The Story of David Reimer: A Transgender Experiment

David Reimer was a boy born in Winnipeg, Canada, along side his twin brother Brian, on August 22, 1965. As the twins started growing, they showed some problems urinating due to Phimosis, a condition in which foreskin cannot be pulled back off the head of the penis. When the boys were 7 months old, their parents, Janet and Ronald Reimer, took them to get circumcised in order to fix the problem. What the parents didn’t know was that the doctor in charge of the circumcision was using the method of cauterization, a burning technique, instead of a traditional blade. During the procedure, Bruce Reimer suffered a horrible accident which resulted in his penis being burnt off. His parents were devastated by this, and after hearing of their sons accident, they decided against having his brother Brian circumcised, whose phimosis later cleared on its own. While questioning whether or not their son would be happy as a male with no penis, their mother happened to be watching a show on television that featured a psychologist named Money, who specialized in biology of gender and sexual identity. He appeared charismatic, intelligent, and confident, and he was also well respected and reputable in his field by his peers. He had a theory that gender was not something you were born into, but something learned through socialization and upbringing. The parents felt this was the answer to their sons problem, so they contacted Dr. Money and told him of their situation. Dr. Money invited them to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to meet with him. After discussing the matter, the doctor convinced the parents that it would be in their sons best interest to raise him as a girl. Written by CyanideMaiden Music - “Immersed“ by Kevin Macleod at info - (parts 1-4)