Now he is dead.
Yes, he committed suicide.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/reimer/
Now he is dead.
He followed his twin brother's example. He also committed suicide. The twin brother who throughout his whole, short, life probably felt like he had dodged a bullet!
It makes sense to me that in some cases the brain is wired wrong (just like any other "birth defect") and then it's a case of what to do with the child. Probably best to let it live as wants if it's that determined about it. Though I would home school rather than public school such a child.
Good article. I think the link worth repeating:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/reimer/
..."He was a beautiful little girl."...
...Janet Reimer did her best to raise Bruce as a girl. She dressed him in skirts and dresses and showed him how to apply make-up. But the transformation was anything but smooth. Bruce Reimer didn't like playing with the other girls – and he didn't move like one either. He got into schoolyard fistfights. The other kids called him names like "caveman," "freak" and "it."...
...By the time Bruce turned nine, the Reimer family was having serious doubts...
...The twin brother, Brian, remembered it differently: "The only difference between him and I was he had longer hair." "I tried really, really hard to rear her as a gentle lady," Janet Reimer said. "But it didn't happen."...
...Bruce Reimer said he had one thought at the time: to go to the hospital and track down and shoot the doctor who had botched his circumcision. In the end, he was unable to exact his revenge, but turned his anger on himself...
...Bruce Reimer left his Brenda identity behind. He cut his hair and started wearing male clothing again. He changed his name to David...