A Catastrophic Accident
Few medical cases have carried the weight and controversy of David Reimer's life. Born in Canada in 1965, he became the subject of a radical experiment meant to prove that gender identity could be shaped entirely by upbringing rather than biology. His experience was promoted as proof of the theory that gender was flexible, until the truth emerged—revealing profound suffering and the grave consequences of placing theory and ambition above human dignity.
Born as Bruce Reimer on August 22, 1965, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was the elder of identical twin boys. His brother was called Brian. His life took a tragic turn at seven months old when both boys were diagnosed with phimosis. During an attempted circumcision using electrocauterization, which employs an electric current, Bruce's penis was irreparably damaged. Brian was spared the same fate as his condition resolved naturally.
His parents, Janet and Ron, were devastated. They sought help and eventually came across Dr. John Money, a psychologist from Johns Hopkins University, on television. Money was already well known for promoting his "theory of gender neutrality," which argued that gender was not fixed at birth but instead shaped primarily by social upbringing and environment. His confident claims that gender identity was flexible in infancy gave the grieving Reimer family hope that Bruce could still have a "normal" life.
A Life Reassigned
Convinced by Money, the Reimers agreed to a sex reassignment for their son. At 22 months old, Bruce underwent surgery to remove his testes, and surgeons constructed rudimentary female genitalia. From that point on, he was raised as a girl named "Brenda". Money saw this as an ideal opportunity to prove his theory, with Bruce's identical twin brother, Brian, serving as a control subject to highlight the influence of nurture over biology.
For years, Money closely followed the case, presenting it in medical literature as the "John/Joan case". He reported the reassignment as a success, describing Brenda as a healthy, thriving girl who enjoyed playing with dolls and displayed typical female behaviors. In reality, Brenda was deeply unhappy. From a young age, she resisted wearing dresses, preferred traditionally male activities, and expressed discomfort with the role being forced upon her.
The psychological and emotional trauma extended far beyond the gender transition. According to John Colapinto, who published a biography of Reimer in 2001, the sessions with Money included what he called "childhood sexual rehearsal play". Starting at age six, the twins were forced to act out sexual acts, with David playing the female role. Money would get angry when either child resisted these activities. Both David and Brian were traumatized, with Brian speaking about it "only with the greatest emotional turmoil," and David unwilling to speak about the details publicly.
Reclaiming an Identity
As Brenda grew older, the cracks in Money's theory widened. At school, she was teased, ostracized, and often referred to as "cavewoman". Attempts to feminize her appearance with dresses and hormone treatments failed. By age 13, the emotional toll was so great that she confided in her parents that she could no longer bear living as a girl and threatened to end her life if she were forced to continue under John Money's care.
On March 14, 1980, at the age of 14, Brenda's parents decided to reveal the truth about the accident, the surgeries, and her reassignment. The revelation was shocking but also liberating, as it provided an explanation for her lifelong feelings of unease. Choosing to reclaim her male identity, she took the name David, symbolizing a fresh start.
David underwent a series of medical treatments to transition back to living as a male. He began testosterone therapy, underwent a double mastectomy, and later had phalloplasty surgeries to reconstruct male genitalia. For the first time since infancy, he was allowed to live as the person he knew himself to be.
Speaking Out and a Tragic End
David sought stability in the years that followed. He worked a variety of jobs, including in a slaughterhouse, and later found employment in trades and labor. He married Jane Fontane in 1990, adopted her three children, and built the family life he had long desired. He found small pleasures in hobbies like camping, fishing, and collecting antiques, which grounded him after a childhood filled with turmoil.
However, his past could not remain hidden. In the 1990s, academic sexologist Milton Diamond persuaded him to share his story publicly in the hope of preventing similar cases. At the time, John Money's reports were still being cited as evidence that reassignment could succeed.
David's case was made public in 1997, and three years later, journalist John Colapinto published the biography, As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl. The book revealed the full extent of David's suffering and discredited Money's claims. It became a bestseller and sparked a widespread debate over ethics in medicine and psychology. David's willingness to speak out influenced doctors to abandon similar reassignment experiments on infants.
Despite his bravery, David continued to face personal struggles, and his past left lasting wounds that were not easily healed. In 2002, his twin brother Brian died from an overdose of psychiatric medication, a loss that devastated him. He visited Brian's grave daily, overwhelmed with grief. In addition to mourning his brother, David lost his job, suffered financial setbacks, and his marriage fell apart. The weight of these challenges grew heavier over time. On the morning of May 4, 2004, Reimer killed himself with a shotgun in his hometown of Winnipeg. He was 38 years old.
David Reimer's story is a powerful reminder of the complex relationship between biology and identity and serves as a cautionary tale about the ethical responsibilities of the medical and scientific communities. For the first 30 years after Money's initial report, his view on the malleability of gender became the dominant viewpoint, reassuring practitioners that sexual reassignment of infants was the correct decision in certain instances. However, Diamond's report and Colapinto's book about Reimer influenced several medical practices, reputations, and even the current understanding of the biology of gender.
