Thursday, October 20, 2011

'Gender Neutrality'

Been looking into previous shows shown about gender in young children and the problems that can occur for young children...

Found one about a boy who was turned into girl because of an accident, not sure if this was the story previously mentioned to us.

A surgical accident ment the boy was bought up as a girl but eventually when an adult went back to living as a male.


The Boy who was Turned into a Girl
First shown: BBC2 9.00pm Thursday 7th December 2000
Bruce Reimer lived as a girl from age 2 to age 16 In 1965 in the Canadian town of Winnipeg, Janet Reimer gave birth to twin boys - Bruce and Brian. Six months later a bungled circumcision left Bruce without a penis. Based on a radical new theory of gender development the decision was taken to raise Bruce as a girl. In 1967 Bruce became Brenda and for the next three decades this case would be at the heart of one of the most controversial theories in the history of science.

The man behind this work was world-renowned psychologist Dr John Money. In the 1950s Dr Money developed a theory that revolutionised our understanding of gender. Money believed that what he called our 'gender identity' - what makes us think, feel and behave as boys or girls - is not fully formed by the time of birth. While we may have some innate sense of being a boy or a girl, for up to two years after birth, our brains are, in effect, malleable and we can be taught to grow up as either a boy or girl by how we are raised - by the toys we are given, the guidance we receive from adults and the clothes we are given to wear. This became known as the 'theory of gender neutrality'.

Dr Money had reached this conclusion by working with a rare group of individuals born with ambiguous genitals - people known as intersexuals or hermaphrodites. Dr Money studied groups of intersex children, and concluded that these children could be brought up as either boys or girls regardless of their genetic or physical sex. The legacy of Dr Money's work was a revolution in the treatment of 'intersex'. From the 1950s to the present day many intersex children born with a tiny penis are reassigned as female even if they are actually genetically male.

But not everyone agreed with Dr Money's theories. Since the 1950s a small group of scientists including Dr Milton Diamond have questioned John Money's work. Diamond believed that our sex is already defined in our brains before we are born. He was convinced that the power of our genes and hormones was so strong that no amount of nurturing could override them.

But John Money's theory had already become firmly accepted around the world and the most dramatic confirmation of the theory came from one particular case - the case of Bruce Reimer.

Bruce was a normal boy, not an intersex child, and yet the decision was made to turn this boy who had lost his penis, into a girl. Under the guidance of Dr Money and his team at Johns Hopkins University this baby boy was surgically changed into a girl. After surgeons at Hopkins had castrated baby Bruce, he became baby Brenda. The family were instructed how to bring up Brenda as a normal little girl. According to Dr Money's theory she would grow up believing herself to be female and would go on to live a normal happy life as a woman. It seemed the ultimate test that nurture could override nature.

Thirty years after Bruce became Brenda, the impact of this extraordinary story continues. After almost 14 years living as a female, Brenda Reimer reverted to her true biological sex - the case of the boy who was turned into a girl had failed. Brenda took the name David and for the last twenty years he has lived anonymously in his hometown of Winnipeg. For almost all this time no one knew the outcome of John Money's celebrated case. But now that David has gone public, the case is being widely discussed once again and its impact on John Money's theory of gender development and the treatment of intersex children is being hotly debated. 



http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/boyturnedgirl.shtml
(accessed 19 october 2011)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

'Words are easy, like the wind' W.Shakespeare

Find my self here lying in bed thinking i cant sleep as im over thinking...cant stop thinking over and over about everything to be done!

So might as well do sumin useful.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/beveridge_william.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12360045

Friday, October 14, 2011

History Of Childhood - Medieval

So i had a look into childhood in the medieval times, and there was different views on how children were seen and how they should of been seen.

Bringing children into the world should of been a happy time we celebrate birth and the news of someone being pregnant and the child being bought into the world. In this time there was joy but also a extreme sense of danger, with the lack of anaesthetics and other infection fighting drugs there was alot more risk of what could happy to mother and baby.

Relgion had a big effect on children, the catholic church was against woman having official roles but this was changed for midwives to be able to baptize a baby in extreme circumstances, a baby was not aloud to die without being baptized.

Ages of children didnt matter to them described as 'imperfect adults' in A History of Childhood, Colin Heywood.
They were put into the world of adults at an early age to help work of parents or take on apprenticships.



http://books.google.com/books?id=TGyAy44bb10C&pg=PA17&dq=medieval+childhood&hl=en&ei=GU6YTrb9HJCPswaz5oTsAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Freud's Psychosexual Stages

So had a look at theorist, and when with searching Freuds Pychosexual theory.

From reading about him, he believes there are different stages, and each stage is important for healthy development. If a stage is missed...it can have a bad impact later on or effect the next stage.
The stages:
- oral stage
- anal stage
- phallic stage
- latency stage
- genital stage

Monday, October 10, 2011

A waste of a day

Right...im gonna have a right good old moan!!

Not feeling great get to college early to meet people to plan presentation stuff...get there oh and the blimming fire alarm goes of!!! that ruined that plan...so we go warwick...

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!! ...im sorry but today felt totally stupid didnt learn anything missed a lesson that id learn from or could of have more time to plan presenation but no stuck in a room being spoken to like we arnt able to do things for ourself. That obviously isnt there plan but thats how it felt, half of it was talking about 3rd year...its hard enough and so much to take in already without them talking about third year i think today would of been better done next year before we go warwick..

*breathhhh* rant over

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Tomorrows another day...

Sooo its been a mad weekend...the girl who doesnt drink did and it wasnt pretty.

on another note tomorrow got some sen bits and peices gonna discuss with the group tomorrow for our presentation!

then another trip to warwick, defo flat shoes!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Time and tiredness!

Really enjoyed yesterdays library trip and i tell you what i wanna be a cheerleader! outfit so cute!

Today was alot to take in and was hard as im feeling shattered last couple days, tomorrow im looking forward to a lie in and having some relazing 'jazz time'.
Then back to some more studying.

Theories look really interesting and am looking forward to getitng more info and having a read on things, its finally properly kicked of and its time to kick my ass into gear of planning and timesheets...