David O. Cauldwell

David Oliver Cauldwell (born June 17, 1897 in Cleveland , Ohio , † August 30, 1959 ) is considered one of the pioneers in the treatment of transsexuality . The first use of this term was ascribed to him at times, although Magnus Hirschfeld used the term “psychological transsexualism” in 1923 and thus created the clinical category that was later expanded by Harry Benjamin . In 1949 Cauldwell published (Cauldwell, 1949) a work on a girl who felt like a boy.

Cauldwell's father was a surgeon. Already in his youth, Cauldwell showed great interest in sex sciences and anatomy . After leaving school, he began studying medicine at Chester College of Medicine and Surgery, which later became part of Loyola University Chicago . He graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México .

After a period as a freelance general practitioner, he signed up as a contract doctor with the US War Department, where he worked as a neuro-psychiatrist. In 1945 he gave up his practice and devoted himself entirely to writing and what he called “Research in Science” (Cauldwell, 1949, p. 276). He was a member of the Board of Medical and Sexological Consultants of Sexology state, where he was listed as a specialist in sexology and military medicine . He died on August 30, 1959. Although he was obviously involved in the treatment of transsexuals, there is no evidence of specialization in the field.

In 1946 he became editor of "Sexology: Sex Science Magazine," a popular science magazine on sex sciences, where he was responsible for the "Questions and Answers" department. As a result, he published numerous popular scientific papers on questions of sexual behavior, especially "deviant sexual behavior", but with a focus on the topics of transvestism , transsexuality and intersexuality . In 1956 he published the book "Transvestism - Men in Female Dress", which included a chapter by Harry Benjamin entitled "Trans-sexualism and Transvestism".

In contrast to Harry Benjamin, he strictly rejected operational measures to alleviate the suffering of transsexuals (Cauldwell, 2001 a): "Males with such distorted mentalities and consequent distorted personalities have sought surgery by which they hoped to attain sex transmutation and become women," as well Transsexuality as a disposition (Cauldwell, 2001 b): "I am of the opinion that the desire is always false and that there are individuals who have gone through mutilative operations because they lost their mental equilibrium."

literature

• Cauldwell, DO (1949) Psychopathia transexualis , in: Sexology, 16: 274-280.
• Cauldwell, DO (Ed.) (1956) Transvestism: Men in Female Dress, New York: Sexology Corporation .
• Cauldwell DO (2001a) Desire for Surgical Sex Transmutation: An Insane Fancy of Near Males. IJT 5,2, ^ ( Memento from August 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) - Reprint of an original work from Effects of Castration on Men and Women: Accidental, Voluntary and Involuntary Castration Eunuchism and History - Medical Treatment and Aspects by Haldeman-Julius Publications, Girard, Kansas, 1947. Copyright, 1947
• Cauldwell DO (2001b) Sex Transmutation - Can One's Sex Be Changed? There's But a Thin Genetic Line Between the Sexes, But the Would-be Sex Transmutee Battles Forces More Stubborn Than the Genes. IJT 5,2, ^ ( Memento of August 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) - Reprint of the original work Sex Transmutation - Can One's Sex Be Changed ?, Haldeman-Julius Publications, Girard, Kansas, 1951. Copyright, 1951
• Ekins R., King D. (2001) Pioneers of Transgendering: The Popular Sexology of David O. Cauldwell . IYD 5,2, ^ ( Memento from March 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Ekins R., King D. (2001) David O. Cauldwell on Transsexualism, Transvestism and Related Topics: A Bibliography . IYD 5,2, ^ ( Memento from May 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Hirschfeld, M. (1923) The intersexual constitution . in: Yearbook for Sexual Intermediate Levels, 23: 3–27.