For more, see:
I believe that there is a huge industry for eunuch prostitutes in India, where the necessary operation is likewise cheap and quick (they don’t even bother to anaethetise you, and remove your penis into the bargain). Have fun; don’t forget to write.
A must for real sex offenders
I believe you are thinking of Hijras. While all Hijras live as women, they do not have to be eunuchs. The Master has written of Hijras Why are Indian eunuchs warned about unsafe sex? - The Straight Dope
And do you have any cites for your claims about the lack of anasthesia?
Assuming that psythe IS thinking of Hijras, the very column which you cite states quite clearly that their emasculation typically occurs sans anasthesia:
Was Cecil’s comment about Frankie Valli a joke? If not, I just learned something.
Yes.
I still haven’t seen in ‘pros’ on becoming a eunuch. Not that I expect to.
Well, they are enumerated in Robert J. Sawyer’s book Hybrids, after
a rapist is castrated by the Neanderthal protagonist Ponter.
Apparently, the pros include a lowering of anxiety and tension. The debatable-if-it’s-pro-or-con effect is a much-decreased libido.
A quote, from the end of chapter 9:
I’m afraid to read that spoiler.
Thanks DocCathode/Tenar; I’d no idea where I’d read about Hijras but yes, those are the ones I mean.
You shouldn’t be. It’s not dirty or gross, just a detail from the story you may not wish to know prior to reading the book.
I understand most traditional eunuchs were slaves or indentured servants and didn’t have any choice about their jobs. Also it was quite common to have the eunuchs’ tools bobbed also so there was no possibility that harem’s bodyguards could penetrate the girls. However this was not always practiced and I believe there were several accounts of the Ottoman Emperor’s eunuchs being executed for having had sex with the harem gals. Of course they were shooting blanks but the Ottoman Emperors were usually very unforgiving of such transgressions.
So I would tend to think that this loosing your tool along with the balls to be the biggest downside of the eunuch occupation.
Karlos
Cecil writes:
“Reputable hospitals will only perform castrations in connection with complete sex-change operations, and then only after intensive psychiatric screening. Johns Hopkins, the hospital that for years handled most of the sex changes in the U.S. (they’ve since gotten out of the business), required a minimum of two years of psychological testing.”
Reputable hospitals also perform castrations as treatment for medical conditions like prostate cancer. Of course, you have to be diagnosed with the condition in order to get the treatment. I do think it’s ever done, say, as a preventative measure for someone with a family history of prostate cancer.
I would say there are more castrations done for medical reasons like treating prostate cancer tha than for sex change operations.
Anyway, one of the pros would be reducing the male hormones that are believed to add to the likelihood of that cancer.
As far as I know, in terms of career prospects, men who have undergone that procedure usually return to their professions. I don’t know if it effects physical strength enough to make doing a job that demanded that more difficult.
However, men castrated after their voices have changed don’t have their voices change back. So there’s no prospect for a novelty singing career.
And I think I’ve heard that castrated men are prone to put one wait like neutered cats do.
“prone to put one wait”
That’s “prone to put on weight” for you English speakers.
(Sometimes when I think, I fall asleep.)