The BBC World Service broadcast a very fine program about eunuchs yesterday. It will be available on-line for listening for a year. Here’s the program description and a link to the audio:

Since ancient times the practice of castrating pre-pubescent boys, and sometimes men, was thought to make them loyal servants, suitable for roles at the heart of many imperial courts. Some historians believe this began with human slaves who were treated in the same way as animals – as lesser beings to be managed and controlled – with no free choice.

The effects of castration on the male body – the loss of testosterone being the principal one – had a huge impact on how eunuchs have been viewed throughout history. Being unable to father children who could threaten lines of succession, certain eunuchs rose to power precisely because of their exclusive access to the inner workings of empires. Castrated men were also prized for their singing voices in 17th and 18th century Europe, as Dr Brianna Robertson-Kirkland explains.

Bridget Kendall discusses this painful episode with Norman Kutcher, Professor in the Department of History at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in the US. He specialises in imperial Chinese history, and he’s the author of Eunuch and Emperor in the Great Age of Qing Rule; Dr Kathryn Reusch, conservation technician at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, who's published widely on the topic of castration in relation to archaeological remains; and Shaun Tougher, Professor of Late Roman and Byzantine History at Cardiff University. He’s written many books and articles on eunuchs, including The Roman Castrati: Eunuchs in the Roman Empire.

May 19, 2022

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct38sb

Interesting presentation, but I found I had mixed reactions to it. Some ways it contradicted what I have understood from your posts and other stuff here. Particularly they seemed to assert that the vast majority of castrations were done at early or pre-puberty, rather than being done at different ages in different cultures. Similarly they implied that most were nullifications, rather than just testicles. My understanding at least was that what was done varied by time and region, but that more were just testicles.

They also seemed like while they acknowledged the politically powerful eunuchs, they were trying very hard to make it seem like overall it was a pretty undesirable status.

The mention of osteoporosis as an issue was notable as I know it has been something I have wondered about and seen others mention here in the discussions about going hormone free.

Overall well worth the listen, but I think your recent lecture was much better...

WheelyCurious