Genetic testing came next.
The results showed that he had XY chromosomes indicating he was male.
Would it be able to stand to pee?
Jim Ambrose holds up a childhood picture of himself, when he was living as a girl and going by Kristi.Channel4 Television/Courtesy of SXSW
In some hospitals in the U.S. and around the world, itstill is.
They were prescribed the awful trinity of shame, secrecy, and isolation, Ambrose says.
My mom made sure not to have anybody change my diaper.
There was a lot of anxiety around my body and who might see it.
It marks the directorial debut of British filmmaker Grace Hughes-Hallett, the producer of the 2018 documentaryThree Identical Strangers.
This involved surgery constructing female-passing genitalia, then raising him as a girl.
Yet Money published his findings, fraudulently claiming that his work was a resounding success.
The Secret of Medelves deeper into Moneys experiments and the impact they had on the Reimer twins.
So I spoke to quite a few intersex people.
I also spoke to doctors who have done and are doing the surgeries.
As it turned out, Ambrose was a fan of her work.
And about midway through, I remember thinking, If these people called, I would take that call.
She will be the little girl.
It was all about carrying off the illusion.
At this time, Id never had a boyfriend, Ambrose says.
I had never had a sexual interaction with a boy.
She didnt give a shit.
Reading through the essay, it hit me, Ambrose says.
I think, This is me.
This is what happened to me.
His medical records confirmed his suspicions.
It was an article by John Colapinto titled The True Story of John/Joan.
Five years after the article was published,Brian diedfrom a drug overdose at the age of 36.
Two years later,Daviddied by suicide.
While academics and intersex activists had been familiar with Davids story, it had now reached a mainstream audience.
It blew up with ColapintosRolling Stonearticle, Ambrose says.
Basically, everything that I learned [about David Reimer] was from that article.
It also provided activists with a new entry point to the discussion on intersex issues.
It gave tremendous context to people, Ambrose says of the article.
You could start using it as shorthand: the John/Joan case.
You could start using that in presentations and conversations.
You could actually start out by saying, Are you familiar with the John/Joan case?
It was also right around that time when Ambrose first started telling his story in public.
At one point, I just said, I want this vaginoplasty out, he says.
So I got that removed in an attempt to decolonize my own body.
Ambrose stopped taking estrogen around age 20.
It was much more about not going back on estrogen.
After several years on the frontlines fighting for the rights of intersex people, Ambrose started to burn out.
Now, Ambrose is sharing his story again inThe Secret of Me.
When work onThe Secret of Mebegan, Ambrose had been retired from activism for several years.
I still remember the phone call where Grace was like, We want the story to be you.
I remember thinking, Gosh, I would have said no if she had come to me right away.
But then he started thinking.
I have a family that loves me and supports me.
So I thought with all of this privilege, Im obliged.
Hughes-Hallett believes that telling this story is especially important in the current political climate.
She hopes the film raises awareness of the surgeries performed on infants with DSD and their far-reaching implications.
And also, oh, wow, shit.
OK, I know that now, Hughes-Hallett says.
Theres nothing about their bodies that threatens themselves or their families.
They are not problems or mistakes to be fixed.
The intended erasure is damaging to the child, and to the families and the people that love them.
