Dear Friends,
This post was an inscentive to look at what I could find on the subject.
Having an academic function, I could find some articles in the library.
I begin with the article of Farrell Squire. I think this article had been posted elsewhere. But it is so good, I post it again. Moderators may erase this and other articles if they think they have to.
Greetings to all,
Vesal !
Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 33, No. 5, October 2004, pp. 433Â442 ( C_ 2004)
JesusA (imported) wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:40 pm
New Age Eunuchs: Motivation and Rationale
for Voluntary Castration
Richard J. Wassersug, Ph.D.,1,4 Sari A. Zelenietz, B.S.,2 and G. Farrell Squire, B.S.3
Received July 22, 2003; revision received November 11, 2003; accepted November 11, 2003
We used a survey posted on the Internet to explore the motivation of men who are interested in
being castrated. Out of 134 respondents, 23 (17%) reported already having been castrated. The
104 (78%) individuals who said they had not been castrated were asked why they wanted to be
castrated and why they had not actualized that desire. They were given multiple-choice answers
to select from. The major reason (selected by 40% of respondents) for desiring castration was to
achieve a Âeunuch calm and freedom from sexual urges; however, a large proportion (âŒ30%) of
respondents found fantasies about being castrated sexually exciting and a similar percentage desired
castration for the Âcosmetic appearance it achieved (which we interpret to mean scrotal removal
along with an orchiectomy). This high interest in castration as either a sexual stimulus (a fetish) or
a cosmetic enhancement was unexpected and contrasted with the more classically stated motivation
for voluntary castration in the psychiatric literature, i.e., libido control and transsexualism. Internet
discussion groups that serve these men may encourage them to act out their castration fantasies.
Alternately, Internet discussions may give them a displacement outlet for their fantasies and decrease
the risk of castration by nonmedically qualified Âstreet-cutters or by self-mutilation. Forty percent
of our respondents claimed that they would have an orchiectomy, if it were cheap, safe, and simple.
A quarter wanted to try chemical castration first, but 40% were embarrassed to talk to their doctors
about their interest in castration. Information now available on the Internet provides these men with
increasingly easy access to street-cutters and directions on howto perform surgical castrations, putting
them at risk of permanent injury and disability. Physicians need to be aware of these risks.
KEYWORDS: castration; Internet; orchiectomy; eunuch; fetish.
INTRODUCTION
Eunuchs are castrated men whose testicles are
surgically removed or otherwise made nonfunctional by
crushing or drug treatment. Next to tooth extraction and
circumcision, castration has arguably been the most commonly
practiced surgical ablation on the Asian continent
since before Christ. It produced the hundreds of thousands
1Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Dalhousie University,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
2Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
3Arbody, Inc., Little Rock, Arkansas. (Deceased)
4To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of
Anatomy & Neurobiology, Sir Charles TupperMedical Building, 5850
College Street, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
B3H 1X5; e-mail:
tadpole@dal.ca.
of eunuchs that administrated much of the Byzantine
world (Ringrose, 2003) and the Ottoman Empire in the
west (Ayalon, 1999; Marmon, 1995) and the Chinese
dynasties in the east (Tsai, 1996; see also Tougher, 2002).
Although Tsai (1996) considered castration the
Âworst form of human exploitation and Taylor (2000)
labeled it the Âepitome of loss and the Âultimate humiliation,Â
psychiatry has documented many cases of men
in modern times castrating themselves (e.g., Aboseif,
Gomez, & McAninch, 1993; Becker & Hartmann, 1997;
Martin & Gattaz, 1991; Masson & Klein, 2002). Unfortunately,
our understanding of what motivates these men is
largely derived from a biased sample: those individuals
whose attempts at self-surgery or use of a medically
unqualified castrator are not completely successful are the
ones who come to the attention of the health profession.
433
0004-0002/04/1000-0433/0 C_ 2004 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.
434 Wassersug, Zelenietz, and Squire
Menwho desire to be castrated and achieve itwithout
complications (by either self-castration or the services of a
nonmedical castrator, i.e., a Âstreet-cutterÂ) may never be
seen by a physician. Similarly, men who fantasize about
being castrated, but do not act out their fantasies, may also
be invisible to the medical system. Little is known about
what motivates these people to get castrated or to delay
acting out their fantasies.
In this study, we make use of adult discussion groups
on the Internet to explore the reasons why some men
wish to be castrated, yet have not proceeded to have
an orchiectomy either within or outside of the medical
system. We make use of the fact that the privacy and
anonymity afforded by the Internet has allowed large
discussion groups to form among people who share
obsessions that encompass areas that society at large might
consider taboo (see, e.g., Williams & Weinberg, 2003).
In our case, we focused on groups where castration
was either a major or minor defining theme of the group.
We included a few discussion groups related to prostate
cancer because chemical and/or surgical castrations are
standard treatments for advanced prostate cancer. Through
our survey, we were able to identify motivation factors
beyond the two commonly identified: a desire for celibacy
and transsexualism (Money, 1980). We were also able to
get a rough demographic profile on a set of men who are
fascinated with the idea of being castrated.
METHOD
Participants and Procedures
A survey was designed that was specifically directed
toward men interested in castration. It was posted between
May and September 2002 on 30 adult discussion
groups on the Internet.5 The groups were selected to
cover a breadth of interests in castration, ranging from
transsexual fantasy sites to advanced prostate cancer
discussion groups. Our key method of finding groups
was through Internet searches using key words such as
Âcastration and Âeunuch. Included were sites that might
5The groups where the survey was posted or where directions to the
survey were posted included
www.eunch.org,
phml@phcagroups.org,
circle@prostatepointers.org,
prostate@listserv.acor.org, advanced@
phcagroups.org, as well as the following, which all start with the
prefix Â
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Â: eandmlifestyle, psychemasculation,
chemicallyalteredsexuality, eunuchshaven, eunuchsreferralsandadvice,
GYNARCHY, Gynosupremacy, menwithoutballs2,
MWJournal, newthrones, theneuteringnews, triumphantamazons,
TG Writers, tgchristians, barbarastransgenderedchat, marisastransgendersalon,
midwesttransgendersupport, nicoleststgsupport, transgenderededucationassoc,
tenntvtgtsstation, TsDoItYourselfHormones, valleytgirlfetish,
msjilljorgensen, fantasygirl, seattletransgenderedandsos.
Table I. Respondents by Age
Age N %
Under 25 5 4
25Â35 21 16
35Â45 31 23
45Â55 51 38
Over 55 23 17
No answer provided 3 2
be visited by both heterosexual and gay men interested
in castration, although we made no effort to explore the
sexual orientation of respondents.
The survey yielded 134 replies. The age and educational
levels of the respondents are given in Tables I and
II. The mean age was approximately 45, assuming that the
number of respondents under 25 (N = 5) had an average
age of 20 and those over 55 (N = 23) had an average
age of 60. Because these polls were posted largely on
sites that are technically restricted to adults, it is likely
that few of the respondents were below the age of 20 (the
minimum age to view the sites is 18). However, given the
large number of replies from men over 55, our estimate of
a mean age of 45 is likely to be slightly low.
The majority of respondents had at least four years
of college education. Only 1 person had not completed
high school,whereas 12 respondents had doctoral degrees.
Thus, overall the respondents represented a group of welleducated,
mature adults.
The survey consisted of three questions: (1) What
is your castration status? (2) Why havenÂt you been
castrated? and (3) Why do you want to be castrated?
The latter two queries were directed at individuals
who were interested in being castrated, but who had not
undergone the procedure. The questions had 17, 12, and 24
choices for answers, respectively (seeAppendix).Respondents
could select only one choice for the first question,
but asmany choices as applied for the second and the third
questions.Many of the choices were similar (e.g., choices
Table II. Respondents by Education Level
Educational level N %
Non-HS 1 1
HS graduate 21 16
2 yrs college 29 22
4 yrs college 33 25
Postcollege 34 25
Doctoral degree 12 9
No answer provided 4 3
Motivation for Voluntary Castration 435
Table III. Most Common Reasons Respondents Gave for Not Having Been Castrated Yet
Number of
Rank responses
1 A medically safe castration is too expensive for my budget 45
2 If castration were as cheap, safe, and painless as a flu shot, IÂd be 43
much more likely to get it done
3 IÂm embarrassed to talk to my physician or urologist about this 42
4 I fear that an operation by a street-cutter would be dangerous 35
5 I would like a trial run with a reversible chemical castration first 28
6 and 10 for Question 2). However, some were admittedly
unlikely (choice 21 in Question 3) given the targeted
subject pool, that is, postpubescent males over 18 years of
age. The goal was to give as broad a sweep of options in
Questions 2 and 3 as possible. Respondents were permitted
to select more than one answer to these two questions.
Permitting multiple answers also reduced the chances that
wewould get more than one survey filled in per individual.
Because we tracked e-mail addresses, we know that each
response came from a different e-mail address.
Basic demographic information was also requested,
that is, age and educational level.We did not askwhere the
respondents were from, but this survey was only posted
in English, so we assume that most of the respondents
were from English-speaking countries. We also asked the
respondents to tell us when they first became interested in
castration.
To encourage veracity, the questionnaire was
introduced by stating that (1) the survey was being
conducted for a professor in a medical school in Canada
and (2) all individual replies would be kept strictly
confidential. In posting this survey on the Internet, we
realized that the responses we received were subject to a
variety of biases, as discussed, for example, by Mustanski
(2001). We assumed that all of the respondents were
males and honest in their replies; however, we had no
way to independently verify this.
We also recognized that the respondent pool might
have been biased toward individuals who had easy, but
private, computer Internet access. A similar possible bias
was acknowledged by Williams and Weinberg (2003),
who used the Internet, much as we did, to locate and
survey individuals with sexual interests in animals. These
individuals were likely to be people with some economic
independence, which may correlate with their age and
educational level.
RESULTS
Of the 134 replies, 23 (17%) respondents claimed
to have been castrated whereas 104 (78%) stated they
had not. Two respondents gave their castration status as
Âother and five provided no answer. The many people
who responded to the second and the third questions but
who had not been castrated suggest that there is a sizable
community of Âeunuch wannabes who are largely hidden
from public view.
The mean number of responses to Question 2 (ÂWhy
havenÂt you been castrated?Â)was 2.9,with a range of 1Â8.
The five most common reasons why the men who nurture
fantasies of being castrated and have nevertheless not had
orchiectomies are given in Table III. The general reasons
that these men gave for not having the procedure were
cost and medical safety. Cost and medical safety concerns
accounted for three of the four most frequent reasons for
not actualizing their fantasies of castration (ranked first,
second, and fourth in Table III). More than 40% of the 104
uncastrated males surveyed selected one or more of these
three reasons for not having been castrated. On the one
hand, they feared going to street-cutters (ranked fourth)
and, on the other hand, they were embarrassed to talk
to their physicians about medically safe orchiectomies
(ranked third). Approximately a quarter of the men who
responded to the survey expressed interest in a trial
run with reversible chemical castration (ranked fifth in
Table III).
The mean number of responses to Question 3 (ÂWhy
do you want to be castrated?Â) was 3.3, ranging from 1 to
11. The five most popular reasons for desiring castration
are given in Table IV. The two most common answers
were similar: a desire to have a ÂeunuchÂs calm (ranked
first) and a loss of sexual urges/appetite (ranked second).
Approximately 40% of the uncastrated males selected one
or both of these reasons for wishing to be castrated.
The next most frequent answer (ranked third) was
the Âexcitement of the castration scene. This answer
suggests that, for some, castration fantasies may fall into
the realm of paraphilias, as identified in the DSM-IVTR
(American Psychiatric Association, 2000) although
castration fantasies are not specifically listed there. This
answer was followed in popularity by a desire for the
cosmetic appearance associated with castration (ranked
436 Wassersug, Zelenietz, and Squire
Table IV. Most Common Reasons Respondents Desire Castration
Number of
Rank Reason responses
1 A feeling of calm, often called the eunuch calm 42
2 A sense of control over oneÂs sexual urges and/or sexual appetite 41
3 The excitement of the castration scene itself 32
4 Cosmetic effect. Just like the look 31
5 Feeling a deep desire to be submissive to partner 26
fourth). We interpret this to mean that the respondents
viewed castration as including removal of the scrotum,
because a pure orchiectomy without scrotal removal
would not produce an overt change in the appearance
of the external genitalia (other than eventual shrinkage).
The fifth most common reason was a Âdeep desire to
be submissive to a partner. A quarter of the uncastrated
males selected this as a reason for desiring castration.
Of the castrated males, only five respondents selected
medical treatment for disease as a reason for
their castration (choices 1Â3 in Question 1). Another
well-known reason for castration is as part of sexual
reassignment surgery (SRS) for male-to-female
(MtF) transsexuals, but only four respondents gave that
as a reason for their orchiectomies (choices 4Â6 in
Question 1).
A series of two-sample t tests, matching the ranks
given in Table IV with the ages of the respondents, failed
to show any age bias in the rankings (all ps > .25).
Men, both young (<45) and old (>45), were equally
likely to pick, for example, control of Âsexual urges or a
fascination with the cosmetics of castration as reasons to
desire castration.
Data in Table V indicate how persistent the fascination
with castration was among uncastrated respondents.
Over a third of those respondents date their initial interest
in castration to when they were less than 25 years old.
Almost half of the subjects date their interest to before
they were 35 years old. Given the high mean age of the
subjects, this suggests that, on average, the respondentsÂ
Table V. Age Respondents Were First Interested
in Castration
Age first interested N %
Prepuberty 9 7
Puberty to 25 38 28
25Â35 18 13
35Â45 12 9
45Â55 11 8
Over 55 5 4
No answer provided 41 31
interest in castration endured for more than a decade, and
in many cases for several decades.
DISCUSSION
We are not the first to use an Internet survey to
explore psychosocial aspects of an otherwise uncommon
psychological presentation (e.g., Huang & Alessi, 1996;
Lipsitz, Fyer, Paterniti, & Klein, 2001; Mustanski, 2001;
Williams &Weinberg, 2003). The power of this approach
is that it provides simple, quick access to a large sample
from the targeted population. However, this convenience
is balanced against the difficulty of confirming the
validity of the anonymous responses obtained. Such
uncertainty concerned us because males are known to
provide less-than-truthful answers to questions about their
sexuality (see Siegel, Aten, & Roghmann, 1998) and,
until proven otherwise, this might include their castration
status.
Some reassurance as to the validity of our data was
provided by an independent survey posted to the Yahoo
ÂPsychemasculation adult discussion group. That survey,
which was smaller than ours, ran some months after our
survey ended and, like ours, asked respondents if they
were castrated or not. Out of 32 replies received, the ratio
of castrated-to-noncastrated respondents was 1:3, which
was close to the 1:4 ratio we obtained with our larger
sample (z test, p = .25).
Classic Reasons for Seeking Castration
Themajor reason for the castration ofmen in modern
society is for the treatment of oncological diseasesÂmost
notably advanced prostate cancer. On the basis of the
number of men that die of prostate cancer each year, and
the fact that castration is offered to virtually all of them
when primary treatments (e.g., prostatectomy, external
beam radiation, brachytherapy) fail, we estimate that
more than 44,000 patients with prostate cancer are either
chemically or surgically castrated each year in North
Motivation for Voluntary Castration 437
America. These men, however, are largely quiet about
their treatments. Few, if any, responded to our survey.
Although they are castrated, these men were castrated
out of medical necessity and are evidently not fixated on
the procedure. Many men on hormonal ablation therapy
do not equate this chemical castration with surgical
orchiectomy, although the resulting androgen deprivation
is the same.
If castration enters the public eye, we believe it is
mostly in the context of a procedure to control excessive
sexual urges amongst those whose sexual obsessions
are dangerous to themselves and/or others (Gawande,
1997). Controlling such urges was the majormotivator for
castration among the Âeunuch wannabes who replied to
our survey.We have no information, however, on howwell
these respondents are controlling their sexual yearnings
without castration.
There has been much debate about offering or
mandating castration for criminals convicted of sexual
predatory behavior (Spalding, 1998). Our search of the
data suggests that in states where castration is voluntary,
very few criminals choose this option unless it leads
to a reduced sentence (Baro Diaz, 2002; Marosi, 2001;
Moczynski, 2003). It is difficult to obtain an accurate
picture of how many men (convicted of sexual crimes
or otherwise) who have requested either chemical or
surgical castration for libido control ever get the treatment.
Circumstantial evidence suggests, however, that it is a very
small fraction (<0.5%) compared to the number of men
who are castrated to treat prostate cancer. For example,
in Texas the law permitting voluntary castration has been
used only once in 6 years (Anonymous, 2003), and of
53 sex offenders in Texas who recently requested castration,
most were ruled ineligible whereas eight await
surgery (Anonymous, 2003).
Thus, both our study of individuals found through
the Internet and reports about sex offenders in various
states suggest that the number of males desiring chemical
or surgical castration to control their sexual drive is
much higher than those who actually receive treatment.
One factor accounting for this discrepancy may be the
taboo nature of the topic. The fact that some 40% of
our respondents showed hesitancy to discuss castration
with their doctors reflects how socially unacceptable it
is to raise the topic, even in the confidential setting
of a doctorÂs office. Concepts like FreudÂs Âcastration
complex (see Taylor, 2000) may have further demonized
voluntary castrations, making the surgical procedure
unpalatable to society and the medical system. In one
psychoanalytical view, castration is Âthe most severe
punishment that an individual. . . can be threatened withÂ
(Michel & Mormont, 2002). Thus, despite the popularity
of laws permitting or mandating castration for extreme
sex offenders, there is little evidence of acceptance for the
procedure on a case-by-case basis.
Another well-established reason for seeking a voluntary
orchiectomy is as part of SRS for MtF transsexuals
(e.g., Money, 1980; Sirota, Megged, Stein, &
Benatov, 1994). As with voluntary castration for the
control of sexual urges, it is similarly difficult to get
accurate numbers on how many of these operations
are performed in North America, but multiple informal
(unpublished) estimates place the number at fewer than
2,500 per year.
Although our survey was posted on a variety of
websites directed toward transsexuals and individuals
interested in transsexualism, we received relatively few
responses from individuals who wanted castration as part
of SRS. One possibility for this low response rate was that
most of the people in the transsexual community are not
interested in castration per se, but only seek castration as a
means to an end, that is, complete sex reassignment. Those
individualswho have successfully and fully transitioned to
female are not likely to be following Internet discussions
directed toward males who nurture castration fantasies.
They have achieved their goals. Transsexuals, like prostate
cancer patients, do not show the avid interest in castration
that most of the respondents in our study demonstrated.
Many of the people (approximately 40% in our
survey) whose interest in castration was intense enough
for them to participate in Internet discussion groups on
that topic believed in the idea of a Âeunuch calm (ranked
first in Table IV). It is worth noting, though, that this
concept is not well defined in either the Internet or the
medical world. A search in Google for Âeunuch calmÂ
produced only 12 hits (excluding our questionnaire) and
half of those were either for
www.eunuch.org or for a site
devoted to transsexualism. A search on PubMed on the
same word combination yielded no citations.
Despite a large volume of literature documenting
decreased libido with chemical and surgical castration
(e.g., Cheney & Peterson, 1997; Higano, 2003), the
psychological effects of androgen deprivation go far
beyond inducing a calm state vis-`a-vis libido (see Higano,
2003). Other common psychological reactions are neither
minor nor benign (e.g., depression, tearfulness, and
assorted cognitive losses; Cherrier, Rose, & Higano,
2003). From the discussions that we have been following
on
www.eunuch.org and other Internet sites devoted to
castration, it is clear that many of the people who undergo
voluntary castration are neither informed, nor prepared,
for the plethora of additional long-term side effects of
castration. These include osteoporosis, loss of lean muscle
mass, increase in body fat, changes in body odor, and loss
438 Wassersug, Zelenietz, and Squire
of body hair (see Higano, 2003; Smith, 2002; Smith et al.,
2002). From following many Internet discussion groups,
like those footnoted earlier, it is our impression that many
voluntary eunuchs, who were castrated for reasons other
than cancer treatment or transsexualism, will eventually
take supplemental androgens to fight depression and
improve their health and sense of well-being (Bain,
2001).
Novel Reasons for Seeking Castration
The fact that a quarter of our respondents expressed
an interest in castration for cosmetic reasons came as a
surprise to us and, wewould argue, is a departure from traditional
reasons for seeking castration. In apotemnophilia,
a condition that is characterized by an obsessive interest
in having a limb amputated (Elliott, 2000; Johnston &
Elliott, 2002;Wise & Kalyanam, 2000), there is evidence
that a seminal event in these individuals lives was
exposure to an amputee in their youth. However, it is
unlikely that a similar experience influenced many of our
respondents, who were fascinated, if not obsessed, with
castration. For one thing, few, if any, of our respondents
would have had much exposure during their youth to
males without a scrotum (or penis). One might suggest,
somewhat whimsically, that Ken dolls, GI Joes, and
Mickey Mouse could have been surrogate models for
male mammals lacking conspicuous external genitalia.
However, we suspect that these cultural icons are not
sufficiently similar to humans to act as credible models
in the same way that real amputees may have seeded
thoughts of limb amputation in apotemnophiliacs.
The pop cultural rise of tattooing, body piercing, and
more extreme body modificationmay be influencing some
men nurturing their castration fantasies. The emergence
of Âshe-males, individuals who blend male and female
secondary sexual characteristics (see Blanchard, 1993),
exemplifies the elective anatomical diversity that is now
not only possible but gaining exposure in the Western
world. Websites, like Bmezine (
www.bmezine.com),
provide vivid images of extreme genital modifications,
including total genital removal. Images of genetic males
with a large variety of modifications to their secondary
sexual characteristics abound on both the Internet and
recently in printmedia aswell. Until recently, such images
were not widely available to citizens at large. The idea that
these images, particularly on the Internet where access is
not restricted, could influence health in a negative fashion
has been raised before (e.g., Ribisl, 2003; Ribisl, Lee,
Henriksen, & Haladjian, 2003;Wise & Kalyanam, 2000);
however, rigorous testing of such hypotheses is difficult.
Approximately 30% of our respondents claimed that
fantasizing about castration excited them sexually (ranked
third in Table IV; see also Israel, 1998). For some of
these individuals, their fantasies may be persistent and
intense enough to be considered paraphilias. In the past,
individuals with such extreme masochist ideations would
most likely have kept their thoughts to themselves and
rarely shared them with others. Indeed, because men
with other paraphilias tend to de-emphasize them, our
30% response rate may be a low estimate. The Internet,
however, allowed us to find and correspond with a fairly
large number of people with these fantasies. It also allows
them to find and correspond with each other.
Adult Internet discussion groups may breed communities
of people who share deviant views and allow
them to find instant validation for their obsessions. This
point has already been made for apotemnophiliacs by
Elliott (2000, 2003), pedophiles by Quayle and Taylor
(2001), and zoophiles by Williams and Weinberg (2003).
It is worth noting that three of the discussion groups,
where we posted our survey, which focus specifically
on castration (i.e., theneuteringnews, eunuchshaven, and
menwithoutballs), all have over 1,000 members. Large
communities such as these allow people who share similar
paraphilias to correspond and reinforce each otherÂs
ideations, giving them a sense of communal acceptance,
if not normalcy (see also Deirmenjian, 2002; McGrath
& Casey, 2002); however we do not know whether
such Âcyber-support leads to increased obsessions by
individuals with such fetishes.
The fifth most common reason in our study for
seeking castration was a desire to be more submissive
to a partner (Table V). A quarter of our respondents
selected that as a reason for castration. Fictional castration
stories that devotees post on
www.eunuch.org typically fit
this masochist fetish model and a belief that castration
produces extreme submissiveness. Endocrinology belies
this fantasy. Castratedmales have approximately the same
androgen titers as females and one should not expect
the castrated male to be any more (or less) submissive
than the average female in any particular society. The
thousands of males that are surgically or chemically
castrated each year for the treatment of cancer do not
stand out in our modern society as being exceptionally
submissive. Furthermore, studies of eunuchs in history
reveal that many were generals, chief advisors, powerful
administrators; hardly meek, malleable, or obsequiously
submissive in any obvious way (Scholz, 2001; Segal,
2001; Tsai, 1996, 2002).
Our survey identified a population of well-educated,
adult men fascinated with the idea of being castrated and,
in some cases, have evidently held such fascination for
Motivation for Voluntary Castration 439
decades.Assuming our respondents have been honestwith
us,many would voluntarily have orchiectomies if they felt
that the procedure was simple, safe, and inexpensive.
Themost common reasons that our respondents gave
forwanting to be castrated are all in accordwith the classic
motivation of ascetics, that is, to ascend above carnal
desires. Voluntary castration for this reason has been part
of religious rituals for millennia (Money, 1988; Scholz,
2001; Taylor, 2000). Our data were consistent with the
view that, for most individuals who desire castration, this
passionwas Ânot impulsive, but the result of long-standing
conflicts, usually involving difficulties . . . to cope with
sexual drives (Sirota et al., 1994).
The interest in castration for a substantial number
of our respondents, however, was of a fetishistic nature,
reflecting fantasies ofmasochism and submissiveness that
do not match the psychoendocrinological realities of androgen
deprivation. Psychiatric research has documented
enough cases of self-inflicted genitalmutilation to indicate
that this psychopathology is hardly new (e.g., Aboseif
et al., 1993; Becker & Hartmann, 1997; Money, 1988;
Sirota et al., 1994; Wise & Kalyanam, 2000).
Whether the fact that the Internet now allows men
with such fetishes to correspond with each other is a
good or bad thing cannot be resolved with the little
information that we have. Internet support groups have
been shown to reduce depression and perceived stress
for women with breast cancer (Winzelberg et al., 2003).
But how these communities affect individuals when their
common shared feature is a paraphilia rather than an
oncological illness is not known (see McGrath & Casey,
2002; Williams & Weinberg, 2003, for possibilities in
this regard). On the one hand, it is possible that such
keyboard camaraderie may inspire some men to act out
their fantasies (Quayle&Taylor, 2001).On the other hand,
these cyber associations may be safety valves that allow
individuals with paraphilias, who could be dangerous to
themselves or others, to displace the risk of real mutilating
injury with the more benign symptoms of excess time at
the computer terminal.
One of the more surprising discoveries from our
survey was the large number of men who wanted to be
castrated because they liked the look of a castrated male,
that is, the appearance of the perineum with the scrotum
removed.We believe this to be a rather new (postmodern)
reason for seeking castration. The psychiatric literature
that we have reviewed does not list this as a motivation
for castration outside of transsexualism.
What accounts for this new motivation is unknown.
We speculate that it is fueled by the growing popularity
of body modification in general (i.e., piercing, tattooing,
cosmetic surgery) and the fact that images of surgically
modified genitalia are now easily accessed on the Internet
and in some adult magazines.
Should any of the eunuchwannabes in our study wish
to bring their fantasies to fruition, the Internet provides
them with all the information they need. The reality is that
one can now get detailed directions on how to perform and
where to obtain orchiectomies directly from the web (see
Wise & Kalyanam, 2000).
Several facts taken together present a disturbing
picture. First, a substantial number of men with castration
fixations (about 40%) are embarrassed to talk to their
doctors about their obsession (Table III). This increases
the likelihood thatÂshould they decide to live out
their fantasiesÂthe procedure will be performed in a
nonmedical setting. Some men, out of desperation, may
go to street-cutters6 or self-mutilate (e.g., Israel, 1998;
Murphy, Murphy, & Grainger, 2001; Sirota et al., 1994).
People who are not medically qualified offer their services
via the Internet to eunuch wannabes for free or at costs
below those ofmedically qualified personnel. Some of the
would-be eunuchs end up in emergency rooms as a result
of these illegal procedures (see Masson & Klein, 2002).
If trial runs with chemical castration were an option
for more men with castration fixations, perhaps fewer
would take matters into their own hands. Our survey
revealed that at least 25% of our respondents would happily
explore a short-term course of temporary chemical
castration before having an orchiectomy. This would give
them a chance to experience the effects of androgen deprivation
without the irreversibility of surgery. Of course,
this requires that the individual contemplating nonmedical
castration via either self-surgery or street-cutters first
discuss their desire for castration with their doctors
and seek counseling. Physicians can help these patients
by initiating discussions that explore, in a supportive
and nonjudgmental fashion, the castration fantasies and
medical options available to these men. As an adjuvant
to counseling, our data suggest that many men with
castration paraphilia would happily undertake chemical
castration if the opportunity were provided them.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ÂOne2dizzo helped us format our survey for efficient
posting on the Internet. Laura Bennett, Michele
Byers, Ross Gray, Andrew Harris, Josie Johnston, Clyde
Olson, Jean Olson, Wendy Olson, Kerri Oseen, Steven
6The USAÂs most recognized street-cutter, Gelding, by 2000
may have castrated >50 men (see
www.sfweekly.com/issues/2000-
06-28/feature2.html/l/index.html). Details on his life can be
found at
www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/5686/castrate.html and
www.bmezine.com/news/people/A10101/gelding.html.
440 Wassersug, Zelenietz, and Squire
Phelps, Lesley Roberts,DollyWadhwa, KarenWarkentin,
and Stephen Workman all offered insightful discussion
and comments on draft manuscripts. This research was
supported in part by a Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research grant to RJW.
APPENDIX
Question 1: What Is Your Castration Status?
1. I have been castrated for medical reasons and,
except for the treatment that it provided for my
medical condition, I regret the other changes it
has made in my life.
2. I have been castrated for medical reasons but
I donÂt find the changes it made in my life
particularly surprising or regrettable.
3. I have been castrated for medical reasons and
coincidentally found the changes it made in my
life better than I expected.
4. I have been castrated as part of the sequence
toward sexual reassignment and now regret
having it done.
5. I have been castrated as part of the sequence
toward sexual reassignment and the changes it
has made in my life are neither surprising nor
regrettable.
6. I have been castrated as part of the sequence
toward sexual reassignment and coincidentally
found the changes it made in my life better than
I expected.
7. I was castrated to fulfill a sexual/emotional need
(other than transitioning from male to female)
and regret having it done.
8. I was castrated to fulfill a sexual/emotional need
(other than transitioning from male to female)
and find the changes it has made in my life not
particularly exciting or regrettable.
9. I was castrated to fulfill a sexual/emotional need
(other than transitioning from male to female)
and find the changes it has made in my life better
than I expected.
10. I plan to be castrated for medical/health reasons.
11. I never want to be truly castrated, but I fantasize
about it.
12. I think I would submit to castration, if I could
have a scene just like my fondest fantasy.
13. I would submit to castration only if my partner
truly wanted me to be their eunuch.
14. Iwant to be awomanÂs (or manÂs, if gay) eunuch,
but would consider castration only if my partner
sincerely shared my lifestyle ideal.
15. I wouldnÂt hesitate to be castrated if an affordable
and medically safe operation was available.
16. I want to be castrated so badly IÂm willing to
be castrated in a non-clinical environment by a
non-MD.
17. None of the above statements closely approximate
my situation or feelings. (If you choose
this selection, please send a brief explanation
with your response).
Question 2: Why HavenÂt You Been Castrated?
1. Iwould like a trial runwith a reversible chemical
castration first.
2. I fear knowledge of my castration could cause
problems for me in the workplace.
3. I fear my wife/partner would disapprove of my
decision to be castrated.
4. I fear family members, other than wife or partner,
would disapprove of my decision to be castrated.
5. I have no partner and fear IÂll damage my
chances of finding one, if I become a eunuch.
6. A medically safe castration is too expensive for
my budget.
7. IÂm embarrassed to talk to my physician or
urologist about this.
8. I fear an operation by a street-cutter would be
dangerous.
9. I would only want to be castrated in a BDSM
scene of my liking, not in a sterile, serious
clinical environment.
10. If castration was as cheap, safe, and painless as
a flu shot, IÂd be much more likely to get it done.
11. I am concerned about long-term side effects
other than loss of libido.
12. Other. (If you choose this selection, please send
a brief explanation with your response.)
Question 3: Why Do You Want to Be Castrated?
1. For treatment or prevention of a medical condition
(i.e., prostate cancer, testicular cancer, or
any medical consideration).
2. Foolproof birth control.
3. Asense of control over oneÂs sexual urges and/or
sexual appetite.
4. A feeling of calm, often called the eunuch calm.
5. PartnerÂs sex drive is much lower, castration
of husband would make for more harmonious
marriage.
Motivation for Voluntary Castration 441
6. Perception that relationship with partner would
become more intimate if man were castrated.
7. As a symbol and token of total trust in his partner.
Giving partner control over HRT is important.
8. Feeling a deep desire to be submissive to partner.
9. Feeling a deep desire to become submissive to
women in general.
10. Male guilt. The perception that women in general
have suffered historically at the hands of
male-dominated culture.
11. Specific personal guilt. Something that individual
has done that warrants castration as a means
of atonement.
12. Guilt over oneÂs sexuality in general. Feeling
that all sexual thoughts and desires are wrong.
13. Castration for religious reasons.
14. A desire to become free of the power women
hold over me through sexual attraction.
15. Avoidance of military service.
16. Avoidance of male responsibilities or pressure
to be macho.
17. Increased chance of receiving unconditional
love, like a pet or baby.
18. A reaction to feelings of sexual inadequacy
(perceived or real)Âneeding to feel accepted as
less than a man.
19. Cosmetic effect. Just like the look.
20. As a transitional stage in sexual reassignment
surgery.
21. Retaining youthful soprano singing voice
(castrati).
22. The excitement of the castration scene itself.
23. The physical pain of castration.
24. Other. (If you list ÂOther among your selections,
please include a brief description in your
reply.)
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D:D
), I continued my reading of Anne Rice's beautiful and sensitively written, fictional "Cry to Heaven", one of the books on your list. I'd seen this book mentioned elsewhere in the Archive.