Skoptic syndrome
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Skoptic syndrome is a form of body dysmorphic disorder, self-mutilation and gender identity disorder characterized by a desire to remove male genitals.[1][2][3][4][5] Other terms like auto-castration, voluntary eunuch are often used in articles and describe more or less the same phenomenon. Although it is not in DSM-5, and it is rather obscure in psychological literature, the DSM-4 lists symptoms of it in the section gender identity disorder under code 302.6-3: Persistent preoccupation with castration or penectomy without a desire to acquire the sex characteristics of the other sex. [6].
Description
Skoptic Syndrome is a body dysmorphic disorder characterized by the desire to be eunuch,[citation needed] named after the Skoptzy sect.[7]
Castration has a history, up to the modern age, of therapeutic use. According to Victor T. Cheney, in his Castration: Advantages and Disadvantages, castration has been documented to reduce symptoms in people with schizophrenia, psychosis, violent behaviors, paraphilias, mania, overactive libido, baldness, sleep apnea and prostate disorders (all things that are exacerbated by testosterone), as well as reducing the incidence of various sexually transmitted diseases, by means of eliminated or reduced sexual activity.[8]
Some people may seek relief from physical or psychological problems, while others derive sexual excitement from the idea of being castrated or otherwise having their genitals mutilated, usually by another person (see masochism and paraphilia). This desire is still present in modern populations, as evidenced in the large membership in message boards on the Internet related to the topic.[citation needed]
An underground network of castrators, also called "cutters", without medical licenses has formed. Surgery performed by untrained personnel outside a properly equipped medical facility is dangerous and there have been cases of severe bleeding and other medical emergencies. Alternatively, self-castration, also called autocastration, is occasionally performed, though it carries significant risk. Many who desire castration travel to developing countries, where medicine is less tightly regulated, and have the procedure performed by a doctor.[9] A courtcase in the UK described one of these cases happening in 2017.[10]
See also
References
- ^ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J056v01n01_09
- ^ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2114800/
- ^ https://flexikon.doccheck.com/de/Skoptisches_Syndrom
- ^ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6150190/
- ^ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327747876_Genitalia_self-mutilation_commanded_by_hallucinations_a_psychointensive_case_of_Klingsor_syndrome
- ^ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Text Revision) (4th ed.). American Psychiatric Association. July 2000.
- ^ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J056v01n01_09
- ^ Cheney, Victor (November 2003). Castration: The Advantages and the Disadvantages. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4140-1230-8. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2050116115300362
- ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-67961089
Notes
- Voluntary Genital Ablations: Contrasting the Cutters and Their Clients
- This site only for its references, as it is a paywall site. The hidden world of self-castration and testicular self-injury
Further reading
- Dr. John Money, "The Skoptic Syndrome: castration and genital self-mutilation as an example of sexual body-image pathology.", Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, Volume 1 1988.