Penelope
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- Jul 15, 2014
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Summer 1965. In a Winnipeg hospital, Janet Reimer's lifelong dream comes true as she gives birth to twin sons, Bruce and Brian.
But within six months, both boys develop difficulty urinating. The doctors suggest they be circumcised.
On April 27, 1966, Janet drops her boys off for the routine procedure and her dream turns into a nightmare.
The doctors had chosen an unconventional method of circumcision, one in which the skin would be burned. The procedure goes horribly wrong and Bruce's penis is burned so badly it can't be repaire
snip
Janet Reimer did her best to raise Bruce as a girl. She dressed him in skirts and dresses and showed him how to apply make-up. But the transformation was anything but smooth. Bruce Reimer didn't like playing with the other girls – and he didn't move like one either. He got into schoolyard fistfights. The other kids called him names like "caveman," "freak" and "it."
In an interview with the CBC's The Fifth Estate, Reimer said it got so bad he didn't want to go to school anymore. He felt picked upon and increasingly lonely.
By the time Bruce turned nine, the Reimer family was having serious doubts. Not John Money. He published an article in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour pronouncing the experiment a resounding success. It became widely known in medical circles as the Joan/John case.
Money wrote: "The child's behaviour is so clearly that of an active little girl and so different from the boyish ways of her twin brother."
CBC News Indepth: David Reimer (archive.org)
The twin brother, Brian, remembered it differently: "The only difference between him and I was he had longer hair." "I tried really, really hard to rear her as a gentle lady," Janet Reimer said. "But it didn't happen."
By the time Bruce was reaching puberty, it became increasingly clear the experiment was not working. He started developing thick shoulders and a thick neck.
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CBC News Indepth: David Reimer (archive.org)
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this story proves that no matter what environment does to a child, sex and sexuality can't be learned.
This I got from the book of When Harry Became Sally.
Brian was the twin brother of (Bruce) aka David Reimer. They were "famous" for the story of David's botched circumcision, which caused his parents to allow him to be reared as a girl. Ultimately, the shock of it all was too much, the boys became estranged when the truth was revealed.
Brian Henry Reimer (1965-2002) - Find A Grave Memorial
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his brother took his own life 2 years after David did.
When David decided to go public, with his book, As Nature Made Him, initially Brian was supportive, however, it caused him serious mental disturbance and he was eventually diagnosed as having schizophrenia.
He committed suicide by taking an overdose of his medications for schizophrenia.
David was devastated. He tended Brian's grave, cleaning it and leaving flowers. David also commited suicide, two years later.
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But within six months, both boys develop difficulty urinating. The doctors suggest they be circumcised.
On April 27, 1966, Janet drops her boys off for the routine procedure and her dream turns into a nightmare.
The doctors had chosen an unconventional method of circumcision, one in which the skin would be burned. The procedure goes horribly wrong and Bruce's penis is burned so badly it can't be repaire
snip
Janet Reimer did her best to raise Bruce as a girl. She dressed him in skirts and dresses and showed him how to apply make-up. But the transformation was anything but smooth. Bruce Reimer didn't like playing with the other girls – and he didn't move like one either. He got into schoolyard fistfights. The other kids called him names like "caveman," "freak" and "it."
In an interview with the CBC's The Fifth Estate, Reimer said it got so bad he didn't want to go to school anymore. He felt picked upon and increasingly lonely.
By the time Bruce turned nine, the Reimer family was having serious doubts. Not John Money. He published an article in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour pronouncing the experiment a resounding success. It became widely known in medical circles as the Joan/John case.
Money wrote: "The child's behaviour is so clearly that of an active little girl and so different from the boyish ways of her twin brother."
CBC News Indepth: David Reimer (archive.org)
The twin brother, Brian, remembered it differently: "The only difference between him and I was he had longer hair." "I tried really, really hard to rear her as a gentle lady," Janet Reimer said. "But it didn't happen."
By the time Bruce was reaching puberty, it became increasingly clear the experiment was not working. He started developing thick shoulders and a thick neck.
-
CBC News Indepth: David Reimer (archive.org)
-------------------------------------
this story proves that no matter what environment does to a child, sex and sexuality can't be learned.
This I got from the book of When Harry Became Sally.
Brian was the twin brother of (Bruce) aka David Reimer. They were "famous" for the story of David's botched circumcision, which caused his parents to allow him to be reared as a girl. Ultimately, the shock of it all was too much, the boys became estranged when the truth was revealed.
Brian Henry Reimer (1965-2002) - Find A Grave Memorial
---------------------------
his brother took his own life 2 years after David did.
When David decided to go public, with his book, As Nature Made Him, initially Brian was supportive, however, it caused him serious mental disturbance and he was eventually diagnosed as having schizophrenia.
He committed suicide by taking an overdose of his medications for schizophrenia.
David was devastated. He tended Brian's grave, cleaning it and leaving flowers. David also commited suicide, two years later.