John Colapinto As Nature Made Him Analysis

John Colapinto’s As Nature Made Him uses different dramatic examples to show that a certain gender isn’t to be forced upon someone, but they should have the freedom of choosing how they want to live. Forcing them to live in a body that’s not truly them could result in enduring pain on that person. As a baby, David didn’t have a say in changing from a boy and undergoing a sex change. Rather than his parents waiting until he was of age to make his own decision, they decided for him. Dr. Money and the parents made their own choice to reassign Bruce’s sex, and it put David through an abundant amount of stress from childhood to adulthood. To begin, the first example Colapinto uses to show the negative outcomes of forced gender is Brenda’s repetitive refusal of girl toys. As much as her parents pushed for enjoyment in dolls, baby care, and household chores, Brenda only had pleasure in play guns and toy soldiers. These denials lead to more confusion on Brenda at such …show more content…
This shows that because she was forced to be a girl, she was hindered from having true relationships with the sex that she desired. Boys began rejecting her, making her feel as if she was unattractive and not enough. Bradshaw of How to Like Yourself says, “If you’re a teen, the pressures of school, friends, and dating can steal your confidence and leave you feeling like you’re just not good enough. But often, the biggest threat to your self-esteem is your own inner critic—that unrelenting, negative inner voice that causes you to second-guess your self-worth. (Bradshaw 2016 pg. H) Just as Bradshaw mentioned, the stress of the dating scene, as long as other lively factors, could’ve left Brenda feeling unwanted. Like the article states, in reality, there was a bigger problem within Brenda that complicated things. This is also shows how much more beneficial it would’ve been for her to just live the way she so