Question of Options
Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:54 pm
Since this is a site which is largely about voluntary orchiectomy and, to a lesser extent, about voluntary peotomy, I think you could probably say it deals mostly with options which individuals have chosen. In fact, since the Archive is apparently considered by whoever decides such things, to be a restricted adult website; simply accessing this website is an action which represents the choosing of an option which might not be approved of by a lot of folks.
Anyway, what got me thinking about this was a post in which someone said that an individual who had gotten an orchiectomy in his twenties, had given up a number of options which he would have had, if he hadn't chosen to have the orchiectomy at that time. The person who'd had the surgery then replied by noting that, had he not undergone the operation at that time, the effects produced by the testes on his body, would have limited his options in future years. I think this points up the fact that the choices and options an individual has, depend to a considerable extent on the person's point of view. And, beyond that, the choices made, may have a different import than a lot of people might think that they do.
In reality, most people never think seriously about the option of having their testes removed--and, to them, because of their ideas regarding castration, the option might never be a viable one. In other words, they don't perceive that they have an option. In effect, they are fated--by their own attitudes--to live with whatever gender they were born with. Most persons wouldn't change their gender character even if they considered that orchiectomy or peotomy were an option which they could reasonably choose. I know I wouldn't and I don't know that anyone I associate with much would. But, certainly, there are many who don't really have the option of orchiectomy even though they want to have it done, because of the attitudes instilled in themselves and in those around them, by the society in which they live and by other factors.
Most people, in fact, have had the choice of their gender made by fate, by the chance mating of a sperm and ova at the moment of their conception. And everybody has to have a gender identity of some kind, so someone who has chosen to be a eunuch is, in a general way, no more restricted in his gender identity than is a person who decided to accept the genitalia he or she was born with. Each can have only one gender character, and no other--I would say that's even true of intersexed persons. Of course, it might be said that removal of the testes has to be considered destructive because it causes sterility--but even that effect can be circumvented by someone who wants to put some of his semen in a sperm bank before orchiectomy. And most male characteristics can be developed after orchiectomy by using HRT (though, admittedly, the results of HRT appear not to be uniform for everyone.)
Some Archive members, and a large number of individuals in the general public have, of course, had orchiectomies as treatment for testicular cancer or prostate cancer. And these are generally considered to be mandatory surgeries. But even those operations are optional, in the sense that the individual can choose to keep his testes and accept the fact that his life span will be shorter because he hasn't had them removed. In the case of prostate cancer, I've heard of a number of people who made that choice. For someone whose self-image would be degraded to the point of making him miserable, perhaps it is a constructive choice, to keep the gonads.
Another area in which options are related to the subject of this website, is in the matter of lifestyles. The impression I get is that an individual who has had an orchiectomy, often perceives that he has a larger range of lifestyle choices after the operation than before. Maybe this is simply because the question of what to do about the desire to have the operation, has been resolved. But some who have had the surgery appear not to perceive that they have options, and perhaps this is just a matter of taking a restricted outlook. I suspect, for example, that a lot of women would not object to having a husband or long-term boyfriend who was a eunuch.
Beyond that, my impression is that a lot of the people who access this website, simply take a wider view of the options they could take in their lives in genera, than most persons do, and perhaps that sort of view is necessary for someone who wants to do it, to go ahead and have an orchiectomy.
Anyway, what got me thinking about this was a post in which someone said that an individual who had gotten an orchiectomy in his twenties, had given up a number of options which he would have had, if he hadn't chosen to have the orchiectomy at that time. The person who'd had the surgery then replied by noting that, had he not undergone the operation at that time, the effects produced by the testes on his body, would have limited his options in future years. I think this points up the fact that the choices and options an individual has, depend to a considerable extent on the person's point of view. And, beyond that, the choices made, may have a different import than a lot of people might think that they do.
In reality, most people never think seriously about the option of having their testes removed--and, to them, because of their ideas regarding castration, the option might never be a viable one. In other words, they don't perceive that they have an option. In effect, they are fated--by their own attitudes--to live with whatever gender they were born with. Most persons wouldn't change their gender character even if they considered that orchiectomy or peotomy were an option which they could reasonably choose. I know I wouldn't and I don't know that anyone I associate with much would. But, certainly, there are many who don't really have the option of orchiectomy even though they want to have it done, because of the attitudes instilled in themselves and in those around them, by the society in which they live and by other factors.
Most people, in fact, have had the choice of their gender made by fate, by the chance mating of a sperm and ova at the moment of their conception. And everybody has to have a gender identity of some kind, so someone who has chosen to be a eunuch is, in a general way, no more restricted in his gender identity than is a person who decided to accept the genitalia he or she was born with. Each can have only one gender character, and no other--I would say that's even true of intersexed persons. Of course, it might be said that removal of the testes has to be considered destructive because it causes sterility--but even that effect can be circumvented by someone who wants to put some of his semen in a sperm bank before orchiectomy. And most male characteristics can be developed after orchiectomy by using HRT (though, admittedly, the results of HRT appear not to be uniform for everyone.)
Some Archive members, and a large number of individuals in the general public have, of course, had orchiectomies as treatment for testicular cancer or prostate cancer. And these are generally considered to be mandatory surgeries. But even those operations are optional, in the sense that the individual can choose to keep his testes and accept the fact that his life span will be shorter because he hasn't had them removed. In the case of prostate cancer, I've heard of a number of people who made that choice. For someone whose self-image would be degraded to the point of making him miserable, perhaps it is a constructive choice, to keep the gonads.
Another area in which options are related to the subject of this website, is in the matter of lifestyles. The impression I get is that an individual who has had an orchiectomy, often perceives that he has a larger range of lifestyle choices after the operation than before. Maybe this is simply because the question of what to do about the desire to have the operation, has been resolved. But some who have had the surgery appear not to perceive that they have options, and perhaps this is just a matter of taking a restricted outlook. I suspect, for example, that a lot of women would not object to having a husband or long-term boyfriend who was a eunuch.
Beyond that, my impression is that a lot of the people who access this website, simply take a wider view of the options they could take in their lives in genera, than most persons do, and perhaps that sort of view is necessary for someone who wants to do it, to go ahead and have an orchiectomy.
