The hidden world of self-castration and testicular self-injury.
Eunuchs are biological males who have undergone voluntary castration for reasons other than male-to-female transsexualism. The term 'eunuch wannabe' refers to individuals who desire, or are planning, voluntary castration. Out of fear of embarrassment or rejection, many eunuch wannabes do not consult medical professionals regarding their desire for voluntary castration. Instead, they commonly resort to self-castration, castration by nonmedical professionals, or self-inflicted testicular damage via injections of toxic substances. Urologists should be aware of the growing popularity of these procedures. In particular, intratesticular injection of toxins is performed so that urologists will remove the damaged testicles.
Anthropology Department, California State University, Chico, P. O. Box 50, Fulton, CA 95439, USA.
Thomas W
TW
Johnson
Center for Andrology and Division of Endocrinology, The George Washington University, 2150 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 3-416, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Michael S
MS
Irwig
D005058:Eunuchism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D013737:Testis / Q000293:injuries*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology