The Cruelest Experiment In The History Of Psychology: David Reimer
The case of David Reimer: one of the most scandalous cases in the history of Psychology.
Who was David Reimer? In today’s article we are going to remember one of the most terrible cases in the history of Psychology. In a brief conversation with several professionals, when asked what was the most ruthless psychological experiment they have ever known, the majority brought up the case of David Reimer.
David Reimer was born in 1965 in Winnipeg, Canada, the monozygotic twin brother of another baby named Brian. In the northern United States and Canada, the circumcision It is common, and David and Brian’s parents decided, on the recommendation of their doctor, to submit their children to the operation.
So far everything was normal, but during David Reimer’s operation the surgeon in charge could not be present and the assistant had to perform the circumcision. Inexplicably, There was a failure with the electric cauterizer, which caused David’s penis to be completely burned Subsequently, the penis entered necrosis, and a few days later, it detached from the body.
Possible solution: transsexual David Reimer
The development of genital reconstruction surgery was at a very premature stage, which predicted few options for little David. However, David’s parents noticed the existence of a Baltimore doctor whose theory defended the nonexistence of innate sexuality, and therefore it was possible to change a child’s sexuality through development. John Money was a sexologist with a good reputation whose idea about the superiority of environmental influence over biological influence had earned him some recognition within environmentalist circles in the study of Psychology. Money was convinced that education determined the behavior of subjects.
When David’s parents decided to ask Money for advice, he saw a good opportunity in the case, since he would have a subject to analyze and experiment with, David, and another control subject, Brian, with whom to compare the differences that arose according to the education received, since it is clear that at a genetic level David and Brian were practically symmetrical.
Money advised the Reimer family that David should undergo surgery to reconstruct an artificial vagina, and once the operation was finished, David had to receive an education according to his new gender: that is, the education that a girl would receive. From then on, David was called Brenda. Thus, the precepts that parents had to comply with were simple: it was enough to treat Brenda in the same way as if she were a girl, and not to mention under any circumstances the issue of her artificial sexuality.
The evidence casts doubt on the doctor’s theory
So, the family began to carry out the plan. Nevertheless, Brenda hated girl toys such as dolls, and used to tear off their dresses The parents’ fear that Brenda would one day realize her true sexuality was growing, but the problems were only beginning. As Brenda continued to grow, her hormonal effects began to show, despite her treatment with estrogen. Thus, she began to develop unfeminine musculature and stature. According to her brother Brian, the only feature that differentiated Brenda from him was her long hair, and based on the unconsciousness of the children, one can imagine the cruelty with which Brenda must have been treated during her school years.
Frequently, the brothers went to John Money’s office so that he could evaluate the children’s development. According to both brothers, Dr. Money’s therapy had disturbing consequences for them. In his biography, David Reimer narrates how the doctor showed them sexual photographs, which were, according to Money, necessary to redirect his sexuality. One of the most shocking scenes of the therapies with Money, according to David, is that the doctor forced them to take off their clothes against the little ones’ will, and forced Brenda to get on all fours while her brother Brian performed pseudosexual movements and touches against his sister’s rear, in a scene they called “sexual rehearsal.” Brian never got over those years. However, the doctor always denied these practices.
Suffering in adolescence
Brenda grew up and her life progressively deteriorated He refused to undergo further operations and his suicide attempts were becoming serious. Gradually, Dr. Money distanced himself from the family, and it was at that moment that Brenda’s father decided to explain the entire truth of her story to him. After hearing the story, Brenda changed sex again, becoming officially a man again. David married years later, but in a short time his story came to light, losing his job and his wife. A few years later, her brother Brian reportedly committed suicide because of the deep guilt he felt for having had a successful circumcision operation, and because of years of frustration at seeing his brother’s suffering. of the.
Money’s investigation was high at the time, because according to his followers, The case of Brenda Reimer was the empirical demonstration that sociocultural conditions determined the sexuality of the subject It was a partial triumph of the environmentalist branch of psychology, since it was confirmed that certain behaviors of Brenda were effectively modulated by the education received, and genes could do little to counteract this learned conditioning, although some of David’s later attitudes and statements qualified this issue. .
Despite the progress made by the research, its human consequences were catastrophic. David Reimer had an unhappy and miserable life. His life was handed over to a researcher who altered his will for selfish gain. If anything can be made clear from history, it is that determinisms must always be questionable We are the result of a cluster of combinations, circumstances and coincidences that end up shaping our way of being, and this way of being should never be a scenario where outsiders can manipulate for the sake of a science that, in this case, disregarded life. human.
David Reimer, finally, He ended his life on May 4, 2004 when he was only 38 years old.
