Abbey is a well known face in the local Sex and Gender Diverse community, she has helped organise NewCTN for years, and has been instrumental in uniting the trans-boys and trans-girls, who until recently had not had much at all to do with one another. She’s heaps of fun, and I hope that she’ll go on to write many more things for our blog.

Here’s the review.

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As Nature Made Him: the Boy who was raised as a Girl
by John Colapinto

Not heard of this book? Not heard of Dr John Money either?
Well you should go out and get this book a read it and read it you must for it displays a truth about not only the field of psychology but about humans themselves. Which is it that dictates a person, what is it that influences how a child grows up and become? Is it Nature versus Nurture?
I finished reading this book with a sadness. But was at first revolted by the level thinking going on in the field of psychology and still is going on now, as shown. I was appalled by the intensity and sheer bloody-minded personality of Dr Money to force things and people to his way of thinking, and his pettiness and childishness in responding to anyone attempting to argue versus him.
I was equally appalled by the gross sheepish thinking going on by people at the time and to some extent a thinking that still exists. They remain so unaware that their advisory status has the ability to deny true happiness and to destroy the life of the most youngest of children, a most vulnerable section of our population.
It makes you think carefully about the Nature versus Nurture statement. I was appalled by the unquestioning behaviours of people but buoyed by the words of Dr Diamond and his peers whom fight to stop the old ways in favour of a new approach to intersexed individuals.
This book is primarily not about intersexed people, it is about an experiment that should never ever have been allowed to take place, the background that led to the experiment being undertaken and the failure of this experiment despite it having been repeated more than once.
I won’t spoil the story for you but say this; Yes you will feel a range of emotions bought on by the contents, and yes you will feel a sense of relief too at the ‘time of print’ outcome for the experiments’ subject and his family, but at no time forget this happened to a real living person, not some fictional character. This family exists and so does the badness and the goodness too. Let the book fill you will an energy too; the urge to not let other people make a mistake of rushing into any decisions first without careful consideration and neutral consultations over extended periods of time. It reminds me to never just blindly accept the advice of any ‘one expert or experts’, and to acknowledge that who is it that knows your best, you or the expert!
It will also cause you to think about Nature Versus Nurture.
I’m a supporter of the Nature, its born into us, and no matter what Nurture does, Nature will always reveal a person for who and how they truly are. You can learn and yes be guided however ultimately you cannot overcome how you were always meant to be. Perhaps cold comfort but you can always find a middle ground without it and yourself being inflexible.

There is a copy of this book in the ACT Library Service, its catalogue code is 305.9066 Cola.

Cheers

AbbeyJane