Emasculation

Last updated
A painting of Zeus emasculating Cronus, c. 1501 Cronus-and-uranus-french-c-1501.jpg
A painting of Zeus emasculating Cronus, c. 1501

Emasculation is the removal of the external male sex organs, which includes both the penis and the scrotum, the latter of which contains the testicles. It is distinct from castration, where only the testicles are removed. Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, the potential medical consequences of emasculation are more extensive due to the complications arising from the removal of the penis. [1] There are a range of religious, cultural, punitive, and personal reasons why someone may choose to emasculate themselves or another person.

Contents

The term emasculation may be used in a metaphorical sense, referring to the perceived loss of attributes traditionally associated with masculinity, such as strength, power, or autonomy.

Method

There are several different methods of emasculation. Both the penis and testicles may be removed simultaneously using a sharp instrument, such as a knife or razor or swords. [2] [3] Non-crushing vascular clamps may also be used in medical surgery to cut off blood circulation and reduce bleeding. [4]

Alternatively, the penis and testicles may be removed during a series of stages. Medical surgeons use this method when performing surgery on trans women who want their genitals removed over multiple sex reassignment surgeries (male-to-female), rather than in a single operation. [5] In these surgeries, the tissue is used and re-shaped into the neo-vagina and vulva.

Medical consequences

Short-term consequences of emasculation include bleeding [6] and infection. [7] Historically, death was also a potential complication, although the prevalence is disputed. [8]

Long term complications include incontinence, [9] urethral stricture, [10] urine retention, [11] urinary tract infection, [12] urine extravasation [7] and bladder stones. [13] Some studies have found that emasculation may cause a range of physiological changes, such as a shortened torso, [14] widened stomach and hips, [15] increased height, bowed legs, [14] and an elongated skull. [14] Additionally, emasculates typically have less or no facial and body hair, [16] increased fatty tissue or gynecomastia, [16] and a feminine fat pattern distribution. [17] The physiological effects of emasculation are more severe for people who undergo the procedure before the onset of puberty. [18]

Reasons

Cultural

Imperial China

An emasculated Chinese eunuch from the Qing dynasty A eunuch of Qing Dynasty.JPG
An emasculated Chinese eunuch from the Qing dynasty

Emasculation was performed in China on men to create palace eunuchs for the imperial court. [19] The practice dates back to the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC) [20] and continued up until 1924, [21] when the eunuch system was abolished by the last emperor of China, Puyi. [22] The last living palace eunuch, Sun Yaoting, died in 1996. [23]

Originally, palace eunuchs were prisoners who were involuntarily emasculated. In the Qing dynasty, men began volunteering to undergo the procedure in order to gain employment, although instances of forced emasculation still occurred. [24] One reason why recipients willingly underwent emasculation is that they saw employment as a palace eunuch as a way to acquire wealth and power. Alternatively, poverty was a reason why fathers forced their sons to undergo emasculation, and the desire for financial benefit motivated human traffickers to force emasculation on their victims. [25]

There were several reasons why the Imperial court required its civil servants to be emasculated. Emasculation was thought to ensure a recipient's undivided loyalty to the emperor, as it severs the recipient's existing familial or social bonds and destroys their ability to produce future heirs. [26] The choice to hire emasculated eunuchs also ensured the legitimacy of the emperor's lineage. [27] The choice to emasculate, rather than merely castrate, was motivated by a desire to protect the chastity of women in the court, as emasculation rendered a recipient physically incapable of having sex. [28] While emasculation was a pre-requisite for gaining employment as a palace eunuch, it did not guarantee employment. [29]

The emasculation procedure was typically performed by a trained 'knifer', or 'knife expert'. [30] To prepare for the operation, the recipient was bathed in cold water to numb his senses and, in some instances, his genitals were twisted to reduce blood flow. [31] The recipient was then asked if he consented to the procedure, and if he answered yes the knifer excised the genitals with a single cut. [32] Styptic powder was then applied to the wound to stop bleeding, and a pewter needle or spigot was inserted into the urethra to prevent stenosis (narrowing). [33]

Some Chinese emasculates were the great historian Sima Qian, Cao Teng, the foster grandfather of Cao Cao, Zheng He, a Ming dynasty admiral of the imperial navy who sailed to Africa, and the surviving sons and grandson of rebel Yaqub Beg. [34]

West Asia

To create eunuchs for the Arab slave trade, young black boys from South East Africa typically had their penis and scrotum amputated. [35] White boys, by comparison, were usually only castrated. [35]

Religious

Skoptsy

Emasculated Skoptsy male (left) and Skoptsy female with breasts cut off (right) Skoptsy man and woman.jpg
Emasculated Skoptsy male (left) and Skoptsy female with breasts cut off (right)

Emasculation was one form of genital mutilation practiced by the Skoptsy, a Russian Christian sect. For males, the other form of mutilation available was castration. Females could remove their nipples, breasts, labia majora, labia minora or clitoris. [36] These practices may have begun sometime during the 1760s, after the sect was founded by Kondratii Selivanov, although they were only discovered by the broader community in 1772. [37] They continued up until the 1930s, when the sect was destroyed and its members sentenced. [38]

The Skoptsy practiced genital mutilation because they believed the genitals were the source of original sin, and that by removing them, they could attain salvation. [39] The aim of removing the offending genitalia was to purify the body. [40] Their belief was based on a literal reading of the verse of Matthew 19:12, which states: "There are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake." [41] In addition, the verses of Matthew 18:8,9 and Luke 23:29 were also cited as support. [42] Of the two types of genital mutilation available to men, emasculation was called the Greater Seal. Castration, by comparison, was called the Lesser Seal. [43] Emasculation was preferable because it rendered a recipient physically incapable of engaging in sinful sexual conduct, allowing them to attain a higher level of purity.

Originally, the emasculation procedure was performed by burning the testicles off with an iron. [44] Later, the genitals were tied at the base and removed using a knife or razor blade. The wound was then cauterised, or a salve was applied, to prevent bleeding. Many Skoptsy were peasants and were familiar with animal husbandry, which meant their emasculation procedures were often performed with "surgical precision." [45] In some instances, members of the Skoptsy would perform the emasculation on themselves, in an act of self-surgery, though it was more typical for the procedure to be performed by an elder during a ceremony. [36]

Hijra

Throughout the Indian subcontinent tradition, including India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, some members of the Hijra community reportedly undergo emasculation, or nirvan. [46]

Traditionally, emasculation was a rite of passage into the Hijra community. [47] Today it remains an important ritual, though is not mandatory or universally practiced. [48] When it is performed, it typically occurs several years after an individual has already participated within the Hijra community. While some Hijra are emasculated, others are intersex, undeveloped in puberty or impotent. [49]

Whether or not a Hijra undergoes emasculation is influenced by a range of considerations. Some people are not emasculated because they are fearful of surgical complications, are under financial constraints, or merely as a matter of personal choice. [50] For Muslim Hijra, emasculation may be avoided due to the belief that genital mutilation goes against Allah's will. [51] Others see emasculation as necessary in order to be 'reborn' as a Hijra. In this view, emasculated Hijra are seen as more 'real' than those who are not. [52] The decision to be emasculated may also be motivated by personal beliefs about whether a Hijra can have spiritual powers without undergoing the procedure. Amongst members of the Hijra community, this issue is subject to considerable debate. [51]

In the past, the emasculation procedure was performed by barbers or by the individual themselves (i.e. self-emasculation). [53] Nowadays, the operation is performed by a Hijra elder, also called a dai ma (midwife). [54] They have no medical training, but believe they operate with the power of the patron goddess, Bahuchara Mata. [55] The operation takes place early in the morning, around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. [55] Anesthesia is not administered. [56] The penis and testes are tied together with a string, and the elder then makes two diagonal cuts with a sharp surgical knife to completely excise the organs. [57] The elder allows the blood to gush from the wound, which is considered necessary to completely cleanse the recipient of their male parts. This is one reason why the procedure is performed by an elder rather than a medical professional, who might try to stop the haemorrhage, thus interfering with the ritual's cleansing effect. [58] Afterwards, no stitches are taken and the wound is left exposed, although a small stick is inserted into the urethra to prevent urethral stricture. [59]

Punishment

Ancient China

Emasculation was one of the Five Punishments used in ancient China. [60] It was the prescribed punishment for people who engaged in licentious conduct, such as infidelity or rape. [61] The first evidence of its use dates to the Shang dynasty (1700–1100 BC), when the characters for a knife and male genitalia were carved into oracle bones. It continued up until the Sui dynasty (581–618 CE), when it was formally abolished. [62]

Europe

Self-inflicted

Mental disorder

There are reports of self-emasculation cases resulting from mental disorder. Some academics claim that a majority of self-emasculations are a result of psychosis, [63] although this finding has been challenged. [64] Nonetheless, there are several reported cases of people with schizophrenia engaging in self-emasculation. [65]

It has been linked to other mental disorders such as dissociative identity disorder. [66]

Klingsor syndrome, sometimes known as Skotpic syndrome is a condition where people mutilate their genitals as a result of psychotic religious delusions. [67] For example, in one case a person is reported to have mutilated his genitals after experiencing auditory hallucinations telling him he would only be allowed into the kingdom of heaven if he emasculated himself. [68]

Body integrity dysphoria, or xenomelia, is another mental disorder that may drive a person to seek emasculation. [69] People with this disorder are distressed by the presence of a limb that they do not identify as part of their body, including the genitals. Emasculation in this context alleviates their distress, enabling them to become 'whole'. [70] However, the amputation of healthy limbs by medical professionals is highly controversial. The inability to acquire medically administered emasculation has driven some to self-emasculation. [71]

Occasionally, self-emasculation is practiced by those suffering from gender dysphoria. [72] When compared with the general population, transgender persons are at a higher risk of engaging in acts of genital self-mutilation, including self-emasculation. [73]

In some cases, a person with a mental illness has emasculated other people. [74]

Transgender

Emasculation occurs voluntarily within the transgender community as a form of gender reassignment surgery, allowing recipients to renounce their masculine characteristics and bring their body into closer alignment with their identified gender. It may be sought by trans women (those assigned male at birth who identify as female), who wish to assume their femininity, or by non-binary transgender individuals (those assigned male at birth who identify as neither male nor female), who want to locate themselves outside of traditional gender categories. [75]

For trans women, emasculation surgery may be performed with or without the creation of a vagina. When a vagina is created, the procedure is called a vaginoplasty, [76] and where it is not, the procedure is called a vulvoplasty. [77]

For non-binary transgender people, the purpose of emasculation is to make the body less congruent with one's assigned sex without the subsequent assumption of femininity. [78] These individuals may identify as non-binary, a third-sex, eunuch, or another gender. Some adopt the term 'nullo', meaning someone whose gender has been nullified. [79]


Involuntary or accidental

In some circumstances, a person may be emasculated involuntarily as the result of an accident, [80] as part of a ritual attack, [81] or due to poor circumcision practice. [82]

In these cases, the objective of medical treatment is different than for cases of voluntary emasculation. The goals of treatment are to either reattach the severed genitals or to reconstruct an artificial penis and testes. [83]

From 1960 to 2000, involuntarily emasculated infants were surgically reassigned female, similar to the treatment received by David Reimer after his penis was burnt off during a circumcision procedure. It is now understood from cases like Reimer's that gender reassignment surgery in infancy can interfere with gender identity formation. Therefore, gender reassignment is no longer the standard practice for involuntarily emasculated infants. [84]

Other meanings

By extension, the word emasculation has also come to mean rendering a male less masculine, including by humiliation. It can also mean to deprive anything of vigour or effectiveness. This figurative usage has become more common than the literal meaning. For example: "William Lewis Hughes voted for Folkestone's amendment to Curwen's emasculated reform bill, 12 June 1809 ... " [85]

In horticulture, the removal of male (pollen) parts of a plant, largely for controlled pollination and breeding purposes, is also called emasculation. [86]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Chiang 2012, p. 33; Hoeckelmann 2019, p. 4.
  2. ↑ Chen et al. 2019, p. 191; Lipshultz 1980, pp. 169–170; van der Sluis, Steensma & Bouman 2020, p. 176.
  3. ↑ Bellringer 2017a, p. 249; Chiang 2012, pp. 30–31, 46; Dale 2010, pp. 40–41; Engelstein 1997, p. 6; Hossain 2012, pp. 40–41.
  4. ↑ Samm & Steiner 1999, pp. 393–396.
  5. ↑ Bellringer 2017a, p. 250; Bellringer 2017b, p. 210; van der Sluis, Steensma & Bouman 2020, p. 177.
  6. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 45; Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, p. 4326.
  7. 1 2 Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, p. 4326.
  8. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 42.
  9. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 46; Dale 2018, p. 39; Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, p. 4326.
  10. ↑ Patwardhan et al. 2007, p. 1.
  11. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 46; Patwardhan et al. 2007, p. 1; Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, p. 4326.
  12. ↑ Ochoa 1998, p. 1117; Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, p. 4326.
  13. ↑ Dale 2018, p. 196; Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, pp. 4328–4330.
  14. 1 2 3 Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, pp. 4328–4330.
  15. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 46; Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, p. 4326.
  16. 1 2 Dale 2010, p. 49; Dale 2018, p. 196.
  17. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 49.
  18. ↑ Dale 2010, pp. 48–49.
  19. ↑ Bullough 2001, p. 248; Majno 1991, p. 254; Scheidel 2009, pp. 84–85.
  20. ↑ Dale 2018, p. 1.
  21. ↑ Emeliantseva 2009, p. 190; Bellringer 2017a, p. 248.
  22. ↑ Chiang 2012.
  23. ↑ Chatterton & Bultitude 2008; Chiang 2012, p. 26.
  24. ↑ Dale 2018, pp. 2, 19–20, 195.
  25. ↑ Dale 2018, pp. 19, 195.
  26. ↑ Dale 2018, pp. 1–2, 15–16, 194.
  27. ↑ Dale 2018, p. 15.
  28. ↑ Dale 2018, pp. 1, 16, .
  29. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 39; Dale 2018, p. 2.
  30. ↑ Dale 2010, p. 39; Dale 2018, p. x; Chiang 2012, pp. 29–30; Wilson & Roehrborn 1999, p. 4326.
  31. ↑ Dale 2010, pp. 40, 43.
  32. ↑ Dale 2010, pp. 40–41.
  33. ↑ Dale 2010, pp. 41, 43.
  34. ↑ Translations of the Peking Gazette. 1880. p. 83. Retrieved 12 May 2011– via Google Books. The American annual cyclopedia and register of important events of the year ..., Volume 4. D. Appleton and Company. 1888. p. 145. Retrieved 12 May 2011– via Google Books.
  35. 1 2 Murray 1989, p. 96.
  36. 1 2 Engelstein 1997, p. 6.
  37. ↑ Engelstein 1997, p. 2.
  38. ↑ Emeliantseva 2009, p. 190.
  39. ↑ Engelstein 1999, p. 13.
  40. ↑ Engelstein 1999, p. 12; Goldberg 1930, p. 346.
  41. ↑ Wilson 2018, p. 565.
  42. ↑ Engelstein 1999, p. 14.
  43. ↑ Engelstein 1997, p. 5; Goldberg 1930, p. 348.
  44. ↑ Engelstein 1997, p. 5; Goldberg 1930, p. 347.
  45. ↑ Wilson 2018, p. 566.
  46. ↑ Bellringer 2017a, p. 249; Stief 2017, p. 74.
  47. ↑ Nanda 1984, pp. 59, 73; Nanda 1999, pp. 26.
  48. ↑ Khan 2017, p. 1284; Nanda 1984, p. 73; Singh & Kumar 2020, p. 84; Stief 2017, p. 75.
  49. ↑ Khan 2016, p. 219; Khan et al. 2016, p. 2; Khan 2017, p. 1284.
  50. ↑ Nanda 1984, p. 73; Singh & Kumar 2020, p. 84.
  51. 1 2 Hossain 2017, p. 1420.
  52. ↑ Hossain 2017, p. 1420; Nanda 1984, p. 73; Nanda 1999, pp. 26, 37.
  53. ↑ Nanda 1984, p. 64.
  54. ↑ Nanda 1984, p. 84, 73; Nanda 1999, pp. 27.
  55. 1 2 Nanda 1999, p. 27.
  56. ↑ Nanda 1984, p. 73.
  57. ↑ Nanda 1984, p. 73, 73; Nanda 1999, pp. 28.
  58. ↑ Nanda 1984, p. 84, 74; Nanda 1999, pp. 28.
  59. ↑ Nanda 1999, p. 28.
  60. ↑ Kim & LeBlang 1975, p. 85.
  61. ↑ Hoeckelmann 2019, pp. 5, 11–12; Zhang 2001, p. 250.
  62. ↑ Zhang 2001.
  63. ↑ Chauhan et al. 2016, p. 228; Kenyon & Hyman 1953, p. 208; Schweitzer 1990, p. 566.
  64. ↑ Johnson & Wassersug 2010, p. 598.
  65. ↑ Evens, Whittle & Rous 1977, p. 775; Mora & Drach 1980, p. 209.
  66. ↑ Donnelly-Boylen 2016, pp. 376–377; Mellon et al. 1989, p. 127; Rana & Johnson 1993, p. 750.
  67. ↑ Coleman & Cesnik 1990, p. 204; Money 1988, p. 114; Schweitzer 1990, pp. 566, 568–569.
  68. ↑ Evens, Whittle & Rous 1977, p. 775.
  69. ↑ Jackowich et al. 2014, p. 122; Johnson et al. 2010, p. 854.
  70. ↑ Johnson et al. 2010, p. 854.
  71. ↑ Jackowich et al. 2014, p. 122; Johnson et al. 2010, p. 854; Wibowo, Johnson & Wassersug 2016, p. 405.
  72. ↑ Jackowich et al. 2014, p. 122.
  73. ↑ Mellon et al. 1989, p. 125.
  74. ↑ Shaw, Sadove & Rink 2003, p. 321.
  75. ↑ Apeiranthitou, Thomas & Louka 2019; DeMello 2007, p. 57; Jackowich et al. 2014, p. 122; Vale et al. 2010, p. 47.
  76. ↑ Chen et al. 2019, p. 192; van der Sluis, Steensma & Bouman 2020, p. 177.
  77. ↑ Bellringer 2017a, p. 249.
  78. ↑ Vale et al. 2010, p. 43.
  79. ↑ DeMello 2007, p. 57.
  80. ↑ Kenyon & Hyman 1953, p. 207; Ochoa 1998, p. 1116.
  81. ↑ Kaggwa & Galukande 2014, p. 519; Orakwe & Undie 2012, pp. 75–77.
  82. ↑ Gearhart & Rock 1989, p. 799.
  83. ↑ Shaw, Sadove & Rink 2003, p. 387.
  84. ↑ Gearhart & Rock 1989, pp. 800–801; Ochoa 1998, p. 1119; Shaw, Sadove & Rink 2003, p. 323.
  85. ↑ Thorne R. (1986) History of Parliament online. Accessed 12 April 2017
  86. ↑ Hedhly, Hormaza & Herrero 2009.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreskin restoration</span> Process to expand skin on the penis

Foreskin restoration is the process of expanding the skin on the penis to reconstruct an organ similar to the foreskin, which has been removed by circumcision or injury. Foreskin restoration is primarily accomplished by stretching the residual skin of the penis, but surgical methods also exist. Restoration creates a facsimile of the foreskin, but specialized tissues removed during circumcision cannot be reclaimed. Actual regeneration of the foreskin is experimental at this time. Some forms of restoration involve only partial regeneration in instances of a high-cut wherein the circumcisee feels that the circumciser removed too much skin and that there is not enough skin for erections to be comfortable.

Genital modifications are forms of body modifications applied to the human sexual organs. When there's cutting involved, genital cutting or surgery can be used. The term genital enhancement seem to be generally used for genital modifications that modify the external aspect, the way the patient wants it. The term genital mutilation is used for genital modifications that drastically diminish the recipient's quality of life and result in adverse health outcomes, whether physical or mental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eunuch</span> Castrated male human

A eunuch is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium BCE. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, for espionage or clandestine operations, castrato singers, concubines or sexual partners, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or harem servants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castration</span> Surgical or chemical action that removes use of testicles

Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy, while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical drugs to deactivate the testes. Castration causes sterilization ; it also greatly reduces the production of hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen. Surgical castration in animals is often called neutering.

Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender. The phrase is most often associated with transgender health care and intersex medical interventions, though many such treatments are also pursued by cisgender and non-intersex persons. It is also known as sex reassignment surgery (SRS), gender confirmation surgery (GCS), and several other names.

The Skoptsy were a cult within the larger Spiritual Christianity movement in the Russian Empire. They were best known for practising emasculation of men, the mastectomy and female genital mutilation of women in accordance with their teachings against sexual lust. The descriptive term "Skoptsy" was coined by the Russian Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hijra (South Asia)</span> Third gender of South Asian cultures

In the Indian subcontinent, hijra are transgender, intersex, or eunuch people who live in communities that follow a kinship system known as the guru-chela system. They are also known as aravani, aruvani, and jogappa, and in Pakistan, khawaja sira.

Koro is a culture bound delusional disorder in which individuals have an overpowering belief that their sex organs are retracting and will disappear, despite the lack of any true longstanding changes to the genitals. Koro is also known as shrinking penis, and was listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Phalloplasty is the construction or reconstruction of a penis or the artificial modification of the penis by surgery. The term is also occasionally used to refer to penis enlargement.

Gender-affirming surgery for male-to-female transgender women or transfeminine non-binary people describes a variety of surgical procedures that alter the body to provide physical traits more comfortable and affirming to an individual's gender identity and overall functioning.

Vaginoplasty is any surgical procedure that results in the construction or reconstruction of the vagina. It is a type of genitoplasty. Pelvic organ prolapse is often treated with one or more surgeries to repair the vagina. Sometimes a vaginoplasty is needed following the treatment or removal of malignant growths or abscesses to restore a normal vaginal structure and function. Surgery to the vagina is done to correct congenital defects to the vagina, urethra and rectum. It may correct protrusion of the urinary bladder into the vagina (cystocele) and protrusion of the rectum (rectocele) into the vagina. Often, a vaginoplasty is performed to repair the vagina and its attached structures due to trauma or injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersex medical interventions</span> Performed to modify atypical or ambiguous genitalia

Intersex medical interventions (IMI), sometimes known as intersex genital mutilations (IGM), are surgical, hormonal and other medical interventions performed to modify atypical or ambiguous genitalia and other sex characteristics, primarily for the purposes of making a person's appearance more typical and to reduce the likelihood of future problems. The history of intersex surgery has been characterized by controversy due to reports that surgery can compromise sexual function and sensation, and create lifelong health issues. The medical interventions can be for a variety of reasons, due to the enormous variety of the disorders of sex development. Some disorders, such as salt-wasting disorder, can be life-threatening if left untreated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of intersex surgery</span>

The history of intersex surgery is intertwined with the development of the specialities of pediatric surgery, pediatric urology, and pediatric endocrinology, with our increasingly refined understanding of sexual differentiation, with the development of political advocacy groups united by a human qualified analysis, and in the last decade by doubts as to efficacy, and controversy over when and even whether some procedures should be performed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrotoplasty</span> Type of surgery to create or repair the scrotum

Scrotoplasty, also known as oscheoplasty, is a type of surgery to create or repair the scrotum. Scientific research for male genital plastic surgery such as scrotoplasty began to develop in the early 1900s. The development of testicular implants began in 1940 made from materials outside of what is used today. Today, testicular implants are created from saline or gel filled silicone rubber. There are a variety of reasons why scrotoplasty is done. Some transgender men and intersex or non-binary people who were assigned female at birth may choose to have this surgery to create a scrotum, as part of their transition. Other reasons for this procedure include addressing issues with the scrotum due to birth defects, aging, or medical conditions such as infection. For newborn males with penoscrotal defects such as webbed penis, a condition in which the penile shaft is attached to the scrotum, scrotoplasty can be performed to restore normal appearance and function. For older male adults, the scrotum may extend with age. Scrotoplasty or scrotal lift can be performed to remove the loose, excess skin. Scrotoplasty can also be performed for males who undergo infection, necrosis, traumatic injury of the scrotum.

Penis removal is the act of removing the human penis. It is not to be confused with the related practice of castration, in which the testicles are removed or deactivated, or emasculation, which removes both. Penis removal and castration have been used to create a class of servants or slaves called eunuchs in many different places and eras, having a notable presence in various societies such as Imperial China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human penis size</span> Measurement of the human penis

Human penis size varies on a number of measures, including length and circumference when flaccid and erect. Besides the natural variability of human penises in general, there are factors that lead to minor variations in a particular male, such as the level of arousal, time of day, ambient temperature, anxiety level, physical activity, and frequency of sexual activity. Compared to other primates, including large examples such as the gorilla, the human penis is thickest, both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the body. Most human penis growth occurs in two stages: the first between infancy and the age of five; and then between about one year after the onset of puberty and, at the latest, approximately 17 years of age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanics of human sexuality</span> Biomechanics of human sexual intercourse

The mechanics of human sexuality or mechanics of sex, or more formally the biomechanics of human sexuality, is the study of the mechanics related to human sexual activity. Examples of topics include the biomechanical study of the strength of vaginal tissues and the biomechanics of male erectile function. The mechanics of sex under limit circumstances, such as sexual activity at zero-gravity in outer space, are also being studied.

Gender systems are the social structures that establish the number of genders and their associated gender roles in every society. A gender role is "everything that a person says and does to indicate to others or to the self the degree that one is either male, female, or androgynous. This includes but is not limited to sexual and erotic arousal and response." Gender identity is one's own personal experience with gender role and the persistence of one's individuality as male, female, or androgynous, especially in self-awareness and behavior. A gender binary is one example of a gender system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersex people in history</span>

Intersex, in humans and other animals, describes variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies". Intersex people were historically termed hermaphrodites, "congenital eunuchs", or even congenitally "frigid". Such terms have fallen out of favor, now considered to be misleading and stigmatizing.

Malicious castration is a common law criminal offense consisting of the intentional maiming of another person's genitalia. It is law 14–28 in the state of North Carolina in the United States.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.