We explored the personal history of men who voluntarily seek genital ablation for reasons other than male-to-female transitioning. We focused on three groups: (a) men who have had voluntary genital ablation; (b) men who desire genital ablation and fantasize about it (self-described "wannabes"); and (c) those who claim to be merely interested in the subject of castration. An online survey was posted at eunuch.org that asked about religiosity, childhood abuse, sexual orientation, parental threats of castration, and whether the respondents had witnessed animal castrations in their youth. Data were collected on 301 men who had obtained genital ablations (mean age 45.4 years old), 1,385 wannabes (44.3 years old), and 1,242 individuals who were reportedly "just interested" in castration (41.8 years old). We have confirmed that: (a) having witnessed animal castrations during childhood, (b) having been threatened with castration as a child for behaviours deemed inappropriate by a parent figure, and (c) being homosexual or bisexual, are all common among individuals with extreme castration ideations. In addition, the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among men who had genital ablations and wannabes was 1.4 times greater than among "just interested" individuals. For men who had obtained genital ablations, "very devout" parental religiosity was 1.8 times more common than it was for wannabes and 1.3 times more common than it was for "just interested" individuals. Individuals who were raised by "very devout" parents and who were also sexually abused had significantly greater odds and likelihood of reporting being voluntarily castrated and/or penectomized than respondents without those risk factors. Our study may aid clinicians in identifying and distinguishing individuals who are at risk of genital ablation through self-surgery or by nonprofessionals.

No abstract

IntroductionSome healthy males voluntarily seek castration without a recognized medical need. There are currently no standards of care for these individuals, which cause many of them to obtain surgery outside of a licensed medical setting. We seek to understand who performs these surgeries.AimThis study aims to characterize individuals who perform or assist in genital ablations outside of the healthcare system.MethodsA cross-sectional Internet survey posted on eunuch.org received 2,871 responses. We identified individuals who had performed or assisted in human castrations (“cutters”; n = 98) and compared this group with all other survey respondents (n = 2,773), who had not assisted in castrations. Next we compared the cutters with the voluntary eunuchs. Lastly, because many of the cutters have themselves been castrated, we also divided the physically castrated population (n = 278) into cutters (n = 44) and noncutters (n = 234) and compared them.Main Outcome MeasuresSelf-reported questionnaires were used to collect demographic information, gender identity and presentation, selected childhood experiences, and history of aggressive behaviors, self-harming behaviors, and hospitalization.ResultsDistinguishing characteristics of cutters included: (i) presenting themselves as very masculine, (ii) having had their longest sexual relationship with a man, (iii) growing up on a farm, (iv) witnessing animal castrations, (v) having a history of sexually inappropriate behavior, (vi) having been threatened with genital mutilation as a child, (vii) having a history of self-harm, (viii) being raised in a devoutly Christian household, (ix) having had an underground castration themselves, and (x) having body piercings and/or tattoos.ConclusionsThis study may help identify individuals who are at risk of performing illegal castrations. That information may help healthcare providers protect individuals with extreme castration ideations from injuring themselves or others. Jackowich RA, Vale R, Vale K, Wassersug RJ, and Johnson TW. Voluntary genital ablations: Contrasting the cutters and their clients. Sex Med 2014;2:121–132.