‘’And if a man lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.“

The above quote from a famous Holy Book* has triggered centuries of homophobia with hundreds of thousands burnt at the stake. This bigotry now denies homosexuals their due rights, and powers homophobia worldwide. At the very heart of this rift, is the assertion that homosexuality can be cured, that people somehow ‘choose’ to sin.

Psychology too, perhaps influenced by the aforementioned Holy Book, subscribed to this, and dressing this in the garb of science, declared that gender was no more preordained than one’s ANC bill, that it was merely a social construct. Among its most fervent supporters was the now-disgraced Kiwi psychologist John William Money, who in the ‘70s decided to test this, tearing a family apart and leading to the imposition of strict ethical guidelines on the further conduct of science.

Identical twin boys, Bruce and Brian Reimer were born on 22nd August, 1965 to Janet and Ron Reimer and were healthy strong baby boys at birth. Bruce’s penis however, later grew inflamed and surgeons recommended circumcision (perhaps inspired by another Holy Book).

Malfunctioning electrical equipment led to Bruce’s penis being tragically burnt off.

His distraught parents later heard John Money on TV, who was then a pioneer in gender fluidity and wrote to him. He responded promptly, Bruce underwent gender reassignment surgery, and Money was provided the perfect control subject in Bruce’s identical twin.

Bruce (Now Brenda) was raised a girl, bought frilly clothes and dolls to play with, but was a loner all through school, and struggled to fit in. She never did develop true breasts, and was pressured into further surgery and hormone therapy, all while Dr Money sold the medical world his ‘success’. Brenda further never felt like a true girl, and hated her clothes and feminine hobbies imposed, going so far as to threaten her parents with suicide if they ever took her to meet John Money ever again.  

Brenda was eventually told the truth and changed back to a man with further therapy. He finally felt ‘whole’ again, moved on in life, married, adopted kids and looked set for life, looking forward to his best phase.

Bruce’s brother Bryan reacted badly to discovering his sister’s true gender, and his relationship with her deteriorated. His mental health too was failing, and Bryan was diagnosed with schizophrenia, culminating in his eventual suicide from an overdose.To Bruce, this coupled with his wife threatening divorce proved too much to bear, and he committed suicide himself, firing a sawed off shotgun in an abandoned parking lot. He was just 38.

Money’s reputation was ruined after he reported successes on a flawed experiment. The twin brothers alleged that Dr Money had taken numerous naked photos of the twins during their treatment, and had even forced them to engage in “sexual play” at the age of 7**.

The twins’ parents further, were never told of his intentions to use their son as part of an experiment, and were led to believe that gender reassignment surgery  was the only option for baby Bruce.

This experiment should never have happened. From the tragic example of Bruce’s life, it should be concluded that certain things are biologically innate. The experiment is perhaps a classic case of Nature overriding Nurture.

 

*Political correctness. We’re very secular. NDTV rules our hearts and minds

**Money argued ‘sexual play’-simulating intercourse as children-was important in reaffirming gender identity while growing up. To this end, he’d force Bruce to assume traditionally feminine positions during the kids’ play.