Describe the events that transpired in the case of David and explain how his case has been used to understand the relative contribution of socialization versus biology to sexual identity

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: At 7 months of age, his penis was accidentally removed during a botched circumcision procedure. He was reassigned as a female (Brenda) and underwent a sex-change operation (removal of the testes and creation of a vagina). For some time it was thought that he shifted his identity to that of a female, suggesting that social forces are more powerful than are biological. However, after a stormy adolescent period in which she grew to believe that she was a boy, it was revealed to her that she born a boy and the procedure was reversed (mastectomy, creation of a phallus). His unhappy adult life ended with his suicide. One view is that David's brain was exposed to circulating levels of androgens, which masculinized his brain, and that socialization could not overcome the impact of androgenization on his brain circuitry.