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Angry wives club: The women's guild Daphne Winterson gives brief summary of a talk given to the Westbury on Trym Women's guild on November 2000. By Joss The assembly hall was hushed and, with nearly one hundred bodies pressed into its confined space, there was barely room for an echo. At the plain cedar rostrum at the front of the hall, Daphne Winterson, tucked a slip of hair back from her forehead, took a sip of water from a plain tumbler, and cleared her throat to speak. "Ladies, it is a pleasure to speak with you on this rather dark and damp Thursday evening. Seeing so many of you here makes me wonder if Coronation Street is losing its appeal?" To which a small titter of amusement rose from the congregation, and if it did not completely break the ice at least a few cracks appeared. "I will not beat around the bush, it is an extremely contentious subject that I wish to speak to you on and I've no doubt that within these four wall there exists an extremity of opinion. That is good, for it stimulates debate and with debate will come a clear and well balanced forum of conclusion." She paused, and swept the spellbound faces with her ice blue eyes. "I am going to talk about male castration. And I'm not talking about your Tom cats, or dogs. But of men." You could have heard the proverbial pin drop. "It is probably the oldest and most widely practised operation in the world. It is still carried out as a voluntary health measure and, in some countries, as a punishment or treatment of sex offenders. Years ago in Italy, choir boys were castrated to preserve their singing voices, they were known as castrati. I'm sure you have heard of castrated males, or eunuchs as they were known, who looked after the harems in the far East and Arabia. And down through aeons it has frequently been used as a punishment or torture. So, lots of bad press I'm afraid. Castration can be the removal of the penis, the testicles, or both. I am going to discuss what is known as a bi-lateral orchiectomy - that is removal of both the testicles. As I'm sure most of you know, the testicles produce testosterone and sperm. The sperm gives us women babies, the testosterone gives us trouble! Removal of the testes is a relatively simple operation and a skilled surgeon can complete it in under fifteen minutes. The effects of castration are not as drastic as many think and can in fact be beneficial in a number of ways. We must remember that a male is virtually poisoned from puberty with an excess of testosterone. I use the work poison without exaggeration. It is too close to the truth to use any other. This abundance of testosterone will cause aggression, sexual urges that are near impossible to contain, and a host of other effects. And no, I am not finding excuses for bad or violent behaviour, for many men are able to control these urges. But others are not. I recall an amusing adage once which ran, 'God gave men a brain and a penis, but only enough blood to work one at a time'�." The anecdote raised a murmur of amusement. "The subject of castration is steeped in emotional baggage, quite understandably, for throughout the centuries sexual prowess has been a euphemism for maleness. To be sexually deficient in any way meant you were less of a man. Consequently to remove a male's testicles was to remove his manliness, that is� his manhood. This has built a barrier which has prevented the adoption of a objective and logical view of castration." "I would suggest it is time for a rethink. If we strip away the myths, the sentiment and macho claptrap and look at the process from a clinical perspective, a rather different picture emerges." "Pre-historic man was designed with an excess of testosterone to enable him to overcome the rigours of life in a hunter, gatherer, environment. It was a world where you killed or were killed. The greater the aggressor, the greater the chance of survival. Look at the animal world. It promotes the survival of the strongest in the gene lineal descent. It is man's inheritance. And I would suggest, one which is now unsuited to the 21st century. No longer is it fair game to rape and pillage - thank goodness. But that urge is still there leading to an abundance of frustration through unsatisfied conclusion. And yet a few minutes with a surgeon's knife would ease this oft wearisome burden." There was a rustle of unease as women shifted position, all avoided each other's eye. Daphne took a sip of water and continued. "There are a number of health advantages to castration. A neutered male is likely to live longer, and he'll have almost no risk of prostate cancer. Quickness to anger is reduced and thus the incidence of violence. A eunuch has less risk of heart attack, as there is less blood clotting, reduced glaucoma, acne, baldness and ageing in general." "On the down side there is some increased tiredness, greater vulnerability to osteoporosis and he may experience occasional hot flushes. A eunuch without treatment will quickly lose his interest in sex, followed by the ability to perform. I say 'without treatment' because today there are a number of treatments which can remedy impotence besides viagra, such as cavojet - an injection to the penis - or testosterone patches which replace the testosterone lost through removal of the testicles." Daphne paused. She scanned over the audience and smiled. "Now." She said. "Rather than continue ad verbatim. Maybe from here it would be an idea to build the session through questions?" For quite a while there was complete silence, but Daphne stood her ground and waited. Finally a young girl of around 20 raised her hand and Daphne nodded towards her. "Jennifer Latant." She introduced herself shyly. "Do you think rapists should be castrated?" "Ah, the old chestnut." Daphne nodded. "Actually, yes." She said. "But maybe I should qualify that." She added as Jennifer sat down. "There are many levels of rape. But ultimately rape is still the act of forcing intercourse onto a person against their will. It means that the perpetrator is out of control for whatever reason. Castration would restore that control." "I agree, it seems barbaric at first sight, but please, think about it. Nowadays there are sperm banks, for those who may wish to later become fathers. There is now treatment for impotence or lack of testosterone, which the man can control rather than vice versa. And yes, there will the odd occasion when an innocent man is convicted of rape and castrated. But offset this against all those occasions when a convicted rapist is released only to re-offend! Possibly because he simply cannot help himself. He may not be particularly bright and is possessed by this primitive and frustrating sexual urge. Rid of the negative stigma associated with losing one's testicles I would think he'd welcome castration." Instantly a wheat field of hands shot up. A heavily set woman cleared her throat and boomed out. "Personally I'd castrate all sex fiends." She growled, to a backdrop of laughter. "But does it really stop the bastards? I've heard it just makes them more frustrated and violent?" Daphne waited until it was quiet again. "Research shows that recidivism is down to 4%. They simply lose interest and no longer have such violent urges." Daphne said. "But I emphasise that it should be carried out as a mutually agreed course of treatment, and not imposed as a form of punishment. If this later expedient were to be the case then the castrated male may indeed most likely feel resentful and find other ways to commit his assaults." She pointed to a hand waving in the corner of the room and a thin voice said. "What about the experiment in Denmark in the sixties? They surgically castrated their rapists and that was considered a failure?" Daphne nodded thoughtfully. "Mmm, in fact it wasn't a failure. Out of 900 rapists castrated they recorded a recidivism rate of only 2.2%. But you see that experiment also suffered from a lot of political and psychological baggage. But the bottom line was, that the rapists they castrated did not re-offend. I'm afraid I have no idea why the process stopped. I suspect that it was the intonations that the term castration conjures up. The Danes are very politically correct." Another voice from the back of the room interrupted. "Surely rape is a power thing. It's all in the head not the testicles!" Daphne eyed the speaker, a young student with the baggy jumper and bright red scarf. "Don't you believe it!" She said, a hint of coldness creeping into her tone. "Rape is a sexual thing. Sure, power may be an ingredient, but ultimately it's that testosterone racing around their bodies that fuels that lust and aggression." To her left a voice snapped. "You suggest a rapist castrated involuntary would be resentful and maybe find other ways to commit their assaults, is there any evidence of this?" Daphne considered the question for a moment. "Good question." She said slowly, to buy time. "Dorothy Marker, an American researcher, suggested such a thing. But I'm not aware that this was based on empirical research, rather it was speculation. All research shows that castrated rapists rarely re-offend in any other form. But here we need to consider whether we are talking of treatment or punishment. I advocate castration as a treatment. It must of course be accompanied by sound psychological support and counselling. The offender must see the benefits and wish to comply, not be coerced, for example by the offer of a dramatic reduction in a prison sentence." "What about chemical castration?" Called out an anonymous voice from the back. "Not really recommended for a long term solution." Daphne replied. "You see it involves injections, a high cost of drugs and a fairly stringent discipline, or supervision. If it were voluntary the man taking it would most likely regress. Most of those who commit these crimes are not cerebrally blessed! And that's being kind. To supervise them and undertake to administer their drugs would be prohibitively costly to maintain, possibly even impracticable." A slim woman in the second row stood up and gestured towards Daphne. She was in her forties, Daphne guessed, with short blonde hair and pale delicate Grecian features. Pretty, rather than beautiful Daphne mused. She seemed to be uncomfortable and made a point of glancing about her before speaking. "What about castration as a lifestyle?" She said. "I mean, my husband and I don't have sexual relations any longer, I've no interest but my husband still has erections and I'm sure it's frustrating for him. I wondered if it would be kinder to have him castrated." She sat. "It has the potential to be a wonderful lifestyle choice." Daphne answered. "But I emphasise the word 'potential'. It will not shore up a faltering marriage. With the modern drugs and treatments now available as I mentioned earlier, it is not the drastic step of no-return it used to be. But it is still a step which must be thought about very carefully and both parties must be in total agreement for it to work." "Do you know of couples who have taken that option?" The woman asked. "Oh yes, literally hundreds throughout the country. You would be surprised just how many middle-aged men are now submitting to castration as a choice. Taking advantage of the health and compatibility benefits it brings to them. But I must state again the need for it to be within a strong marriage. The eunuch may well suffer from some depression and experience anxiety moments. A sympathetic partner is essential in supporting the man through these." "Do you personally know of any men who have been castrated?" "Yes of course." Daphne said. "They are extremely happy with their decision, but I emphasise that they were in strong relationships which have benefited from them having the operation." "Is castration legal?" A middle aged bespectacled woman in a suede jacket and long skirt frowned at her. "Strictly speaking, no." Daphne replied cautiously. "At least not in this country. But there are a number of countries overseas who offer this service. And of course, where there is some history of prostate cancer risk it can be carried out for medical reasons." "Who decides the medical reason?" The woman persisted. "The doctor at the clinic." Daphne replied with the merest hint of a smile. "In fact the number of men at risk for whom a bi lateral orchidectomy has been recommended has dramatically increased over the last few years. And, would you believe, is increasing." Smiles lit a number of faces. "Does castration really reduce violent tendencies?" A pert nosed youngster, no more than seventeen, Daphne guessed, stood up. "Oh definitely." Daphne nodded. The girl smiled mischievously and added, "now that the male chromosome can be taken from a female's egg and transplanted into the womb, we no longer have a need for male sperm. So if we wanted to stop violence altogether we should castrate all males before puberty, oh and we'd no longer have such a big divide between the sexes!" She sat down as a ripple of laughter ran around the hall. "Phew." Daphne exclaimed. "I can't imagine that getting through parliament. But technically it's true. Though of course you wouldn't stop violence completely but you'd certainly drastically curtail it". The questions gradually tailed off and finally the chairwoman of the evening came to the rostrum and thanked Daphne for her, "�umm, interesting presentation." As the women filed out of the hall conversation was buzzing. Daphne couldn't help but notice that there were some very interesting expressions on some of the faces. And she wondered if the phone lines at the clinic would be much busier over the next few weeks�� End.
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