Book Review: As Nature Made Him

By Bill London, from the February 2003 Newsletter

John Colapinto's book, As Nature Made Him, is an amazing tale of a life ravaged by the "helpful" hands of surgeons and psychologists, but it is also the true story of one person's extraordinary courage and how he rescued his own life back from the experts.

The book begins in August of 1965 with the birth of the identical twins Bruce and Brian. Eight months later, at their doctor's suggestion, the boys were taken to the local hospital for routine circumcisions. Bruce was the first, but the result was anything but routine—his entire penis was severed.

That initial accident was certainly horrible, but what followed was much worse: Bruce's parents were convinced by the medical establishment to castrate their son and raise him as a girl. This advice was based upon the reigning assumption of the era that a person's genetic or natural gender could be submerged and eliminated by societal forces. If Bruce were given female-like genitals and raised as a girl, he would become a she.

So Bruce was renamed Brenda, and given frilly dresses to wear. For several years, Bruce was the poster child for genetic reassignment surgeries, and thousands of such medical decisions were made based upon the success of Brenda's adaptation.

But the reigning medical authorities were forced to keep a secret: Brenda was not adapting. She knew she was a he. And after an astoundingly courageous battle with everyone, Brenda was able, at age 14, to begin to re-transition to maleness. He named himself David (because he was fighting an enemy as huge as Goliath), readjusted, ultimately married, and is the proud stepfather of three children. For the implications and lessons for all of us in gender issues and medical hubris, this book is worth reading. As an incredible story of a courageous kid caught in an impossible situation, this read is magnificent.

This book is available at the Moscow library and local bookstores.

Bill London edits the Moscow Food Co-op newsletter, and enjoys reading a chapter or two of a good book each evening.

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