Effects of Castration on Men and Women: Accidental, Voluntary and Involuntary Castration; Eunuchism and History - Medical Treatment and Aspects

IX. PERSONOLOGY AND CASTRATES

Personology is the study of person. The science of personology, therefore, treats of the study of individuals. That which has been written in previous chapters with relation to castrates of both sexes can apply only as general rules apply to any class of individuals. No set formula - no set rule - can apply to persons except collectively or as a class. The individual must be studied as a person - treated as a distinct individual.

Persons, regardless of status, either respond to environment and circumstances, fail to respond, or create circumstances and an environment of their own. Castrated men have become holders of high office. Castrated women have carved careers for themselves in the arts and sciences. Successful castrates are exceptions rather than the rule.

Castrated men have been known to live for years in communities - keeping their secret - without suspicion. These men were, of course castrated after puberty - after they had matured into manhood.

Castrated women are becoming so common today that no heed is given them with regard to their castration.

There is, on the on the personological plane, one distinct difference in men and women that the riddle-busters are unable to fully understand. A man who has given up his sexual organs invariably keeps quiet about it. He usually develops a complex and thinks that his misfortune is written all over him for the public to read. And, even thinking this, he remains secretive. The castrated woman (though not all castrated women) on the other hand, and especially the woman who has "had everything removed," goes about broadcasting her condition to almost anyone who will listen. An observant psychiatrist has remarked: "It's just the difference between men and women." It is, of course, more than that. It is the difference in persons. It is also, even though sex has been seriously altered, the difference in the sexes.

Persons convicted of sex crimes in Judge Collier's California court have naturally been persons of inferior sexuality (though often apparently precocious) and of mental defectiveness. Much has been claimed in the way of benefits from the rehabilitation of convicted persons who have submitted to castration rather than serve their lives behind prison walls. Letters expressing deep gratitude are said to have been written to Judge Collier from "rehabilitated" convicts. It may be well to avoid dogmatism in the matter and yet it seems that little, if anything is accomplished for the good of humanity through castrating and REHABILITATING [italics in the original] the sex criminals dealt with by Judge Collier's court. It may be argued on the one hand that the castrated rehabilitates are not an expense to the State as would be the case were they imprisoned. In the total economy of a tax rich State, the additional expense of caring for persons convicted of sex crimes is insignificant. And as to the good these rehabilitated castrates may do society - it is highly controversial as to whether they are, or can be, of any value whatsoever to society.

Here, of course, we are brought fact to face with personology in each case. And, again, with whether "sex crimes" were actually such per se, or whether such crimes were so labeled by persons of perverted ideas who were willing to label almost anything connected with sex as criminal. From this reasoning a further study may arise. Is it not possible that numerous persons convicted were in reality not guilty at all of the crimes of which they were accused? Innocent persons have been convicted. A person convicted of a crime and sent to prison may be liberated in the event evidence of false conviction arises. Innocent persons convicted of a crime and castrated because of conviction cannot have the castration operation reversed in the event innocence is subsequently established. Then - certain acts labeled as crimes by courts and legislators may not actually be crimes in the true sense of the word.

These explanations have been brought out because of the fact that laws, like rules or formulas previously mentioned, may be applied within limits to classes of individuals collectively, but the same laws may not be applicable to persons individually.

It is possible to stop an avowedly defective male or female from reproducing without almost completely destroying the sexuality and seriously impairing the personality of either. This may be done by sterilization.

Innumerable rather intelligent persons confuse sterilization and castration. Not long ago a man, who has been a rural mail carrier almost long enough to have reached retirement in age and length of service, remarked to the author that: "Sterilization is the last thing a good man wants; no man with any sense wants to lose his testicles."

So far as has been learned to date (and there has been ample opportunity for qualified scientists to observe) sterilization of either sex does not damage the sex life - it merely prevents procreation. In this, of course, the study of persons must be given consideration. Sterilization may produce unfavorable psychic results upon persons - individuals. It has been observed so far that unfavorable psychic reactions to sterilization occurred because unfavorable psychic factors existed previously in the person or persons affected.

In his preface to "Modern Psychiatry" (The C.V. Mosby Co., 1945), Dr. William S. Sadler states:

"In "Modern Psychiatry" I am endeavoring briefly to tell the story of personology - the difficulties human beings have in adjusting themselves to life. The word, personology, is not in the dictionary, but it should be. We have an "ology" for the mind, for the body, for social relations, for religion, and so on; but we have been so much interested during the past hundred years in dissecting and analyzing that we are only just getting around to realizing the importance of synthesis - of putting these things together and studying them as wholes."

In the same valuable work Dr. Sadler explains further, on page 2:

"Outside institutions, psychiatry is really the practice of personology - the study and treatment of men and women as persons. For a quarter of a century Adolf Meyer has insisted that we deal with the "he" and the "she" in the practice of psychiatry. It is not enough to exclude the presence of organic disease by physical examinations and numerous laboratory tests. The diagnosis of personality disorders must rest upon an adequate history and must be derived from a proper study of the maladjusted or neurotic patient."

Under our system of jurisprudence, more political than legal, no study is made of personology in connection with persons accused of crime or crimes - sexual or otherwise. On the surface only law is considered - law and evidence, the latter being regarded as a component part, or adjunct, of law. And certainly little thought is given to the personology of judges, jurors and attorneys. If indeed even a little thought is given to jurors it is given by scheming attorneys as to whether a particular juror may be favorable to the prosecution of the defense - and not as to whether the juror will actually judge honestly and with human discretion.

The maladjusted person - and the castrate is fortunate indeed if he or she escapes this category - is judged by his fellows, not upon a basis of a study of himself or herself, but according to the prejudices of his fellows.

There is an approach to a key to "justice" as we know it and as it is administered in the foregoing paragraph. A jury judges, all too often, not on the merits of a case and its evidence, but according to the juror's personal convictions, prejudices and politics.

One who gives a little thought to personology cannot read great thinkers of the past like, for instance, Voltaire, Aristotle and even Montaigne, without realizing that these thinkers frequently gave weighty consideration to the science of persons. Nor should Socrates be excluded from this category. It would not be difficult to name others whose philosophical teachings have stood the test of time.

A psychologist, a second lieutenant in the army soon after the outbreak of hostilities in World War II, had been drawn into an argument relative to Atheism and religion. He was asked: "If you destroy religion as it is now known, what will you put in its place?" His answer was: "If I destroy a weed, I put a flower in its place or know that the space occupied by the weed will be as valuable or more valuable if noting is put in its place. If one must call something a religion I know of nothing greater than humanology - the study of humans, and relations with fellow man based upon humanology and personology - the study of persons."

Applied personology can be of real value to persons unfortunate enough to be castrated whether castration is a result of a morbid mental condition, a necessity because of accident or disease - or a condition imposed by (benevolent?) justice.