kristoff wrote: Sun May 27, 2007 5:02 am
The only one of the three that has any credibility is #4. The first two by Vic Cheney are very poorly researched and documented, often rambling, and more than anything his personal crusade in favor of castration. I could be more descriptive of Cheney's work, but I would then have to edit myself for flaming. Spector has never been published, that I am aware of, and I have not read his work.
I am sorry if you feel this way ("his works have no credibility"). However, I wonder if you actually bothered reading any of them with an open mind (and by that I don't mean the comments on USCCCN wich were for the most part written by Alan H. Peterson and Israel Siev)? Seems like you feel personally offended by him (thus all the "flaming" threats), wich greatly influence your highly exaggerated negative opinion of his books.
I would not deny that Cheney has his "faults". Sometimes his tendency to conclusion jumping, excessive focus on rapists + his views on homosexuality and eugenics (basically he has only suggested that volunteer castration, along with sterilization, has an additional benefit of preventing hereditary diseases in the offspring) could have been avoided, though these need mostly apply to his personality, and are of little relevance here because his books contain practically no original research (mostly the research of others) and only a handful of directly unsubstantiated statements, most of them exaggerations (Cheney has authored one study involving 65 prostate cancer patients, the results of wich were published in the Lancet Journal of Medicine in 1994). The above criticism mostly apply to some of his other and older books, such as "Rape IS a sex crime" and "Celibacy guranteed", wich are largely centered around the author's POV. He has significantly improved his scholarship since then, and has updated the existing books on the basis of new information.
The two books listed in my post are heavily cited (with an average of 2-4 citations per page at #1 and end chapter citations at #2), and Cheney makes his best to provide footnote citations for each of the claims to reputable journals and studies. In fact, for the most part he quotes extensively historical figures, researchers, statements of other eunuchs etc., so these books are actually more a collection of testimonies and historical/medical information rather than a display of personal views (as well as "ramblings", as some have suggested).
His personal take on the issues seems absurd at times, but right to the point elswhere, and I think that overall he raises some important and valid points that should have been considered by a broader audience. Also, I don't see anything wrong with him "favoring castration", wich in itself is actually quite "refreshing" (considering all the sex/testosterone/estrogen worshipping media out there)? Most of the litterature is ignorantly critical. Cheney was the first author to actually write a book that was sympathetic. And as have already been mentioned, there are no books that exclusively deal with
so it's the only available. Cheney is certainly a pioneer in this field, dedicating at least 30 years to research this difficult and taboo subject. That his research may look "very poorly documented" at times is due to the fact that castration itself is poorly researched and documented. In fact, I think that we should rather give him credit for actually being able to locate (in spite of all the odds) the available information.
So in spite of some of Cheney's personal and a number of research-related flaws, I found the books informative, largely reliable, interesting and thought provoking (lots of references to rare studies, entertaining historical trivia, etc.), and this is one of the reasons I have listed them. Another reason is that Cheney is unique in the sense that he actually tries to address the question of how eunuchism, with all it's benefits, could become a "valid" state that may (once again) become an important part of our society. I believe that for those who actually care to look through prejudice and examine the message instead of the messenger ,
kristoff wrote: Sun May 27, 2007 5:02 am
would find the above an interesting and informative reading.
Spector has never been pub
lished, that I am aware of, and I have not read his work.
You are probably right. I did not read it either, though I recall that Spector wanted to write a book documenting his experiences in the 50+ year practice of servicing the transgender and eunuch community. After what I've heard about "A handbook for castration", it is mostly a collection of medical and practical info regarding volunteer castration. I hope to get a hold of a copy soon and write a review.