Favourite Themes?

[HorseRenoir1 (imported)]

I prefer castration stories of males from the ages of 12 to 25, but preferably on the lower range of the scale (and especially pre- or just hitting adolescence).

I don't mind penectomy stories, but I prefer those involving "young" males who are at least "old" enough to understand what they will be losing.

I don't care for nullification stories. I want some genitalia remaining ... preferably the penis.

I don't like stories involving women. I prefer all-male stories.

[JesusA (imported)]

I'd like to think that if I did lived on such a world I'd be in category 1. But I don't know. I might be in category 2 or 3. That's what keeps me writing and reading castration stories.

Without considering the specific question, you probably DO know where you would stand if you think about it.

The media (and professional papers) are filled with accounts of youngsters who are judged to be transsexual and who are transitioning socially by as young as six or seven. Increasingly they are offered puberty blockers (GnRH agonists/chemical castration in the case of transgirls) at about the age of 12. Because of some of the side effects of the GnRH agonists that are used to delay puberty, some psychiatrists and surgeons are opting for surgical castration of transgirls at 12 or 13. Since cross-sex hormones are generally not started until age 14 or 15, there are now a few individuals out there who are physically (though not mentally) identical to prepubertal eunuchs.

In recent years there has been growing recognition of "genderqueer" and "gender neutral" as alternatives to the pigeonholes of the binary "male" vs. "female." There are now psychiatrists and surgeons willing to perform a breast removal on Female-to-Genderqueer individuals. Some are pushing for additional surgical options to be more readily available for the genderqueer -- most of whom, it seems, are natal female.

There have been published reports on individuals (especially in the Netherlands where there is better transsexual counseling and surgery available) who begin a transition of Male-to-Female with full psychiatric evaluation and a castration to stop testosterone production, who then cease transition at that point without going back on testosterone to "detransition." They are happy with their gender neutral status. Certainly many of the members of the Eunuch Archive are seeking castration to achieve that same gender neutral status, though without claiming to be MtF and going through the necessary psychiatric examination and trial with female hormones that may then be required.

I was at a medical conference in Oslo where a Dutch surgeon presented a workshop on one of his cases. A transwoman who was evaluated by a psychiatrist as trans* and castrated at age 12 to stop male puberty. She was started on female hormones at 15. The workshop was on a technique to create a proper neo-vagina at age 18 in a case where the scrotum had shrunk to insignificance and the penis was still at prepubertal size. It is these tissues that are normally used to construct the neo-vagina.

Where do you stand on transition between the binary genders? What level of transition should be allowed at the beginning of puberty? If "eunuch" or "gender neutral" becomes more widely accepted as a target gender, would you take the same stand on puberty blockers and/or on early surgery? If a Male-to-Female child can obtain castration at 12 or 13, should a Male-to-Eunuch child be able to receive the same treatment?

These are difficult questions, but you should probably have consistent answers, whatever they are.

[Atreyu69 (imported)]

I was at a medical conference in Oslo where a Dutch surgeon presented a workshop on one of his cases. A transwoman who was evaluated by a psychiatrist as trans* and castrated at age 12 to stop male puberty. She was started on female hormones at 15. The workshop was on a technique to create a proper neo-vagina at age 18 in a case where the scrotum had shrunk to insignificance and the penis was still at prepubertal size. It is these tissues that are normally used to construct the neo-vagina.

Where do you stand on transition between the binary genders? What level of transition should be allowed at the beginning of puberty? If "eunuch" or "gender neutral" becomes more widely accepted as a target gender, would you take the same stand on puberty blockers and/or on early surgery? If a Male-to-Female child can obtain castration at 12 or 13, should a Male-to-Eunuch child be able to receive the same treatment?

These are difficult questions, but you should probably have consistent answers, whatever they are.

Many interesting questions. I suppose you could say that I'm sitting of the fence when it come to surgery (castration) for transgender tween children. Since I'm not the parent of a transgender child the question is academic rather than practical. I'll defer to those with actual experience in such things.

But I know it would have caused me a great deal of emotional agitation and anxiety if, at age 10 or 12, I'd been offered the option of castration. That's assuming that tween castration was socially acceptable; no stigma attached. I'm 95% sure I'd have turned it down. Well 90% sure. But there'd have been that five to ten percent uncertainty and that would have kept me awake nights tormented by the possibility of having my balls cut off. Many things about puberty seemed pretty gross to me when I was 11 and so castration would've had some appeal. Thinking about myself at that age I'm glad I wasn't given the choice. I'll write storied about boys faced with the dilemma but I'm grateful to be writing fiction and not biography.

P.S. I suppose if boys that age really were being castrated it would put an end my writing career. Who'd want to read the castration fantasies of a man when you could be reading the testimonials of real life kids?

[Hopeful1 (imported)]

I like the (minor) (testicle) stories and that may have been influenced by the discussion my mom had with my doctor when I was 12. I had an undescended testicle and the discussion was whether to remove it or to do an orchipexy. My mother was a registered nurse so the discussion regarding the cancer risk included the removal of one or both.

H1

[Atreyu69 (imported)]

I like the (minor) (testicle) stories and that may have been influenced by the discussion my mom had with my doctor when I was 12. I had an undescended testicle and the discussion was whether to remove it or to do an orchipexy. My mother was a registered nurse so the discussion regarding the cancer risk included the removal of one or both.

H1

If it's not too personal a question, how was the issue resolved?

[martineasy (imported)]

Have you read my story: Strip Poker ? If you have, how did you like it?

I see that it has been read 16,525 times. I wonder how that compares to other stories on the archive.

http://www.eunuch.org/Alpha/S/ea_33252strip_po.htm

Just read it, great story! That is a lot of hits, how do you see how many times your stories have been read?

[Atreyu69 (imported)]

Just read it, great story! That is a lot of hits, how do you see how many times your stories have been read?

Yeah. I'd like to know that too. I'd lover to see how many hits my stories have had.

[Paolo]

There is/was a hit counter, but it actually doesn't work. One of the few things I've seen that made talula pull out his hair, kick the cat, and admit defeat.

[Hopeful1 (imported)]

I was at a medical conference in Oslo where a Dutch surgeon presented a workshop on one of his cases. A transwoman who was evaluated by a psychiatrist as trans* and castrated at age 12 to stop male puberty. She was started on female hormones at 15. The workshop was on a technique to create a proper neo-vagina at age 18 in a case where the scrotum had shrunk to insignificance and the penis was still at prepubertal size. It is these tissues that are normally used to construct the neo-vagina.

Jesus, do you have any information on this? I would love to see it. I know some surgeries are done to achieve greater vaginal depth using either skin grafts or a section of colon.

Where do you stand on transition between the binary genders? What level of transition should be allowed at the beginning of puberty? If "eunuch" or "gender neutral" becomes more widely accepted as a target gender, would you take the same stand on puberty blockers and/or on early surgery? If a Male-to-Female child can obtain castration at 12 or 13, should a Male-to-Eunuch child be able to receive the same treatment?

These are difficult questions, but you should probably have consistent answers, whatever they are.

One thing with transgender children is how early and for how long did they display transgender traits. For instance one of my memories probably age five was asking my mother if I could wear her nightgowns and clothes to which I got an emphatic NO. I couldn't understand why she was so shocked but it told me maybe I should keep my mouth shut although that didn't stop me from raiding her lingerie and skirts/blouses. Today young people have so much more information that I had. They know about transgender where I thought I was the only one in the world like this. Take the young girl in London, now 11 who basically told her parents at age 7 that she had had it, she was no longer attending school as a boy, she was going from now on as the girl she is. She has been full time for four years. Or take 15 year old Jazz. She has a show on TLC, she does Youtube videos for transgender kids and does speaking engagements. So would I support early blockers/castration for girls like this? Of course. Would I support early age blockers/castration for M2E? Sure as long as they could be identified with as much certainty as transgender children, why not? But certainty is the key. It's going to be a lot easier to identify early TG children than potential eunuchs.

H1

[ZeuterMe (imported)]

Near- to mid-future plausible sci-fi.

Eclipse Phase is a good example of a mid-future setting where body modification enabled by the pervasive use of powerful nanotechnology allows anyone with the inclination to change their sex almost at will, easily inventing new genders, and with only a few hours at a medical facility they can try out being a hermaphrodite, neuter, "winterized", or any other arbitrary configuration of wedding tackle and hormones. For those who are slightly more well-heeled, they can try out being an uplifted animal (there are only a few strains yet uplifted, though) for a while, and find out the difference between human-male and dolphin-male, or perhaps spend a few weeks as a barrow (neutered male pig). Everything is bound by the rules of physics, and thermodynamics is still a thing that must be respected, so there are limits. Also, the work of uplift is very slow and very hard; as of the date the story starts, your choices are pig, a few cetacean species, several primates, and a few species of bird, as well as a couple aliens. (One of which is a carnivorous plant, the other a raccoon-sized flying squirrel that's one of the easier ways to find out what it's like to go into heat every few months) In spite of that, when it comes to gender, the limits are really only your imagination, and what squicks your partner.

A more near-term future would be something more like Ghost in the Shell or Cyberpunk 2020 or Shadowrun, or a similar cyberpunk world where body modification (other than cybernetic implants and tattoos) really caught on. Actually, a good example of this would be the fanfic "Simon Beyond" by our very own Paolo.

Ask yourself this question. If you lived on a world where preteen castration was just barely socially acceptable what would you do?

1) Oppose preteen castration and nullification in all cases out of an innate sense of compassion and decency. Protest outside castration clinics and demand castration be stopped for all boys.

2) Reluctantly tolerate preteen castration and nullification. Consider it tolerable in some instances. You don't like it but you can live with it.

3) Reluctantly support preteen castration and nullification. Consider it desirable for some boys. Have no objection to castration for the boy next door but certainly not for your own kid.

4) Whole heartedly support preteen castration. If your son asks for it you'd drive him to the clinic yourself.

I'd like to think that if I did lived on such a world I'd be in category 1. But I don't know. I might be in category 2 or 3. That's what keeps me writing and reading castration stories.

I think it would be fun to put that debate into the story, and make people make their decisions among the machinations of those pushing these disparate positions in the media, for if it was "just barely socially acceptable" as you say, it would be political, it would be in the news, and it would be the subject of protests and counter-protests and with murky guidelines, it would be interesting to write about that sort of thing from the position of a doctor being pulled in both directions by his clients and patients and where medical ethics provide little to no guidance, and where it's hard to see whether you can "do no harm" without giving up practicing medicine altogether, for any position you take, including "I don't want to deal with this shit" is infused with message and meaning you never intended to send.

I'd also like to point out that you could support elective castration out of a

sense of compassion and decency,

too - especially if it's become conflated with treatment for transgenderism, since current and/or emerging standards of care are to block puberty before it has a chance to do any "damage" that requires surgical correction later on during a transition.