As I read the rest of ‘As
Nature Made Him’ it really makes you think about the situation that David was
put in. The rest of the book basically follows the struggles he goes through once
he hits that stage of puberty. Dr. Money just kept pushing the girl identity on
David and he just felt that if he played the part that they would leave him
alone. Although that wasn’t the case all the psychiatrist’s that he went
through all noticed that he wasn’t happy being a girl but no one ever said
anything they just continued to treat him and try and shove the surgery down on
him. Although there was one psychiatrist that really proved to him to be
different to him and he found this new person whom he can trust. Soon he was
changing his view and with her help he finally made a decision that would soon
change his life. At the age of 14 he made the decision of making the transition
from a ‘girl’ to a boy; what he was destined to be. I really liked that his
whole family was very supportive but the transition took a toll on David and he
tried to suicide himself on two times.
Reading this book I learned about gender identity. If a
child is born a boy genetically he is a boy and cannot be turned to a girl no
matter what the circumstance is. In the book there was a story about a girl
named Paula and how she was genetically born a boy and a girl but she had a
really small genital. Doctors told the mother to raise him as a boy but she wasn’t
satisfied and soon came across an article about Dr. Money and the twin’s case
and consulted him. They turned the baby into a girl and publicized her case as
to being very successful. Paula was never unhappy and never felt like she was a
boy but did mention that she should have the choice to choose what to be because
she was turned a girl but has the scars to prove that she isn’t normal. She
mentioned how kids born hermaphrodites should have the choice to choose their
gender. It can be chosen for them and expect to be nurtured into this gender
because by nature they were never that gender. I think that nature will always
trump nurture no doctor can play God in a situation like this.
Letty,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you that even though David did go through a lot since a very age, his parents supported the decisions that he did end up taking. No one wanted to pay attention to the fact that he wasn’t what everyone wanted him to be, a girl. It had to come down to him trying to please everyone but himself. Though everyone wanted nothing but the best for him, it turned to him being so unhappy with everything that he wanted to end it all with suicide. You make a good point that another “experiment” did go well unlike David. However, I agree with you when you say that nature will always trump nurture because no doctor can play God. Even though there is a mass amount of people trying to force certain gender roles even before the child is born. However, even with a surgical procedure, they will have their nature, not nurture.