David Reimer Psychology Paper
Nature vs. Nurture: David Reimer
In the summer of 1965 at a hospital in Winnipeg, Canada. Janet Reimer gave birth to identical twins, Bruce and Brian. The two twin boys were born healthy, but at the age of six months both twin boys had difficulty urinating. At that time the doctors recommended that Bruce and Brian undergo circumcision in order to solve the problem. Unfortunately for Bruce the medical team used an unconventional technique of cauterization involving an electric burning device called electrocautery needle instead of a standard scalpel. During this operation Bruce’s penis was destroyed. The Reimer family was devastated with the mutilation of Bruce’s penis. During the following months they searched for answers through numerous medical specialist, but there was no hope, they assumed Bruce was going to live the rest of his life lacking the male genital organ.
The parents then visited John Money, a Johns Hopkins University Psychologists. Dr. Money was a pioneer in the field of sexual development at the time. He then suggested to the Reimer’s that they could turn their baby son into a baby girl. Dr. Money developed a theory on nature vs. nature and how these twin forces affect whether we think of ourselves as a girl or a boy. He thought that genes are important but as far as gender is concerned the baby is essentially neutral in the first two years of life. Schillo (2011) stated that “He promoted the theory that a child’s gender identity was determined by environmental variables such as the social conditions in which the child is raised. This idea is a form of the “nurture theory” of development. A competing view is the so-called “nature theory”; that is, the idea that a person’s innate qualities are determined solely by biological mechanisms.” Dr. Money fundamentally advocated the view that a feminine identity could be developed by rearing a child as a girl. Money saw this as a perfect experiment. He failed to tell the Janet and Ron Reimer that the
In the summer of 1965 at a hospital in Winnipeg, Canada. Janet Reimer gave birth to identical twins, Bruce and Brian. The two twin boys were born healthy, but at the age of six months both twin boys had difficulty urinating. At that time the doctors recommended that Bruce and Brian undergo circumcision in order to solve the problem. Unfortunately for Bruce the medical team used an unconventional technique of cauterization involving an electric burning device called electrocautery needle instead of a standard scalpel. During this operation Bruce’s penis was destroyed. The Reimer family was devastated with the mutilation of Bruce’s penis. During the following months they searched for answers through numerous medical specialist, but there was no hope, they assumed Bruce was going to live the rest of his life lacking the male genital organ.
The parents then visited John Money, a Johns Hopkins University Psychologists. Dr. Money was a pioneer in the field of sexual development at the time. He then suggested to the Reimer’s that they could turn their baby son into a baby girl. Dr. Money developed a theory on nature vs. nature and how these twin forces affect whether we think of ourselves as a girl or a boy. He thought that genes are important but as far as gender is concerned the baby is essentially neutral in the first two years of life. Schillo (2011) stated that “He promoted the theory that a child’s gender identity was determined by environmental variables such as the social conditions in which the child is raised. This idea is a form of the “nurture theory” of development. A competing view is the so-called “nature theory”; that is, the idea that a person’s innate qualities are determined solely by biological mechanisms.” Dr. Money fundamentally advocated the view that a feminine identity could be developed by rearing a child as a girl. Money saw this as a perfect experiment. He failed to tell the Janet and Ron Reimer that the
Cited: Hausman, B. (2001). EBSCOHOST. Retrieved from Bellevue College: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bellevuecollege.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b1aa844a-8347-4385-a6c5-4ca7e48e8bd0%40sessionmgr4002&vid=12&hid=4109 Kate, S. (2012, April 28). David Reimer. Retrieved from Samantha Kate Psychology: http://samanthakatepsychology.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/david-reimer-possibly-the-most-unethical-study-in-psychological-history/ Schillo, K. (2011, November 16). Nature vs Nurture. Retrieved from Science Cases: http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/files/gender_reassignment.pdf