neutrality was wrong. Due to the efforts of Milton Diamond and others, sexual reassignment surgery is no longer conducted on non-consenting intersex children.

But what does David’s story teach us?

Reimer's case highlights the importance of scientific rigor and the need for replication and validation of research findings before they are widely accepted and applied in practice. His story serves as a cautionary tale to researchers to be vigilant in examining their assumptions and biases and to consider the potential long-term consequences of their work. Reimer's tragic story also emphasizes the need for researchers to prioritize the well-being and dignity of their subjects, as well as the need for informed consent and transparency in research.

References:

1. David Reimer. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer

2. Milton Diamond. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Diamond

3. Colapinto, J. (2006). As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl. HarperCollins.

4. Mukherjee, S. (2016). The Gene: An Intimate History. Scribner.