Today's NY Times has a long article on PC and castration.

Disfiguring Treatment? No, It Was Healing

[I have quoted the author here a number of times, although
anonymously, as a "Canadian prof".  He is a very courageous man, a
zealous advocate for men on HT.]

By RICHARD WASSERSUG
Published: March 27, 2007

My daughter and I were talking about outing oneself - the act of
disclosing one's inner identity. The discussion was not purely
academic.

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ND/Roger Viollet/Getty Images
"Dad, when most people out themselves, they open the closet door and
just come out," she said. "You, Dad, you went through the wall."

I had just told my daughter that I was a eunuch.

It all started with a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 1998, when I was
52. Two years later, after failed surgery and radiation, I started
hormonal therapy. This meant taking chemicals that slow the growth of
prostate cancer cells by depriving them of androgen - in effect,
castrating the patient.

Chemical castration is the common treatment for advanced prostate
cancer, and more than 250,000 American men are taking these drugs. But
few people know of any men taking them, simply because we hide. It is
shameful to be castrated.

My initial response to the therapy was typical. My mood plummeted
along with my testosterone level. Hair vanished from my arms and legs.
Muscle disappeared, fat appeared. My memory suffered. Not only was I
now more likely to lose my car keys, I occasionally couldn't remember
where I left the car.

"Eunuch" simply means a castrated man. Given the pervasive stereotype
of eunuchs as ineffective wimps, it is no surprise that men dread this
label. I became curious about whether the stereotype was true, and how
eunuchs functioned in the past.

The first thing I discovered was that eunuchs were anything but
mindless, cowardly automatons. There were philosophers (Abelard,
Origen of Alexandria), saints (Ignatius), military leaders (Cheng Ho,
Narses) and even assassins. They were the chamberlains, diplomats and
senior government officials in the major long-lasting, dynastic
governments across Asia for 3,000 years. Furthermore, descriptions of
eunuchs' physique and psychology mirrored many of the anatomical and
emotional changes I experienced.

Then I discovered the classicists' hypothesis that the eunuchs of
antiquity were models for our depiction of angels. God is thought to
surround himself with angels as advisers and emissaries, who are
identical in appearance to males castrated before puberty: tall,
beardless, nonsexual beings with voices like the legendary castrati.

It appears that from the Judeo-Christian standpoint, the occupants of
heaven were exalted eunuchs. In turn, earthly rulers aspired to reach
this divine ideal. In "The Perfect Servant" (University of Chicago,
2003), Kathryn M. Ringrose notes that by the 10th century the
Byzantine court was "perceived to be an earthly replica of the court
of heaven where the emperor functioned as Christ's representative on
earth and was attended by an 'angelic' corps of eunuchs."

This eunuch-angel connection has helped me understand and adapt to the
side effects of androgen deprivation. When I was stoked up on
testosterone in the old days, for example, I would obsess about
exacting revenge on those who offended me. Now I see the foolishness
in such macho fury. Rather than trying to undo others, I can now
willfully exercise restraint. It's not that I'm never pugnacious
anymore, for I'm no perfect angel, but I realize it's better to
maintain a higher mission than fight petty battles.

I don't recall crying much as an adult, but since my castration I'll
weep while watching Mothers Against Drunk Driving commercials. At
first, I feared that my tears would be perceived as maudlin self-pity.
But the truth is that I've become more sensitive to the trials and
tribulations of others. I am thus no longer embarrassed by my tears. I
consider them humanizing, just as they are for angels. The link to my
chemical castration is obvious; testosterone fuels aggression but
suppresses empathy and the ability to cry.

Understanding angel (and eunuch) psychology has even helped me
overcome the cognitive side effects of hormonal therapy. Angels may be
omnipotent, but they undertake just one task at a time. According to
the Talmud, they are not permitted to attempt more. Biblical angels
blessed, cursed, relayed messages and even killed, but they were never
on two missions at once. It seems that thousands of years ago it was
already recognized that androgen deprivation makes multitasking
difficult - but doesn't prevent one from accomplishing a single task
well. This realization has helped me maintain a busy, productive
academic life.

I still have a beard and sing bass: androgen deprivation in adulthood
doesn't change those male features. Singing in a group never appealed
to me before my castration, because it offered little opportunity for
individual advancement. But recently I joined a choir, where I now
enjoy the richness of the collective sound born of collaboration - and
how much I've gained by accepting how much I've changed.

Angels cry. So do I. They also sing, and so do I.

Dr. Richard Wassersug is a professor of anatomy and neurobiology at
Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

CL