Case Study David Reimer
1.) What does this case tell you about the power of biology?
The case of David Reimer’s life and tragic death show the true power of biology. David/Brenda was born a boy, but he raised as a girl due to a terrible accident (Colapinto, 2004). As a child David/Brenda never felt like a girl. David/Brenda was tormented both by peers for “her” masculine appearance and by herself as she knew something was not right (Colapinto, 2004). Even though David/Brenda endured a surgery and hormonal therapy to make him physically a girl, all of his biology was screaming that he was a male, not a female (Colapinto, 2004).
2.) Does it support or refute Dr. Money's (and others') apparent view that children are a "blank slate," and that they can successfully …show more content…
The decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery, should only be made by the person that will have the surgery. Once a child is old enough to decide to have the surgery they should undergo all of the psychological test and therapies to determine if a gender reassignment surgery is appropriate for that child. I know people are going to ask, when is a child old enough to make that determination, that is a tough question. David/Brenda knew that something was not right at the age of 2. According to Sherer, Baum, Ehrensaft, & Rosenthal (2015), Children who are 0 to 4 years old who “show a persistent identification with a gender that does not conform to their assigned sex and become upset when approached with rules that limit their gender expression may be at high risk for the internalized distress”. David’s case shows how harmful it can be when the choice of a gender reassignment is not made by the person who it will affect the most and when the choice is made too soon. If a child has made it clear that they do not feel like they are the correct gender for them, then everything should be done to assist them. . According to Sherer et al, (2015), children can begin “puberty blocker medications to delay the onset of irreversible changes of puberty”, which pauses puberty allowing for more time for the child to
The case of David Reimer’s life and tragic death show the true power of biology. David/Brenda was born a boy, but he raised as a girl due to a terrible accident (Colapinto, 2004). As a child David/Brenda never felt like a girl. David/Brenda was tormented both by peers for “her” masculine appearance and by herself as she knew something was not right (Colapinto, 2004). Even though David/Brenda endured a surgery and hormonal therapy to make him physically a girl, all of his biology was screaming that he was a male, not a female (Colapinto, 2004).
2.) Does it support or refute Dr. Money's (and others') apparent view that children are a "blank slate," and that they can successfully …show more content…
The decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery, should only be made by the person that will have the surgery. Once a child is old enough to decide to have the surgery they should undergo all of the psychological test and therapies to determine if a gender reassignment surgery is appropriate for that child. I know people are going to ask, when is a child old enough to make that determination, that is a tough question. David/Brenda knew that something was not right at the age of 2. According to Sherer, Baum, Ehrensaft, & Rosenthal (2015), Children who are 0 to 4 years old who “show a persistent identification with a gender that does not conform to their assigned sex and become upset when approached with rules that limit their gender expression may be at high risk for the internalized distress”. David’s case shows how harmful it can be when the choice of a gender reassignment is not made by the person who it will affect the most and when the choice is made too soon. If a child has made it clear that they do not feel like they are the correct gender for them, then everything should be done to assist them. . According to Sherer et al, (2015), children can begin “puberty blocker medications to delay the onset of irreversible changes of puberty”, which pauses puberty allowing for more time for the child to