»A matched control subject

The subject of a landmark case in scientific ethics as well as the physiological basis of
sexual identity died last week.

May 12, 2004
David Reimer, 38, Subject of the John/Joan Case, Dies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 11 — David Reimer, a man who was born a boy but
raised as a girl in a famous medical experiment, only to reassert his
male identity in the last 20 years of his life, died on May 4. He was
38. His family says he committed suicide.

Mr. Reimer shared his story about his life in the pages of a book and
on Oprah Winfrey's television show.

His mother, Janet Reimer, said she believed that her son would still be
alive had it not been for the devastating experiment, which led to much
emotional hardship.

"He managed to have so much courage," she said Sunday. "I think he felt
he had no options. It just kept building up and building up."

After a botched circumcision operation when he was a toddler, David
Reimer became the subject of a study that became known as the John/Joan
case in the 60's and 70's. His mother said she was still angry with the
Baltimore doctor who persuaded her and her husband, Ron, to give female
hormones to their son and raise him as a daughter.

As he grew up as Brenda in Winnipeg, he faced cruelty from the other
children. "They wouldn't let him use the boys' washroom or the girls',"
Ms. Reimer recalled. "He had to go in the back alley."

His sexual reassignment was then widely reported as a success and proof
that children are not by nature feminine or masculine but through
nurture are socialized to become girls or boys. David's identical twin
brother, Brian, offered researchers a matched control subject.

But when, as a teenager, he discovered the truth about his past , he
resumed his male identity, eventually marrying and becoming a
stepfather to three children.

In 2000, John Colapinto wrote "As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was
Raised as a Girl," providing David an opportunity to tell his story. He
wanted to save other children from a similar fate, his mother said.

While he had spoken anonymously in the past, he entered the public eye
after the book was published, beginning with an appearance on "Oprah"
in February 2000.

His mother said he had recently become depressed after losing his job
and separating from his wife. He was also still grieving over the death
of his twin brother two years earlier, she said.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company