This article examines stories of men who gelded themselves in early modern England. These events, it argues, were shaped and partly motivated by a culture in which castration was seen as both degrading and potentially empowering. Religious precedents such as that of Origen of Alexandria framed self-gelding as a foolhardy activity, but one which nevertheless indicated an impressive degree of mastery over the body and its urges. Meanwhile, judicial and popular contexts framed castration as a humiliating and emasculating ordeal.

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. The doctor gives my scrotum a firm tug, stretching the skin flat. Robert Nejat, getting a final consultation before I schedule my vasectomy. My second son was just born; my wife and and I decided that was all we could handle, logistically and financially. So I decided to take the plunge and sterilize myself.

Alabama Passes Another Controversial Law Some sex offenders will be forced to undergo chemical castration before release Newser - Males convicted of a sex offense against a child under the age of 13 in Alabama will be forced to undergo chemical castration in the month before they're released from custody. Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday signed into law the bill passed by the state legislature on Indonesia to Kill, Castrate Pedophiles New rules follow rape, murder of year-old Newser - Indonesia is officially a terrifying place for pedophiles: Effective immediately, child sex offenders can face the death penalty or chemical castration under new rules approved by President Joko Widodo, reports AFP.

T he university library at my medical school was shared with students of veterinary medicine. It was reassuring to see how much common ground there was between medicine for humans and medicine for animals. One day I was revising prostate cancer: the appearance of its malignant cells under a microscope, the stages of its spread, the radiotherapy, brachytherapy embedding of radioactive pellets into the tumour , and standard chemotherapies used to treat it. In health, the prostate gland stores semen and mature sperm; it has strong muscular walls that squeeze during ejaculation.