"Castrati"

[C van D (imported)]

I wish I could show a bit of enthusiasm for this piece, including, as it does, a pre-teen castratO (note the ending, please, author; castratI is plural) Neutered pre-teen boys have populated the imaginary world of my Simon stories since day one. But for me the attraction ends there. Who is the mysterious Scooter (master? wicked uncle?) and what does he look like? The gelded boy - is he plump or slim, dark, fair or ginger? Where does this all take place - present day UK/USA or some parallel universe. I end with a sinking feeling that the over-arching theme isn't castration but sodomy.

C van D

[Slammr (imported)]

I would suspect it's more about the teen pop star, J. B., than it is about anything else. As I remember the guy that discovered him was named Scooter.

[bella (imported)]

This doesn't seem up to Sander's normal standard.

Is this the same person?

Still looking forward to more installments of Sander's "Holy Nutters" series

[StefanIsMe (imported)]

First, a link to the story mentioned above: http://www.eunuch.org/Alpha/C/ea_220056castrati.htm

Yes, as Slammr mentioned, it's definitely about J.B., a very popular boy-singer (16 years old) in North America right now. He grew up in my home town, actually.

I loved the story; very short and to the point, and considering mainstream 'mature' music reviewers, I found it hilariously bang-on in regards to certain assumptions being made about him, not the least of which is his relationship to Usher (his mentor)... but the Scooter mentioned is his dad.

Thanks much for the story, Sander, and here's to something a bit longer next time, if I could be so bold as to ask! Do keep writing; I've missed your work these last few months

[StefanIsMe (imported)]

Also, as a further note, now that his full name has been written in this thread, I guarantee thousands of hits in the next week by squeally, 13 year old girls a-quivering with delight at finding a new Bieb-erized forum, only to slowly grow aghast and horrified as they realize just what the hell they have stumbled upon

[Slammr (imported)]

Also, as a further note, now that his full name has been written in this thread, I guarantee thousands of hits in the next week by squeally, 13 year old girls a-quivering with delight at finding a new Bieberized forum, only to slowly grow aghast and horrified as they realize just what the hell they have stumbled upon

to play it safe, I went back to my post and edited out the name. I'd hate for us to be inundated by a bunch of 13 year-old girls.

[Twinsenboy (imported)]

Let's just hope they do not google "bieber boy forever" then...=D

[Eunuken (imported)]

I agree that the story is a bit short, however I did enjoy it.

[JesusA (imported)]

Since I don’t have any regular contact with tween-age girls, I had heard relatively little about J.B. until I finally got curious and looked him up on the Internet a couple of months ago.

One of the first Google hits that I clicked through on had a discussion about what kind of chemical castration drugs he might be on. Only then did I check out some of his performances on Youtube. A bit more on his biography, and I could tell that he was about two years behind average pubertal development. He was still within the “normal” range, but just barely.

After reading C van D’s review, I read Sander’s story. I immediately saw reference to J.B., though like others here, I wish that Sander had spent a little more time and developed the story further. Sander is one of our best authors, but this isn’t one of his better pieces. I’m still looking forward to the next installment of The Holy Nutters, which may turn out to be his best writing yet.

The age of average male puberty and the deepening of the voice has dropped in recent centuries for reasons that are still under dispute by the medical community. Today the average boy’s voice deepens toward the adult register sometime in their 14th year. As recently as 1749, Joseph Haydn was scheduled for castration at age 17 to preserve his voice. He was a soprano in the choir of St. Stephens’ Cathedral in Vienna at the time, and it was only the intervention of his uncle that saved him from becoming a castrato, rather than a composer.

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[C van D (imported)]

If I'd known that Sander's piece was about a real person, I doubt I'd have gone into print in the first place. I'm very wary of commenting about things I know little or nothing about.

Several Members appear to have liked the story, which is good. I didn't, but that is no more than my personal view. I am an old man (78) and a piece of writing that might, to a young man, seem bold and vigorous, comes across to me as hurried and slap-dash. But that's only for what it's worth.