John William Money was a New Zealand American psychologist, sexologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University known for his research on human sexual behavior and gender. Believing that gender identity was malleable within the first two years of life, Money advocated for the surgical "normalization" of the genitalia of intersex infants.

David Reimer was a Canadian man raised as a girl following medical advice and intervention after his penis was severely injured during a botched circumcision in infancy.