David Reimer
August 22, 1965 as Bruce Reimer – May 4, 2004
a Canadian man who was born as a healthy boy, but was sexually reassigned and raised as female after his penis was accidentally destroyed during circumcision.
Why do you need to know about him?
Just about a year ago, I was sitting in the living room switch channel to find something to watch. It was a boring evening! I wasn't in the mood to watch any political TV because there were a hot debates on Iraq war, Gay Marriage, and Bush. I want to escapes from negative media and find watch a show with out "violence."
As I surf the channel and saw this History Channel called "Born Man and Raise as a Girl." I said to myself, "not another debating on this sex changes....forget it!" I surf channel again and went through channels that go back to History Channel...I like history but how this one apply this station? I watch just first few minutes but I was wrong... it's not about sex changes... but about medical error: ...was accidentally destroyed during circumcision.
That's caught my attention and wonder what I will learned? This is about the death of David Reimer, a tale of sex, science, and abuse.
As I watched, it got me thinking about born deaf and raised as deaf person and died deaf. This is so much alike to Deaf history with Oral method. How deaf children were taught to believe that they were hearing without knowing that they were deaf.
This was parallel with deaf person going through to what David went through; dealing with Psychologist John Money who oversaw the case and reported the reassignment as successful, and as evidence that gender identity is primarily learned. John Money believed that by training and raised David as a girl but he refused to say that he failed because David refused to see him with threaten to suicide. At age 14, David finally can raised as a boy and nothing can change David to be a girl because he knew that he was born boy and learned the surgery accident.
This really hit me hard as I watched and tick me off how Doctor's biased and attitude by, "I know what to do because I got the degree." Not all Doctors are like that but most of the time, I see this. I see this to what happening to Deaf community: "I can fix them." Geee!! I'm not too happy.
Another thing here-PARENT. This got me thinking about parent, where can they get the proper information to get help without "hurting" the child. Who knows- Doctor. Then again, not all Doctor knows the best but could give the best information, not "Doctor know the best" or "Doctor have the answers." (sorry, not all of you know the best). Parent need to ask questions on the information instead just receives one way information. You have the right to ask and make your own choice on how you want to raised the child.
So much alike to what happening inside Deaf community where they stand up to what they believe that being deaf is OK, not a problem. No matter how much you say, they will stand and believe like David with knowing who they are.
We are already born to who we are today and only thing we can change is from the person's life, not us but we can only learns and teach by making choice with education and thinking how the life will be.
This program really hit me hard to think about myself on who I am and how I will live as Deaf person. I'm doing good here and using American Sign Language made me as whole.
David's death wasn't caused by his gender mix up but his financially lost, the death of his brother, and family splinted; that's another story or was it? But it is how David raised from birth to man.
Once born boy, raised man, and died man much alike to born deaf, raised deaf, and died deaf. The only thing that changes is from the person with outside influences but not to change the person.
Check the website about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer and http://www.reason.com/news/show/33586.html
Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr.
