The Nurture Theory : David Reimer

Nature vs. Nurture: David Reimer In the summer of 1965 at a hospital in Winnipeg, Canada. Janet Reimer gave birth to identical twins, Bruce and Brian. The two twin boys were born healthy, but at the age of six months both twin boys had difficulty urinating. At that time the doctors recommended that Bruce and Brian undergo circumcision in order to solve the problem. Unfortunately for Bruce the medical team used an unconventional technique of cauterization involving an electric burning device called

As Nature Made Him: Nature vs. Nurture Human behavior is determined by both biological and environmental factors. Psychologists are interested in learning which of these factors is a greater influence on human behavior and identity. Although psychologists today generally agree that both nature and nurture play a role in conditioning behavior, there is still disagreement about the part that each of the factors have in determining behavior. The nature versus nurture debate focuses around the extent

David Reimer was born on 22nd August 1967 as a male identical twin. His birth name was Bruce and his twin brother was named Brian. At the age of 8 months while undergoing a circumcision operation, Bruce’s penis was burned beyond surgical repair. Ten months after the operation, Bruce’s parents became associated with Dr. John Money, a world renowned sex researcher developing a reputation in the field of gender identity. Dr. Money argued it was possible for a person to change gender successfully

naturally nurture their child based on their natural sexual gender. Nurturing a child’s natural sexual gender simply means raising that child as a boy if the child is born with male genital or raising the child as a female if the child is born with female genital. Although, the concept of nurturing a child’s natural sexual gender seems natural but not all parents agree. David Reimer was born a male child yet his parent raised him as a female. On August 22, 1965 Janet and Ronald Reimer gave birth

suggested that Bruce should have a sex change, as plastic surgery was not advanced enough. Unknown to Bruce's parents, Money had an ulterior motive. Money had been working on a theory - that any boy could be raised as a girl. He believed that Nurture was more important than Nature when it came to gender roles. The Reimer twins provided Money with a perfect sample, two twin boys raised by the same people in the same way. This allowed Money to experiment on Bruce while using Brian as a control. Bruce

depicts the tragic experience of a young boy and the psychologist who attempts to “treat” him after an unfortunate accident. In a time of little knowledge of sexual variation Dr. John Money proposed the theory that a boy could be raised as a girl, but after years of failed attempts this theory would be shattered. This story began when twins Bruce and Bryan went in to the hospital to have a routine circumcision operation at 7 months of age. On the 27th of April 1966 Bruce was the first of the two

“Describe the role of genes and hormones in gender development” Biological sex is determined by chromosomes in your genes. At prenatal development, only a few weeks after conception, there is no notable difference between male and female structure until the Gonadal Ridges, the structure which develops either female or male sex organs, grows to determine the sex of the baby. All prenatal babies have genitalia that appears distinctly feminine until at three months, hormones- testosterone if the

Dr money theory of gender neutrality In 1966, a botched electrical circumcision left David Reimer (then named Bruce) without a penis. A malfunction in the doctor’s equipment (electro-cautery needle) caused the needle to burn Reimer’s penis from tip to base. The Reimer’s were left with a dilemma: a son with no penis. They visited several medical experts who assured them that penile reconstruction would prove worthless. The Reimer’s were devastated and did not know how to help David. One afternoon

After watching the video and reading the chapter about David Reimer, I concluded that early on in his life, the environment he was raised in had more to do with his gender than his genetics did. His parents raised him as a girl, and he learned to act like a girl from the beginning of his childhood. David’s parents and his psychologists’ had a huge role in developing, and persuading him into liking female things and becoming a girl. He was definitely a product of his environment in his early childhood

gender binary. In this essay, I will discuss the relationship between sex and gender by exploring the psychosexual development theories of Sigmund Freud that seeks to explain how women and men develop gender roles. To Freud, a man is born a male and develops his masculinities from a struggle with his father. To challenge Freud’s theories, we analyse the case of David Reimer, who from near birth was raised as a woman on the advice of Dr John Money who believes that a woman is not born, but made through