A Passion for Castration: Characterizing Men Who Are Fascinated with Castration, but Have Not Been Castrated

Abstract

Introduction A number of men have extreme castration ideations. Many only fantasize about castration; others actualize their fantasies. Aims We wish to identify factors that distinguish those who merely fantasize about being castrated from those who are at the greatest risk of genital mutilation. Methods Seven hundred thirty-one individuals, who were not castrated, responded to a survey posted on http://www.eunuch.org. We compared the responses of these “wannabes” to those of 92 men who were voluntarily castrated and responded to a companion survey. Main Outcome Measures Respondents answered the questionnaire items relating to demographics, origin of interest in castration, and ambition toward eunuchdom. Results Two categories of wannabes emerged. A large proportion (∼40%) of wannabes' interest in castration was singularly of a fetishistic nature, and these men appeared to be at a relatively low risk of irreversible genital mutilation. Approximately 20% of the men, however, appeared to be at great risk of genital mutilation. They showed a greater desire to reduce libido, change their genital appearance, transition out of male, and prevent sexually offensive behavior. Nineteen percent of all wannabes have attempted self-castration, yet only 10% have sought medical assistance. Conclusions We identify several motivating factors for extreme castration ideations and provide a classification for reasons why some males desire orchiectomies. Castration ideations fall under several categories of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. (DSM-IV), most notably a Gender Identity Disorder other than male-to-female (MtF) transsexual (i.e., male-to-eunuch) and a Body Identity Integrity Disorder. Physicians need to be aware of males who have strong desires for emasculation without a traditional MtF transsexual identity.

Religiosity, childhood abuse, and other risk factors correlated with voluntary genital ablation.

“…Consistent with the data in Roberts et al (2008), we found significant differences between the groups concerning their selfidentified gender. Not surprisingly, those who had already obtained genital ablation aligned with a "eunuch" or "third gender" identity more often than those who had not yet been castrated.…”

“…While more "wannabes" indicated that their desire to be castrated was driven by sexual fantasies, the major motivation for genital ablation among men who had been castrated and/or penectomized was libido control. Overall, our results support the conclusions of Roberts et al (2008) and bolster them with a much larger sample size.…”

“…Roberts et al (2008) demonstrated that castrated individuals were on average several years older than the "wannabes." As such we expect that some of the younger "wannabes" will eventually be castrated and/or penectomized.…”

“…Participants answered open-ended questions and provided information including their childhood and family life (Roberts, Brett, Johnson, & Wassersug, 2008), history of physical and/or sexual abuse, and parental religiosity.…”

Report of the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Treatment of Gender Identity Disorder

“…Reasonable understanding of the effects of contemplated medical treatments and ability to adhere to a therapeutic regimen also should be assessed Meyer et al, 2001) consistent with usual principles of decision-making capacity and informed consent. Assessment of co-occurring mental illness, particularly psychopathology that may influence the transgender presentation or that may be mistaken for transgender (e.g., Skoptic syndrome, in which a person is preoccupied with or engages in genital self-mutilation, such as castration, penectomy or clitoridectomy) and psychotic disorders, etc., is paramount (Hembree et al, 2009;Roberts, Brett, Johnson, & Wassersug, 2008).…”