Cosmetic castration banned

[Puppycow]

Would-be ladyboys in Thailand can no longer (legally anyway) have their testicles removed for about $125.

Sex-change operations remain legal, but those require counseling and hormone therapy and a waiting period, and are more expensive. I think this is probably reasonable. Somebody should really think about it carefully before having their testicles removed.

Should people be allowed to cut off their balls on a whim or not? Yeah it's their body, but what if they regret the decision later?

[TragicMonkey]

Criminalizing cosmetic castration just means that only criminals will have cosmetic castrations.

[Gagglegnash]

Hi

Originally Posted by Puppycow

Would-be ladyboys in Thailand can no longer (legally anyway) have their testicles removed for about $125.

Sex-change operations remain legal, but those require counseling and hormone therapy and a waiting period, and are more expensive. I think this is probably reasonable. Somebody should really think about it carefully before having their testicles removed.

Should people be allowed to cut off their balls on a whim or not? Yeah it's their body, but what if they regret the decision later?

I'd like to ask about your idea on banning the top three, "things people regret later," according to the people I talk to.

These aren't things people MAY regret, but things they actively, actually and long-term regret!

Is that enough to ban them?

PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a statistically significant sampling, and is not put forward as anything but anecdotal evidence.

In order of time spent talking about it to me about it, they are:

Abortion: I've never met a woman who had an abortion that didn't regret it. They do seem to be satisfied with their decision for the most part, though.

Tattoos: Twenty years, two kids, and 40 pounds later, that cute little butterfly looks like the angel of death. It's cloths you can't change without taking out a second mortgage on your home. It does seem to make them smile in a wistful, nostalgic kind of way, though.

Child Birth: I've never met a woman who had a kid that didn't regret it at some point, and frequently at length. They do seem to to be satisfied with their decision for the most part, though. Especially when the cute li'l nipper's tucked up in bed, asleep. Big smiles.

My thinking is that you'll regret almost anything you do of a more-or-less permanent nature.

You'll also regret NOT doing it, in a, "road not taken," kind of way.

I say, make up your mind according to your own best interest, desires, and convictions, do it, be satisfied with it while you can, then make the best of what happens later.

[volatile]

In other threads, some of you may have noticed my general stance on body modifiaction. I'm all for it.

However, I certainly see no problem with counselling prior to what is a major, life-altering option. That said, no-one should be prevented from cutting their balls off if of sound mind (which I know for some people sounds like a contradiction in terms, but isn't if you know anything about psychiatry).

I agree wholeheartedly with Gagglenash. I think this behoves a thread on regret itself rather than another thread that descends into "Eww! Gross!".

[tkingdoll]

Depends - what are the medical repercussions of having testicles removed?

[volatile]

Originally Posted by tkingdoll

Depends - what are the medical repercussions of having testicles removed?

Loss of libdio is a big one. You're basically removing most of your body's capacity to produce testosterone. Maybe Rolfe has more experience with this than most?

On the up-side, you radically reduce the risk of testicular cancer!

Wki has this to say:

"A subject of castration who is castrated before the onset of puberty will retain a high voice, non-muscular build, and small genitals. They may well be taller than average, as the production of sex hormones in puberty—particularly testosterone—stops long bone growth. The person may not develop pubic hair and will have a small sex drive or none at all. Castrations after the onset of puberty will typically reduce the sex drive considerably or eliminate it altogether. Also castrated people are automatically sterile, because the testes (for males) and ovaries (for females) produce sex cells needed for sexual reproduction. Once removed the subject is infertile. The voice does not change. Some castrates report mood changes, such as depression or a more serene outlook on life. Body strength and muscle mass can decrease somewhat. Body hair sometimes may decrease. Castration prevents male pattern baldness if it is done before hair is lost; however, castration will not restore hair growth after hair has already been lost due to male pattern baldness. [11] Castration eliminates the risk of testicular cancer.

Historically, eunuchs who additionally underwent a penectomy reportedly suffered from urinary incontinence associated with the removal of the penis, and they had their own specialist doctors. [12]

Without Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), typical symptoms (similar to those experienced by menopausal women) include hot flashes; gradual bone-density loss, resulting in osteopenia or osteoporosis; potential weight gain or redistribution of body fat to the hips/chest. In males, gynecomastia, the development of breast tissue, may also occur. Replacement of testosterone in the form of gel, patches, or injections can largely reverse these effects, although breast enlargement has also been reported as a possible side effect of testosterone usage ["

[Wolfman]

While I would generally tend to agree that it is wrong to ban things like this entirely, I think there is another aspect to this -- many of those who become "ladyboys" are doing so out of desperation. They are people who live in desperate poverty, and who see this as a channel to make money -- either by becoming performers, or prostitutes.

I know that this is not true of all ladyboys, but it is nevertheless a significant problem in Thailand. I'd argue that this is morally wrong if a person is forced into it; and I'd further argue that many of those getting this done are forced into it, by pressures of poverty. Gov't regulation, such as requiring counseling, doesn't really work, since there are many doctors willing to do the operation -- and make a quick buck -- without doing any real counseling. The only way to prevent abuse is to make the operation largely illegal, and punish those who do such operations without the required level of counseling.

What of the family that lives in poverty, and decides to take their pubescent boy to a doctor to get him castrated, in order to turn him into a ladyboy and make money for the family? He may do it "voluntarily" (in that he will do whatever his family tells him to), but is it something that should be allowed? And if not, short of criminalizing it, how do you prevent such abuses?

[Darren Pollard]

It's a messed up situation over there and as long as people are desperate they will do desperate things.

[Darren Pollard]

It's a messed up situation over there and as long as people are desperate they will do desperate things.

Posted it twice, sorry.

[Beerina]

Once for each ball.

[Almo]

I know a woman who had an abortion and does not regret it. Won't say who, obviously, but given my limited knowledge of the situation, it was the right thing to do.

[Spindrift]

Originally Posted by Puppycow

Would-be ladyboys in Thailand can no longer (legally anyway) have their testicles removed for about $125.

Sex-change operations remain legal, but those require counseling and hormone therapy and a waiting period, and are more expensive. I think this is probably reasonable. Somebody should really think about it carefully before having their testicles removed.

Should people be allowed to cut off their balls on a whim or not? Yeah it's their body, but what if they regret the decision later?

On a whim? Probably not. But I don't think they are doing it on a whim. Is there an issue with the ladyboys being forced to do this?

[skeptifem]

people are totally going to keep doing it.