Dr. John Money initially presented the gender reassignment of Bruce Reimer as a major success to the scientific community. He argued that the case was a natural experiment that strongly supported his theory of psychosexual neutrality. This claim was based on early interviews and observations suggesting that Brenda, formerly Bruce, was developing into a typical girl who enjoyed traditionally feminine toys and activities.

Initial Reported Success of the Reimer Experiment

Contrary to his public reports of success, Dr. Money concealed evidence that undermined his experiment. Privately, Brenda's parents grew worried as she did not behave like a typical girl. As Brenda neared adolescence, it became clear she struggled significantly with identifying as female, experiencing such profound distress that she threatened suicide to avoid further visits with Dr. Money.

Unreported Failures of the Reimer Experiment

Following the advice of Dr. John Money, Bruce Reimer's parents agreed to an experimental treatment for their son. This intervention involved surgically removing Bruce's testicles and raising him as a girl named Brenda. A key component of this process was the instruction from Dr. Money to never disclose to Brenda that she was biologically male at birth.

Google

Dr. John Money was a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University whose research on transgender people and individuals with ambiguous genitalia led him to develop the theory of psychosexual neutrality. He became prominently involved in the case of the Reimer twins after one of the boys, Bruce, suffered a severe injury to his penis. Dr. Money persuaded Bruce's parents to proceed with a gender reassignment, which involved surgically removing his testicles and raising him as a girl named Brenda.

Dr. John Money

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Dr. John Money's theory of psychosexual neutrality posits that humans are born without an innate gender identity. According to this theory, a person's gender identity is not determined by biology but is instead formed through early life socialization. Money believed that a concrete gender identity only begins to form after a child starts to master language, and that upbringing is the most critical factor in this development.

Learn Before

Related

Learn After