Castration

Antiandrogens that block androgen action through the androgen receptor, often in conjunction with chemical or surgical castration, have been widely used for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Although this treatment produces a significant clinical response in most of the patients, the majority of the responders eventually develop recurrences termed castration-resistant prostate cancer. In addition, clinically available androgen receptor antagonists have been shown to possess agonist activity, resulting in an increase in serum prostate-specific antigen levels, which is known as the antiandrogen withdrawal syndrome. Recent studies have demonstrated that new types of androgen receptor signaling inhibitors improve survival in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer. Moreover, other drugs may have the potential of not inducing androgen withdrawal response. This article reviews the characteristics of classical and recent androgen receptor antagonists as well as their clinical efficacy in prostate cancer patients. Novel experimental compounds that may more specifically and effectively target androgens and/or androgen receptor signals in hormone-naive and possibly castration- resistant prostate cancer cells are also discussed.

A 1930s study showed that most intersex seem to cope just fine with their disfigured gonads. Boooring. Much more fun (profitable) to con desperate parents into buying a nice model from your array of high tech doodads. How did this quackery -- if in doubt, chop ‘it’ (penis, clitoris) off; if penis, castrate, so no messy gonads left to fester (they don’t) -- became the rage in the 1950s?

Obesity is associated with multiple endocrine alterations and changes in the concentration of circulating hormones. However, few studies have explored such alterations in dogs with naturally acquired excess weight. In the present study, we investigated the effect of naturally acquired obesity on cortisol, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and prolactin secretion in dogs. Thirty-one overweight dogs were enrolled in the trial. Blood samples were collected before and after adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) injection. Free thyroxine (fT4), cortisol, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), IGF-1, prolactin and fructosamine were assayed. Body weight excess increased significantly with age and neutered dogs were more obese than entire ones. The ACTH stimulation test was within the normal range for 26 of 31 dogs. Prolactinaemia was increased in seven dogs and IGF-1 in six dogs. Twenty dogs had a fructosamine concentration >340 microm. Interestingly, 18 of 31 dogs showed disturbances of thyroid function based on high TSH and/or low fT4 baseline concentration, with 11 dogs showing both. According to these parameters only six of 31 dogs were free of hormonal disturbances. These results revealed the high incidence of such disturbances, especially thyroid dysfunction, in obese, but otherwise apparently healthy dogs. They demonstrate the importance of examining endocrine function during the initial evaluation of obese dogs to avoid failure of any nutritional treatment.

Although taurine is not dietarily essential for dogs, taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are sporadically reported in large-breed dogs. Taurine status and husbandry were examined in 216 privately owned Newfoundlands, a giant dog breed with high incidence of idiopathic DCM (1.3-2.5%). Plasma taurine concentration was positively correlated (P < 0.01) with plasma cyst(e)ine (r = 0.37) and methionine (r = 0.35) concentrations and was similar across age, sex, neutering status, body weight, and body-condition scores. Plasma taurine concentration was low (< or =40 micromol/L) in 8% of dogs. Dogs with low plasma taurine were older, less active, had more medical problems and treatments, and had lower plasma albumin, cyst(e)ine, tryptophan, and alpha-amino-n-butyric acid concentrations than the other dogs (P < 0.05). Of 9 taurine-deficient, clinically evaluated dogs, 3 had DCM that was reversed by taurine supplementation and 1 had retinal degeneration. When given a d...

This paper explores how Varys, a supporting character of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, represents several tropes about eunuchs. The paper also touches on the Unsullied and Theon Greyjoy, other characters who are, for better or worse, made into eunuchs over the course of the series, and how this castration shapes their growth as dynamic characters.

From Winston Black in The Medieval Review 15.06.24...

'In the concluding essay, "The Bright Side of the Knife: Dismemberment in Medieval Europe and the Modern Imagination," Lila Yawn clearly takes the most chances and has the most fun in exploring the topic of medieval wounds and wounding. After a review of graphic and supposedly "medieval" dismemberments in modern movies and literature, such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, or Pulp Fiction, Yawn poses the simple question of "how medieval cutting up living bodies really was" (218). In response, she gives a whirlwind tour of nearly two millennia of images and descriptions of amputation, dismemberment, fragmentation, and mutilation from Cicero to Thomas Jefferson. In so doing she demonstrates, as many medieval apologists have already noted, that there is no greater amount or degree of dismemberment in the Middle Ages than before or after, but what leads moderns to equate "medieval" with "dismemberment" is the medieval tendency to celebrate dismemberment and put severed body parts on display, be they of the criminal or of the saint.'

The Medieval Review 15.06.24
Kirkham, Anne, and Cordelia Warr, eds. Wounds in the Middle Ages. The History of Medicine in Context. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2014. pp. xvi, 254. $124.95 (hardback). ISBN: 9781409465690 (hardback).
Reviewed by: Winston Black, Assumption College. black@assumption.edu
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/tmr/article/view/19219/25339

The first lines:
Im Zentrum der psychoanalytischen Praxis steht die Erfahrung von einem Hin-und-Her zwischen Körper und Sprache. Die Rede des Analysanden sowie des Analytikers hat auf das körperliche Wohlbefinden eine Wirkung, zuweilen selbst eine heilende Wirkung, wie zum Beispiel bei gewissen psychosomatischen Erkrankungen. Es gibt auch verletzende bzw. kränkende Worte, aber die Frage, die ich hier stellen möchte, ist die Frage nach den Möglichkeitsbedingungen einer solchen Wechselwirkung. Unter den Psychoanalytikern in Frankreich ist Françoise Dolto diejenige, die am meisten über diese Frage reflektiert hat. Ihr Hauptbegriff des Körperbildes (image du corps) dient ihr genau zur Beantwortung.

Liudprand of Cremona is one of the most interesting authors of the tenth century. He is well known for his description of the Byzantine court and also for his jokes in Antapodosis – a fi rst chronicle of Europe. Based on these tales, he is treated by scholars as a prime example of medieval misogyny. Lately the more political view of these narrations emerged, but still women in Liudprand's works are seen mainly as victims. This essay shows that this view is wrong and that there is much more to be found in the text. Through Liudprand's jokes emerges a much more complicated view of the position and role of woman in the society. To see this, the stories have to be put in the context of the tenth-century society.

The mysterious Eunuch-Saying in Matthew 19:12 has triggered many reception processes from literal castration to sexual abstinence. By analysing the metaphor against the social background of eunuchs in the Ancient world the present article makes a strong claim for disconnecting this saying from the field of celibacy or sexual abstinence. Eunuchs were not considered sexually inactive or celibate. The main aspects which the metaphor transmits relate to slavery, unmanliness and a general inability to procreate. Furthermore, the literary context of the Matthean Jesus story suggests that self-castration for the sake of the Kingdom can be read as a metaphor for the social self-stigmatization which entails following Jesus.

O presente artigo, escrito em 2012, tem como objetivo trazer a luz esclarecimentos sobre os castrati, cantores castrados que influenciaram fortemente a história da música vocal europeia entre os séculos XVI e XIX. Apresenta uma visão holística da prática da castração com finalidade musical, a escolha e treinamento dos meninos cantores, o resultado vocal alcançado, abordando o fim dessa prática quando o papa Leo XIII a declarou ilegal em 1878.

"Anglo-Saxon England does not seem a popular and attractive period for contemporary students. At first sight, it seems to be gloomy and depressing. However, nowadays people hardly realize how rich and interesting this period is. My particular interests lie in the situation of women in Anglo-Saxon England which was, in fact, in some respect even better than the situation of women today.
The purpose of this dissertation is to show, mainly on the basis of literature, that Anglo-Saxon women were respected and treated by men as their equals. To this aim I chose to analyze Beowulf and Judith and to focus on the characters of Grendel’s mother and Judith. These two women may be treated as an embodiment of the values that Anglo-Saxons considered most important.
The first chapter of my thesis is an introduction to the Anglo-Saxon history, culture and literature, providing at the same time a background for the situation of women of that time. In this section I analyze briefly some of the poems that were written either by or about women, which allows me to already establish preliminary conclusions that are elaborated upon in the next two chapters. The works that I consider of major importance for the purpose of this chapter are: Wulf and Eadwacer, Wife’s Lament, Elene and Juliana. All of these poems provide us with an image of a strong woman that manages to accomplish a great task or suffers a terrible ordeal. Such characters might be considered as examples for all Anglo-Saxon women.
The second chapter focuses on the figure of Grendel’s mother. Out of the premise concerning the situation of Anglo-Saxon women arises another assertion that leads me to the belief that Grendel’s mother’s monstrosity is, in fact, a construct. In the course of this section I explain how and why Grendel’s mother’s monstrosity came into being and I connect it to Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection which allows me to come to the conclusion that once critics and translators who embrace patriarchal ideology came into contact with such a strong female character as Grendel’s mother, they felt their power is threatened. Further, I elaborate upon the reasons why many contemporary critics insist on seeing Grendel’s mother as a monster.
The third chapter is devoted mainly to the figure of Judith from an Old English poem. First, I introduce the idea of a female heroic ideal, of which Judith is a part. This line of thought allows me for the comparison of Judith to the Valkyries of the Nordic mythology – since both of those characters are described in a very similar way and this comparison establishes also a link between Judith and Grendel’s mother. Further, I present the way that Judith’s story was received and retold (mainly by the Church Fathers) before it found its way to Anglo-Saxon England. Finally, the third chapter ends with an analysis of the beheading episodes in both Judith and Beowulf that provide me with yet another explanation for the fear of strong women that became the reason for the lifelong diminishing perception of the position of Anglo-Saxon women."

This paper explores religious prohibitions of castration—and the language of body parts—in the Hebrew Bible and in Patristic literature.  It then asks why Jean de Meun has his character, Reason, describe the castration of Saturn at the beginning of his poem, and then amplify the parrhesia by using the vulgar vernacular term “couilles” (“balls”) in describing the act? In answer,  the paper argues that Jean offers, first, a bold critique of Augustine’s exposition on castration in De civitate dei—and, by implication, a critique of the reigning Patristic doctrines of sexuality and  permissible language of sex and body parts.  In the second place, he eviscerates attitudes towards love and sexuality elaborated in lyric poetry and romance during the 12th and 13th centuries.  In so doing, he elaborates an “art of love,” akin to the less sophisticated, but more realistic fabliaux.

When one thinks of “eunuchs”, one often imagines them as asexual beings whose reproductive capabilities and masculinity have been sacrificed in order to attain personal bureaucratic goals, or in order to function as guards over other mens' wives and concubines.1 As scholars of antiquity, we often encounter religious eunuchs whose sacrifice is much more literal; whether their masculinity is offered up to Cybele or to the Judeo-Christian god, these eunuchs are also, generally speaking, asexual. Anyone who has read the Golden Ass of Apuleius is familiar with a second portrait of the eunuch in antiquity; this time a homoerotic, feminized eunuch. In this case, the secondary sexual characteristics resulting from castration and the loss of testosterone are interpreted sexually rather than asexually, but the alteration made to those male bodies results in a person whose sexual identity is to be penetrated; a virtual woman. In this paper, I will be discussing a third category of ancient eunuch whose very existence was taboo because of the use for which he was intended: the masculine, penetrating eunuch.

The employment of castrati in the Byzantine Church can be traced back to the choirmaster Brison in the fourth century. Brison was called upon by John Chrysostom to organize the antiphonal hymn-singing in the patriarchal church. Since eunuchs were generally considered to be remnants of a pagan past, castrati are seldom mentioned in early Byzantine sources, but beginning in the tenth century references to eunuchs or castrati became more and more frequent.  By the twelfth century all the professional singers in the Hagia Sophia were castrati. The repertory of the castrati is discussed and the question is raised whether the introduction of castrati to the Sistine Chapel was influenced by the employment of castrati in Italo-Greek cloisters.

Elements of Bows and Arrows Recently Discovered at Micia
Abstract
Surveys undertaken in recent years in the Micia camp have led to the
identification of a rich and varied archaeological material, consisting of various
categories of pieces, including the elements of Roman military equipment.
The Micia camp, located at a short distance from the Mureş Gorge, was an
important strategic point of Dacia's defensive system. Through its position, this
fortification guarded the western border of the province, controlling its access through
the most important route to Pannonia. One of the troops stationed here since the
beginning of this fortification is Cohors II Flavia Commagenorum Equitata
Sagittariorum. The soldiers of this auxiliary unit, consisting of oriental archers, infantry
and cavalry, had as a favorite weapon the bow and arrows. Over time, several pieces of
military equipment have been identified that can be attributed to Commagien soldiers.
In these lines are presented 4 other artifacts, discovered in recent years on the surface of
the camp from Veţel. It is about two arrowheads with a trilobate profile, made of iron
and two deer horn laths. These specifically oriental elements indicate once again the
characteristics of the equipment used by the Commagean archers stationed
at Micia.

This paper will explore how Jake and Dick’s attempts at assimilation effect their female counterparts, and ultimately themselves. Hemingway and Fitzgerald probe the limitations of masculinity and pave the way for a new type of man: one where sensitivity is permissible and equality in gender roles help relieve the anxiety caused by adherence to an antiquated Victorian age.

Did Origen castrate himself, as Eusebius says, because he took Christ's words too literally? Was the castration tale merely a result of malicious gossip from Origen's opponents? This essay argues a third possibility, that Origen was wrongly thought to be a eunuch because he openly used the term mystically, in reference to his own celibacy.

The castration of most male animals seems to have been the rule in ancient Greece when rearing cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs; only very few adult males are needed for breeding purposes and flocks of bulls, rams, billy-goats and boars are difficult to keep, since they are too aggressive. Castrated males yield more and fattier meat, and, in the case of sheep, more wool. Still, sacred laws and sacrificial calendars stipulate the sacrifice of uncastrated victims, and vase-paintings frequently represent bulls, rams and billy-goats in ritual contexts. This paper will discuss the role of uncastrated male animals in Greek cult in the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods, both from a religious and an agricultural perspective. Of particular interest are the relations between the practical, economic reality and the theological perception of sacrifice. These issues will be explored using epigraphical, literary, iconographical and zooarchaeological evidence.

[Korrektur der Sichtweise: S. 7-8: Der Topos der sexuellen Ausschweifung ist ein gängiger Topos in den Diskursen der Sektengegner. Der Leser sei angehalten, die hier gebotenen Darstellungen kritisch zu lesen. Es ist nötig, sich ins Bewusstsein zu rufen, dass ein Großteil der Quellenbasis aus Polizeiakten gebildet wird. Eine stark überarbeitete Fassung dieses Entwurfes ist für eine Publikation geplant.]

Die " Kastratensekte " der Skopzen Zwischen religiöser Devianz und politischer Dissidenz " Ach, heiliger Vater! Ersichtlich ist die Zeit gekommen, dir die ganze Wahrheit zu sagen. Ich hatte eine Erscheinung im Traum, als ob der Herr Zebaoth erschien und spricht: ,Du hast Sünde, und wenn du sie nicht von dir fortwirfst, so wirst du nicht im Himmelreich sein´. Und er zeigte mir ein grosses Messer, welches im Schuppen lag und stark glühend gemacht war, und er sprach: ,Nimm dieses Messer und führ es über deinen Körper, anfangend vom grossen Zeh des rechten Fusses bis zum geheimen Gliede; und wann das Messer beim geheimen Gliede angelangt, so schneide es ab, und du wirst glücklich und gerettet sein´. Als ich erwachte, so ging ich in den Schuppen und fand dort das Messer, das mir im Traume gezeigt war. Ich nahm es und ging in die Riege, die damals geheizt wurde (gefüllt) mit Getreide zum Mahlen; ich legte das Messer ins Feuer und machte es glühend, wie ich es im Traum gesehen hatte; darauf nahm ich es, führte es, anfangend vom grossen Zeh, über den ganzen Schenkel meines rechten Beines bis zum geheimen Gliede selbst; und sobald ich bis zu ihm das Messer geführt, in derselben Minute schnitt ich es mir ab … und warf sie ins Feuer, welche auch vor meinen Augen verbrannten. Siehe ich habe die wirkliche Wahrheit gesagt. Darauf vollzog ich auch an meinen Schülern eine solche Operation´[…]. " 1

The alarm raised by some crimes and the dramatic harms they can cause brought some legislators to conceive medical treatment as a possible way to prevent re-offending. In Italy the so-called security measures are characterized by clinical and therapeutic contents. The laws of some of the United States of America authorize the castration of sex offenders in order to reduce recidivism. But are such measures consistent with the general principles and safeguards of criminal law? Do they respect individual rights and liberties protected by national Constitutions? Are they meant to help the offender or are they a new form of corporal punishment?
This paper considers such issues in a problematic perspective, not necessarily to offer definitive answers, but especially to stimulate a careful meditation on what could be the future content of criminal sanctions.

"Abstract. The prominence of eunuchs in Ctesias’ account on Persia has given rise in the last decades to a paradoxical combination of scepticism about their historicity and realistic interpretation questioning whether they were in fact castrated. The present paper brings to light the difficulties of the assessment of them as historical figures. It first takes into account the fact that we know Ctesias’ eunuchs only through fragments, that is, through the filter of later authors who refer to him while possibly having a personal relationship to eunuchs in their own society. It then describes the distinctive features of Ctesias’ eunuchs within Greek literature on Persia and presents the main interpretative trends on them. It examines possible touchstones and shows how difficult it is to cross-check Ctesias’ account of eunuchs with Near Eastern evidence. It assesses the foundations of current prevailing positions, and shows that a hypothesis has become a – questionable – dogma on two sorts of historical referents for Ctesias’ eunouchoi. Last, it questions the pertinence of ‘orientalism’ as a label for the representation of eunuchs in Ctesias’ account, and even highlights its shortcomings. All in all, this issue is in fact a perfect illustration of the methodological problems that modern historians often have to face when they try to study ancient Persia through the accounts of Greek historians.

Résumé. L’importance des eunuques dans le récit de Ctésias sur la Perse a donné lieu, dans les dernières décennies, à une combinaison paradoxale de scepticisme quant à leur historicité et d’interprétations réalistes mettant en doute qu’il se soit agi de castrats. Le présent article met en lumière la difficulté à les évaluer en tant que figures historiques. Il prend d’abord en compte le fait que nous ne connaissons les eunuques de Ctésias qu’à travers des fragments, c’est-à-dire à travers le filtre d’auteurs postérieurs qui se réfèrent à lui tout en ayant parfois un rapport personnel avec des eunuques dans leur propre société. Puis il définit les traits distinctifs des eunuques de Ctésias à l’intérieur de la littérature grecque sur la Perse et résume les principales tendances interprétatives à leur sujet. Il examine les pierres de touche possibles et montre la difficulté à croiser le récit de Ctésias sur les eunuques avec des sources proche-orientales. Il évalue les fondements des positions qui prévalent actuellement et montre qu’une hypothèse est devenue un dogme – discutable : celle qui voudrait que derrière les eunuques de Ctésias se cachent deux sortes de référents historiques. Pour finir, il met en doute la pertinence de la notion d’orientalisme pour cataloguer la représentation des eunuques dans le récit de Ctésias et souligne même ses inconvénients. Au total, on a là une parfaite illustration des problèmes méthodologiques auxquels se heurtent souvent les historiens modernes quand ils tentent d’étudier la Perse antique à travers les récits d’historiens grecs."