Why Choose Castration?

[ZeuterMe (imported)]

Inspired by another thread, I want to come up with a more granular set of recommendations for people considering castration than the usual "Alcohol, ultrasound, removal" and "Visit Dr. A" that, while a solid go-to recommendation, are sometimes inadequate or even counterproductive. It's impossible to do a "trial run" with hormone suppression drugs of a castration-and-scrotal-ablation with HRT, since the only reversible approaches available reduce testosterone production and activity.

Will you please join me in brainstorming approaches that work for different motivations?

Taken from the "Castration Primer" thread… SELECTED MOTIVATIONS FOR CASTRATION! (I have omitted those which involve coercion, since I would like to discuss why one may desire castration for themselves, and not what one may want done to others.)

Cancer is perhaps the most frequent medically indicated reason for castration, other than injury. Approximately 80,000 men are castrated in North America alone every year as a result of prostate cancer. There are primarily two types of cancer for which castration may be the prescribed treatment. They are testicular cancer and prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer involves the gland that is located essentially behind the penis and which is responsible for the production of most of the volume of ejaculate produced by males at orgasm. It is a cancer that is more prevalent among older males. The cancer is stimulated to growth, acceleration, and metastasis by the presence of testosterone, the sex hormone produced by the testes. Thus, removing the testes, or blocking the production of the testosterone hormone, slows or stops the spread of the prostate cancer. At one time, surgical castration was a common treatment for prostate cancer. Presently, androgen (testosterone) blocking drugs are more commonly administered to create the same effect as castration, thus eliminating surgery, and the frequently debilitating impact of surgical castration upon many men, psychologically and socially

Testicular cancer is more common among younger men (teens and twenties) and usually involves the growth of tumors or lumps in or on the testes – often singly, but sometimes involving both. The general therapeutic approach to treatment is removal of the diseased testis, usually through an abdominal incision that removes both the testis and the spermatic cord all the way to its origin. This reduces the possible spread of the cancer cells by eliminating the need to cut into them, by removing the cancer and the tissue before it. Often prosthetic testes are inserted to minimize impact and appearance difficulties.Aside from leaving out that inguinal orchiectomy prevents draining of sloughed testicular cells into the lymphatic system, and thus preventing cancer stem cells from spreading, this is excellently written and informative - I have little to add but my agreement.

Pain / Damage / Injury / Atrophy

There are times when an individual experiences damage or injury in some form to his penis and / or testicles, which may leave them beyond recovery (i.e., car accidents, sports injuries, assaults, torsion, etc.). In these cases, some of the tissue may become lifeless, with necrosis (decay of tissue) possibly resulting, often with related inflammation and infection. In other cases, varying degrees or extremes of pain may result from injury or other causes (sometimes of unknown origin), in some cases chronically. In other cases, testicles sometimes atrophy in response to a disease (i.e., mumps), injury, or in some cases seemingly spontaneously. Castration is sometimes deemed an appropriate treatment response to these types of injuries.

It may be noted that many doctors and surgeons are loathe, presumptively resulting from their own self-preservative sensibilities and social values at large, to perform such procedures, preferring to make extraordinary efforts at preserving the genitals, even when recovery may be beyond hope, often with frequent suffering and pain resulting from delayed procedures.In my experience, patients with a legitimate medical reason to desire castration have to positively identify it as their preferred course of treatment, and advocate for themselves to their doctors. Further, studies suggest that in the case of testicular pain, not all orchiectomies are created equal - "Microsurgical Denervation of the Spermatic Cord for Chronic Orchialgia: Long-Term Results From a Single Center" by Kurt H. Strom and Laurence A. Levine (DOI:10.1016/j.juro.2008.05.018) suggests that there's a 74% to 55% cure rate advantage with inguinal castration curing patients 21% more often, and with scrotal orchiectomy failing to produce even partial results 22% of the time. Alas, the samples were small, and statistical significance difficult to establish. When compared using Student's T-test, and P values (p = the probability that you've drawn the wrong conclusion) from 0.1 to 0.01, the inguinal approach is, in the worst case (where bad luck confounded good science) effective 55% of the time in the real world, whereas scrotal orchiectomy may work as little as 27% of the time. The statistical evidence of inguinal orchiectomy is much stronger, and it seems to be more successful in small studies; the combined effect says that if you are going to resort to castration to treat pain, it BETTER be an inguinal orchiectomy! The approach may be twice as effective as scrotal castration. Unfortunately, as Dr. Arnkoff only performs surgery with scrotal approaches, this favored standby should not be considered an ideal approach.

Religious Belief

Some people engage religious beliefs, taking them very seriously. Some of these people believe in literal application of the Christian Bible or other religious texts. There are a number of references in the Christian bible to castration. Some of them proclaim that one who becomes castrated for the sake of the kingdom of heaven shall be regarded highly and rewarded with everlasting life in the hereafter. The Skoptsy are an example of a sect that routinely practiced castration and sometimes penectomy as a routine element of their beliefs. Others subscribe to the theory that if the hand offends, cut it off and cast it away, as set out in the bible. In this case they apply it to some part or all of their genitals because they are sinful or used in sinful purposes, therefore they should be removed.I have little insight into this mindset, but I know we've recently had a couple members talk about wanting this - perhaps they could chime in?

Calming

There is substantial evidence based upon observation of castrated animals (notably equines, ovines, canines, and swine) of a calming effect upon displayed aggressive behavior. There is some anecdotal reportage of similar effects upon male humans, although no valid studies have been noted to substantiate such positions directly. There are a small number of persons who are castrated who profess a significant calming-effect upon their aggressive behavior.

It is suggested that the so-called “eunuch calm” is more a reduction of aggression, libido, and perhaps stress. The eunuch calm may, in fact, simply be the reaction that someone has after reaching a long sought goal (i.e., castration), more on the order a feeling of overall relief (calm). Any substantive conclusions to be drawn regarding human male behavior in this regard would be dependent upon further study.

Cosmetic Appearance / Dysmorphia (BIID)

This is an area that may be fraught with significant disagreement, the result of disagreement over definitions. There are those who may simply feel that certain parts of their bodies simply do not belong (are dystonic) or are not appropriate to themselves, and others who feel that they simply do not like a part of themselves, and wish it gone, and others who believe that they would look and feel better in such a condition of absence.

Some would contend that all of the above would constitute a condition known as dysmorphia or BIID (Body Integrity Identity Disorder, formerly known as Apotemnophilia), essentially a sense that a certain body part does not belong, such as an arm, leg, or perhaps genitals, and that a sense of social, psychologic, or other feeling of “wholeness,” completeness, or propriety will only be achieved with the removal of that part. Certainly some persons desiring castration could be situated here.

There are also those who may not experience this same sense of dysmorphia, but who find that they dislike their genitalia (or parts thereof) or who feel that their appearance may be enhanced by the absence of part or all of their genitals. Some profess to like and appreciate the “smooth look” – the absence of testicles, penis, or both, but may not involve dysmorphia.Unfortunately, this one is hard to trial-run.

Transgenderism

This discussion does not propose to address issues regarding transgenderism in the sense of M-to-F. It is a field of study that should probably be held completely separate from one of castration. A male-to-female transgendered person who undergoes reassignment surgery necessarily (with rare exceptions) undergoes a castration as part of the surgery, but should not be confused with a eunuch, who remains essentially “male” in form. A number of such male-to-female transsexuals undergo castration as a preparatory step to sexual reassignment surgery, or as an adjunct to facilitate hormonal therapy preparatory to surgery or transitioning lifestyles. Given the appropriateness of such transitions in specific cases, such castrations have generally been deemed to be wholly appropriate and acceptable.One should first look to the WPATH standards of care before asking an amateur like me for my opinion.

Eunuch Gender Identity (Agenderism)

In much the same context as Transgenderism, there are those who do not desire to be of either discrete biologic sex – male or female. Similarly, they may feel no affinity to any specific polar gender, but rather to a more central or perhaps androgynous gender. Similarly, there are those who identify “Eunuch” as a gender, perhaps as the center of the polar genders, along a continuum.Nonbinary genderqueer seems to be entering the zeitgeist recently, so there will likely be a lot more ink spilled on this topic shortly.

Hijra

This is a class of people on the Indian continent who have undergone some degree of castration as part of their initiation and accession to this group. These initiates are inducted both voluntarily and involuntarily according to some accounts. In general, the Hijra are held in low esteem, among the lowest classes in India’s stepped class system. They are usually referred to in feminine terms, and frequently dress as women. Many eke out a living as beggars, prostitutes, and by blessing weddings and births through singing and dancing for money (as opposed to placing curses when not paid).Since the thread I am quoting was written in 2006, I have seen references to hijra as a gender, and suggest that this be treated as a subset of male-to-eunuch transgenderism.

Relationship / Libidinal Issues

There are those who seek castration for real or perceived excesses of their libido, finding that real or seeming sexual obsession or preoccupation is highly distracting, and a reduction or elimination of sex drive would be a preferred condition. This is probably the most frequently cited reason for seeking voluntary castration.

There are others who seek voluntary castration in an effort to maintain comparable libidinal levels to that of their partner, who may have no or very low sexual drive, as an effort to preserve and maintain the relationship.My initial impression is that reversible chemical castration should be tried first, starting with mild, oral agents such as finasteride.

“Slavery” / Sadism/Masochism

There are those who engage in relationships where physical and sexual submission and domination are central themes. Castration, or the offer of it, is deemed to be an “ultimate” offering of submission and subjugation by and to the “master,” or dominant. Additionally, there are those who find erotic pleasure in engaging in sadistic and masochistic practices. In context here, actual or threatened genital torture, castration, penectomy, or a combination of them, is deemed desirable and erotically satisfying.While outwardly coercive, consent management is a critical ingredient in the practice of BDSM - safewords encapsulate the theme here. While the "dom" appears to be exerting control in any scene, ultimately everything that transpires is at the discretion of the "sub". Trial runs and mock castration are entirely feasible here, and it should be feasible to explore the feelings of both members of the relationship in regards to the act, aftereffects, and safety since this is similar to the planning involved in other BDSM activities.

Please contribute if you have any input - this is something of an undertaking, and I'd like to know that I'm not subjecting the unsuspecting to my preconceived notions and prejudices. I will continue to edit this until I'm proud of it, incorporating the advice and feedback of the community.

[ZeuterMe (imported)]

I will continue to edit this until I'm proud of it, incorporating the advice and feedback of the community.

This post will be used as a change log.

2016-07-25 1:09 GMT: Initial creation