'The Most Unkindest Cut of All': Castration, Homosexuality and Nazi Justice

Giles, Geoffrey J.

doi:10.1177/002200949202700103

Cited by 28 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Yet, as Giles argues, there is good reason to believe that the drive to castrate homosexuals in Germany was as much a desire to punish as anything else. Moreover, false accusations of homosexuality could be levied for personal or political reasons, as sometimes occurred amongst the Hitler Youth (Giles, 1992). Similarly, while justifications for reproductive interventions imposed upon women of colour have involved both eugenic and behaviour modification arguments revolving around the issue of poverty, the urge to punish is often evident in the practices.…”

Section: The Reproductive Justice Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rights-holders or refugees? Do gay men need reproductive justice?

Russell¹

2018

Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online

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A thriving North American industry has emerged designed to help gay men become biological parents through surrogacy and egg donation. Taking as given that gay men have the same ethical right to pursue such reproductive technologies as heterosexual couples or individuals, this article asks whether access to egg donation and surrogacy for gay men specifically could be considered a matter not just of (consumer) rights, but of justice. The idea of shifting discourse about reproduction from the language of ‘rights’ to that of ‘justice’ is most notably articulated by women of colour. Their call for reproductive justice seeks to expand discussion beyond the narrow right to an abortion (as a negative privacy right) to encompass broader, positive rights, such as the rights to bear healthy children and to raise them in safe environments. What, if anything, might we learn from reproductive justice movements about how to frame gay men's desire/demand for access to surrogacy? While I find several productive connections between the two groups, two factors lead me to argue against understanding gay access to surrogacy as a matter of justice: first, the necessary reliance on women's reproductive labour; and second, the largely non-structural causes of gay couples' inability to reproduce. Nevertheless, by considering two driving forces behind gay male assisted reproduction – social norms favouring biological family formation and the need for family security – I ultimately conclude that a basis for solidarity exists between gay men and reproductive justice movements. That basis is a concept like ‘procreative liberty’.

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Section: The Reproductive Justice Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rights-holders or refugees? Do gay men need reproductive justice?

Russell¹

2018

Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online

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“…25 The persecution of LGBTI people in the Nazi regime was based on draconian extensions of existing laws, although some men were castrated under the 1933 Law for Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring. 26 Many LGBTI people were sent to concentration camps -such as Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald or Flössenburg -where they were considered as the lower status of prisoner by both the SS guards and other prisoners 27 and subject to unconsented experimentation to 'treat' their homosexuality. 28…”

Section: A Brief History Of Psychiatry In the Holocaustmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Contemporary Significance of the Holocaust for Australian Psychiatry

Robertson¹,

Light²,

Lipworth³

et al. 2016

Health and History

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“…Perhaps the most concentrated efforts to eliminate homosexuality under the rubric of medicine occurred just prior to and during the Holocaust. Castration (Giles, 1992), castration with implantation of heterosexual testes (Schmidt, 1984) and attempted hormone manipulation through implanted synthetic hormones (Haeverle, 1990) were examples of experiments that were implemented without success on homosexual men in pre-Nazi and Nazi Germany. Medical experimentation took on such demonic proportions that Nazi officials were forced to limit ''overzealous physicians'' (Proctor, 1992).…”

Section: Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homosexuality and the Human Genome Project

Gabard

1999

Journal of Homosexuality

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Recent scientific research which offers evidence of genetic and biologic influence in homosexuality has created serious concerns. The intent of this article is to offer suggestions based in principles of bioethics in which perceived negative outcomes may be diminished and the positive qualities of the research enhanced. For a portion of the general population the concerns expressed in this article could be alleviated through public discussion and exposure to the findings and theories of the academic and scientific communities. For another portion of the population, however, additional safeguards against misuse of screening tests and somatic cell interventions may be advisable through efforts initiated by researchers themselves, general public policies, and additional medical policies. While these efforts are recommended as short term goals for the separate scientific and social paradigms of homosexuality, it is proposed that an equally important and related debate involves the subjects of disease, normality and the value of diversity. It is suggested that while it is imperative that the behavioral and biological sciences recognize the limitations of their separate approaches, the reductionist approach itself limits our understanding of what essentially are questions of attraction and relationships. In conclusion, homosexuality should be understood from the perspective of autonomy as every person's right to experience a full and meaningful life.

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'The Most Unkindest Cut of All': Castration, Homosexuality and Nazi Justice

Cited by 28 publications

References 1 publication

Rights-holders or refugees? Do gay men need reproductive justice?

Rights-holders or refugees? Do gay men need reproductive justice?

The Contemporary Significance of the Holocaust for Australian Psychiatry

Homosexuality and the Human Genome Project

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