# Thai Activists, Parents Urge End to Underage Castrations **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017 "2008-03-28T04:22:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/1 "2008-03-28T04:22:28Z")
Story [here](http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080327/afp/080327082641asiapacificnews.html). “Many clinics require parental approval before performing castrations on minors, but Nathee said some parents have agreed to the procedure only after their children threatened to commit suicide … Castration costs as little as 4,000 baht (130 dollars), a tiny fraction of the total cost of gender reassignment surgery.” Ouch! Clinics doing this to minors is bad enough. But I find it amazing some minors are threatening suicide if they can’t get castrated. Seems more like something you’d threaten your kid with to make him behave! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/2 "2008-03-28T04:25:22Z")
Wow. Thai kids must _really_ hate the “turn your head and cough” procedure. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/3 "2008-03-28T05:54:26Z")
I wish I could remember the name of the documentary but I saw one on Sundance a few years back about men in the United States who for various reasons selected castration. In lieu of using medical doctors and hospitals they instead had an underground network of people who would perform the procedure in their homes or hotels. There was one young man who I suspect might have been a transexual but couldn’t admit it to his family. I didn’t quite grasp the overall motivation of most of the men for having their testicles removed. They weren’t all what we’d typically think of as transexual. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/4 "2008-03-28T07:15:11Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Thai kids must _really_ hate the “turn your head and cough” procedure. [/QUOTE] I guess they pay close attention to whther the doctor says “Cough!” or “Off!” 😃 A story about this in the local press is [here](http://www.dailyxpress.net/2008/03/28/coverstory/coverstory_1056.php). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/5 "2008-03-29T00:57:43Z")
There is an update [here](http://www.dailyxpress.net/2008/03/29/city/city_1106.php). I like the headline: “Nip/Tuck.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/6 "2008-03-29T08:20:21Z")
[QUOTE=MGibson] I didn’t quite grasp the overall motivation of most of the men for having their testicles removed. They weren’t all what we’d typically think of as transexual. [/QUOTE] Strange as it might seem, for some guys it is apparently a sexual fetish (I guess an extreme form of the fetish some people have for being very submissive or for getting extreme body piercings). I once somehow discovered an online messageboard for guys who are castrated or fantasize about having it done for erotic reasons. It’s fascinating how pretty much everything, even castration, can become a sexual fetish for _somebody_ out there. Even though I’ve heard passing references to transsexuals in Thailand before, it’s surprising that there are so many teens who want sex change operations there that this would become a prominent news issue. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/7 "2008-03-29T14:18:54Z")
Having read the article, we’re apparently not talking about castration with the view of making you a eunuch, but castration as “the first step toward a sex change,” which puts a different cast on the story. The story says, “The boys believe that in doing so their bodies will not develop masculine features so their appearance will be more feminine when they save enough money for the complete gender reassignment surgery,” so it may be that modern androgen blockers, such as are used in North America for children who display very strong conviction of being MtF transgendered, would be a good alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/8 "2008-03-30T00:25:59Z")
[QUOTE=lavenderviolet] Even though I’ve heard passing references to transsexuals in Thailand before, it’s surprising that there are so many teens who want sex change operations there that this would become a prominent news issue. :dubious: [/QUOTE] It’s quite a big business here. I know one Brit reporter who interviewed one doctor alone who’s done 500 sex-change operations. Presumably that includes foreigners, too; many Westerners come here to have it done. There was a local movie called _Beautiful Boxer_, about the real-life story of one local professional boxer who had it done. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/9 "2008-03-30T04:12:22Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] It’s quite a big business here. I know one Brit reporter who interviewed one doctor alone who’s done 500 sex-change operations. Presumably that includes foreigners, too; many Westerners come here to have it done. There was a local movie called _Beautiful Boxer_, about the real-life story of one local professional boxer who had it done. [/QUOTE] Hmmm. He’s halfway to being The Man of 1,000 Penises. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/10 "2008-03-30T04:57:05Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Hmmm. He’s halfway to being The Man of 1,000 Penises. [/QUOTE] Oh, I don’t think he keeps them. 😉 But that does remind me of a local news story from seven years ago. Back then, there were still a fair number of trash cans on Skytrain platforms – we had a series of bombings around Bangkok on New Year’s Ever 2006, some from devices placed in trash cans, and trash cans disappeared from many places after that (but there were no bombings at Skytrain stations) – and a cleaning lady searching through the rubbish bin on the top platform of Siam Station found a large package. She’d thought maybe she’d hit the jackpot until she actually opened it and found – you guessed it – a penis and testicles. Talk about a surprise! The poor lady is probably still traumatized. The story said there was evidence the tackle had been frozen at some point, and there was speculation by the police that this was the result of a sex-change operation and for some reason some hospital staff member had decided to dispose of it in this manner. The owner never did come forward to claim his “package.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/11 "2008-03-30T20:52:33Z")
The pay isn’t much, but the tips are excellent. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/12 "2008-04-02T04:17:25Z")
UPDATE: They’ve passed a law, and it is now illegal to castrate minors with OR without parental permission. It was in the news on the radio today (Wednesday), but I cannot find an online link. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/13 "2008-04-02T04:23:42Z")
Ah, there’s a link [here](http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30069796). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/14 "2008-04-12T02:00:50Z")
Another update [here](http://www.dailyxpress.net/2008/04/11/entertainment/entertainment_1462.php). Nothing to do with underaged patients, but interesting. Excerpt: “Straight society doesn’t have a right to preach to transgenders about castration.” ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/15 "2008-04-13T00:37:46Z")
Ok, dumb question here and as much as I’d rather look it up and not admit my ignorance(!), I also don’t want to end up having to weed through porn sites and the associated pop-ups (hehe) and garbage getting downloaded onto my 'puter soooooooo **lavenderviolet** made mention of this being a sexual fetish (I realize not in this context, though) …but how does a guy get sexually satisfied, I guess, without a penis? I’m sure I’m missing something (well I’m not, cause I never had one, but they are and well…) hiding under a rock now ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/16 "2008-04-13T01:16:38Z")
You can always massage the prostate through digital stimulation. Or you can just use a big black dildo. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thai-activists-parents-urge-end-to-underage-castrations/443017/17 "2008-07-23T04:24:36Z")
There’s an interesting update [here](http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080720/afp/080720051613asiapacificnews.html) about how teenage Thai sex-change candidates are dealing with the new rules.