• Money showed ‘Brenda’ gruesome pictures of women and men as a child
• He lied to the parents about his true intentions and published false information about the success of his experiment
• Dr. Money took photography of the children doing these activities

The Experiment (Cont’d)

Now What?

• Their parents concerned about their son’s future consulted with many doctors before stumbling upon Psychologist John Money
• He was able to convince the parents that the only way their son would have a happy life is to have his sex reassigned
• Dr.Money was a pioneer in sexual development and gender identity
• He believed gender was learned (nature vs nuture)

Dr. Money

• Bruce underwent surgery and was renamed Brenda and was to be raised as a female
• Dr. Money made it essential that the parents never tell their son his original sex.
• Dr.Money published a book remarking the success of his experiment and it was well received in the scientific community as it seemed to prove gender was learned
• Money was one of the first scientists to study the psychology of sexual confusion and the societal constructs of “gender” affect an individual.
• Money received around 65 world-wide honors, awards and degrees

The Experiment

• Yearly sessions with Dr. Money in Baltimore
• Reimer revealed later that he and his twin were forced rehearse sexual acts involving “thrusting movements”, with David playing the bottom role.
• Reimer said that, as a child, he had to get “down on all fours” with his brother, Brian Reimer, “up behind his butt” with “his crotch against” his “buttocks”.
• Reimer said that Dr. Money forced David, in another sexual position, to have his “legs spread” with Brian on top.
• Reimer said that Dr. Money also forced the children to take their “clothes off” and engage in “genital inspections”

The Subjects

• The Remier twins, Brian and Bruce, were born August 22 1965
• Both twins were diagnosed with phimosis and were referred for circumcision
• Unconventional method was used and Bruce lost his penis
• Doctors choose not to preform surgery on the oter twin because it cleared on its own

Growing Up

• He did not identify as a girl
• Refused to continue taking estrogen and surgery to construct him a vagina
• Despite being raised as a girl, he had more masculine traits
• At 15, parents revealed his true sex and he refused to live as a girl anymore
• He underwent a double mastectomy and testosterone injections to reverse the reassignment
• Changed his name to David

What Happened Next?

• David Reimer suffered from severe depression, unemploymeny, the death of his brother and anger issues
• He married Jane Fontaine and became a father to three children.
• When she told David she wanted to separate he stormed out and she later received a call
• 2004 David Reimer shot himself in the head at a grocery store parking lot
• He was 38 years old.

Code of Ethics Violated

• Researcher did not reveal his intentions
• Subjects were not free to avoid contact with the researcher
• Subjects dignity was harmed
• Subjects must give their consent
• Moneys experiment did not only ruin the lives of the whole family, but ultimately lead to the death of the twins
• Is it a child’s right not to undergo sexual reassignment surgery without consent?

• The case accelerated the reassignment and surgery for various rare congenital malformations, or penile loss in infancy.
• LGBT community (Laverne Cox, Leelah Alcorn)
• Influenced a better understanding between gender roles, gender identity and sex

David Reimer (1965-2004)

The boy raised as a girl