David Reimer
The age old question of what influences humans more, with regards to biology or environment, has been under investigation for decades. Current scientific evidence acknowledges the notion that biology and environment work together to influence various aspects of human development and behavior. It is now believed that understanding a person’s biology and the environment in which one develops is key to studying and comprehending humans overall. However, the notion of biology and environment intertwining isn’t always exemplified clearly in various aspects of people’s lives. This was shown in the case of David Reimer, the boy who was raised as a girl. In Reimer’s case, he was born biologically male, but due to an unfortunate circumstance involving
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This did not happen, and researchers acknowledged that a person’s genitalia did not completely dictate which gender a person identified with. At the same time, researchers also concluded that a person’s environment was not the main influence on a person’s gender identity. For Reimer, his sex and his gender did not correlate. Despite all the cues of femininity he received from his doctors, parents, environment, and more, Reimer always felt as if he were male. This lead to the development of many problems in his life. Since gender refers to an individual’s psychological sense of being male or female, and sex refers to a person’s biological body parts and genetic make-up that present that individual to look either male or female, one cannot assume that both characteristics always correlate with each other. For Reimer, his gender was male, as he always felt that to be true internally. His sex, however, changed from male, to female, and back to male throughout his lifespan. Due to the fact that Reimer felt that it was correct for him to have all male body parts, and for him to fully take on male gender roles, everything his doctor believed about the environment influencing gender more than biology turned out to be false. It turns out that biology, or biological intuition, is a more critical component of gender identity for a person than the
This did not happen, and researchers acknowledged that a person’s genitalia did not completely dictate which gender a person identified with. At the same time, researchers also concluded that a person’s environment was not the main influence on a person’s gender identity. For Reimer, his sex and his gender did not correlate. Despite all the cues of femininity he received from his doctors, parents, environment, and more, Reimer always felt as if he were male. This lead to the development of many problems in his life. Since gender refers to an individual’s psychological sense of being male or female, and sex refers to a person’s biological body parts and genetic make-up that present that individual to look either male or female, one cannot assume that both characteristics always correlate with each other. For Reimer, his gender was male, as he always felt that to be true internally. His sex, however, changed from male, to female, and back to male throughout his lifespan. Due to the fact that Reimer felt that it was correct for him to have all male body parts, and for him to fully take on male gender roles, everything his doctor believed about the environment influencing gender more than biology turned out to be false. It turns out that biology, or biological intuition, is a more critical component of gender identity for a person than the