As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl - Book Report/Review Example

Topic: As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl Introduction: As Nature Made Him: the Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl is true story of David Reimer which is written by John Colapinto. The writer has discussed the most controversial topic of gender identity and the role of cultural and psychology in this regard. The story of the novel revolves around the medical case of a boy who was turned into a girl during a minor surgery performed to do his circumcision. But unfortunately the surgery goes wrong and the boy is now turned into a girl named Brenda with an identical twin named Brian. However with the passage of time, the newly transformed Brenda became the most discussed subject. Dr. Money who performed this surgery claimed that in determining the gender identity of an individual it is not nature that plays an important in fact it’s the nurture that shapes the gender identity and makes an impression on the mind of an individual. However, this was not true in case of little Brenda who was unhappy of her surroundings and despite her parents’ struggle she was unable to adopt the girlish attitude. Brenda was finding it hard to accept her new gender identity. With the passage of time Brenda realized the difference in her gender and eventually she came to know her real story on which she insisted of changing her name and started living again as a boy. Brenda now turned again into a male named David, got his surgery done which made necessary changes to his appearance and to other parts of his body. It was hard for David to switch back to his normal life as a boy but with the passage of time, he accepted the reality of being born as a male gender; mistakenly turned into a girl. However, David was observed spending his life peacefully until one day he committed suicide for unknown reasons. Five Important Elements Highlighted in the Book: It is a well written book that discusses a serious topic in light of a real life story of David Reimer. The author has unveiled different topics regarding culture and psychology. 1- Gender Identity: David was the victim of lost gender identity in the setting he was living. His gender identity was transformed from being a male to a female and then back to a male. Eventually he accepts the reality of being a victim of lost gender identity but somehow he manages to perform all his roles that the society had given him. He gets married and started living a happy life with an adopted child. In the book the author explain his condition as “One can predict that he will be unable to live a normal sexual life from the time of adolescence; that he will be unable to consummate marriage or have normal heterosexual relations, in that he will have to recognize that he is incomplete, physically defective, and that he must live apart (Colapinto, 20002).” But David showed his determination and regained the essence of his gender-identity. He performed his duties and shared his responsibilities. According to David Matsumoto and Linda Juang (2008; 367), humans are social animals who connect with each other to live, share and play in a given cultural sphere according to their roles and genders. Similarly, David was following the same pattern. 2- Culture and Self: Culture helps a person to expose and express his inner self. In American society, the culture gives the liberty to a person for all his actions and expressions (Matsumoto and Juang, 2008; 346). Similarly, in case of David, he was restricted to perform whatever he likes by the people around him which hindered his ability to understand his role and identity during the initial years of his life when he felt depressed being a girl. 3- Culture and Social Behavior: A human behavior is formed by the external elements that he develops from his environment (Matsumoto and Juang, 2008; 367). David was forced to develop the behavior of a girl; he was pushed to acquire girlish attitude, to play with girlish toys and to dress up like a girl; however this practice was against the cultural norms, early social behavior and also against the nature. His inner instinct made him realize that he is from a different gender and he should be playing with male-fellows rather with the girls. According to his elder brother, As far as I knew, Brenda was a girl -- physically. But from everything that she did and said, she indicated that she didnt want to be a girl. The other girls in our group were competitive against the boys; we wanted to prove we could do whatever they could do. We might get in arguments with the guys, but we wouldnt have gone as far as to fight with them physically. I wouldnt want a bruise on my face, for example. But Brenda fought with the boys. Brenda would take the bruises. I myself was a tomboy, but I never wanted to be a boy. Brenda did (Colapinto, 20002). 4- David as a Stereotype: David was forced to transform into a female gender which was an attempt against nature and societal norms. Stereotypes are the people who are either transformed on their own willingness due to external factors such as media exposure or they are pushed to become one by the people or the groups in a particular society ( Matsumoto and Juang, 2008; 387). David was an example of stereotype individual who was pushed to become a girl by the external factors which resulted in the breakdown of his own personality. It can also be considered as an act against cultural norms and psychology of a person. State of mind or perception plays an important role in the thought development process (Stewart, and McDermott, 2003; 523). 5- Gender and Psychology: Our gender is influenced by the factors that we are born with however; it is believed that our gender is influenced by how our parents and other external groups treat us (Matsumoto and Juang, 2008; 384). David was being raised as a girl but however, his innate traits made him realized of his gender which eventually shaped his behavior. In this regard we can say that observation and factors that influence the person’s thinking play an important role in determining the gender of a person. Personal Opinion on How Gender is influenced by Nature and Nurture in the Context of Culture: The debate on nature versus nurture has always remained as the most discussed topic in the field of psychology. I personally believe that nature plays an important role in determining the gender of a child. Almost in all the cultures around the world, genders are differentiated on the basis of their roles in the society. From the beginning male sex is raised as a dominant figure. From the childhood, males are pushed to play with toys such as guns, motorcars and other gender-differentiated toys whereas on the other hand, girls are forced to be polite and soft. They are given dolls to play even from the childhood, parents dress up their kids into gender-differentiated colors; girls in pink and boys in blue. Nature and nurture both play an important role in the up-bringing of children from the very beginning but nature remains a dominant element. Even in different societies, men are perceived as the dominant figures that can do anything, more hardworking, rough and tough in personality whereas women are perceived as soft, polite and kind-hearted gender that are filled with emotions. It is the perception that is filled in the minds of both the genders from the beginning that differentiate their roles, identity and responsibilities in the society. Nature gives rise to those behavioral traits in both men and women that they possess inside them from their birth whereas nurture is comprised of all those external components that influence the personality and behavior of an individual which helps them to develop their own thinking and enables them to identify their own role in a society. However, nature and nurture both play an important role in determining the status of both the genders in a society. In different cultures, men are observed as bread-earners whereas women are taken as the home-makers which help them to identify their roles and responsibilities in a given sphere. List of References: Matsumoto, D. and Juang, L. (2008), Culture & Psychology. 4th Edition Colapinto, J. (2000), As Nature Made Him; The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl. HarperCollins Stewart, J. A. and McDermott, C. (2003), Gender in Psychology. Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 55: 514- 544 Read More