David Reimer

521 Words3 Pages
Dr. Money and the Boy with No Penis The case of David Reimer is an exceptional one. One in which limited knowledge and coincidental circumstances led to disaster: the hospital made a mistake, David’s parents were confused and unknowledgeable, and Dr. Money’s theory of Gender Neutrality needed to be tested. Twin boys Bruce and Brian Reimer were the perfect candidates. In the end, the experiment, to say the least, was unsuccessful. Dr. Money did not prove his theory of gender neutrality and in the process he compromised the safety and sanity of two young boys; and a family paid the ultimate cost losing two sons. Dr. Money may have initially acted in good faith; however, as years went by, he increasingly became guilty of experimenter bias and other ethical violations. First, the boy’s parents were not fully informed (informed consent) on Dr. Money’s practices. Second, some of his tactics (taking pictures of boys and showing pictures of genitalia without parents’ knowledge) were unethical and inappropriate. Lastly, the older the boys grew, the more eager Dr. Money became to prove his Gender Neutrality Theory and when Brenda began to rebel, Dr. Money, became more and more aggressive with the boys causing fear and anxiety.…show more content…
I could nurture my child into being feminine.” In my opinion, this was as much as a parent could do under the circumstances. During this time, knowledge on the subject was limited in the medical field; much less among the general public. Although, I would like to believe I would have done a better job understanding Dr. Money’s tactics and been more in tuned to my child’s happiness; I would have done the same thing as David’s parents. At least, early

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