Why Australian men want to remove their genitals

Brisbane’s Ryan Andrew King walked free after removing the testicles of two men but his case brought up a worrying issue. WARNING: Distressing content

In July, Brisbane tradie Ryan Andrew King, 28, was given a three and half year suspended sentence for removing the genitals of two men with their consent in amateur castration surgeries, one of which occurred at a backpacker hostel.

The two men, both of which suffered life threatening complications due to the amateur surgery, were self-described “eunuchs” who sought out King, who has no medical qualifications, after he advertised his amateur castration services on an online forum.

Eunuchs are a growing subculture of men seeking to remove their genitals, either just their testicles or both testicles and penis in a procedure known as “gender nullification”.

Brisbane tradie Ryan Andrew King.

He was given a suspended sentence.

The online forum The Eunuch Archive describes itself as a “a friendly support site for the Eunuch Community” and has nearly 6000 members, many of whom are from Australia.

Much of the discussion on The Eunuch Archive forum is focused on finding a safe and legal means to castration. But surgical castration, even when undertaken by medical professions, carries a risk of bleeding, infection and death. Males who have their testicles removed require careful medical monitoring for muscle loss, anaemia, osteoporosis and a number of other medical conditions.

Despite these risks, there are frequent recommendations on The Eunuch Archive forum to the handful of plastic surgeons willing to perform castration or “gender nullification” surgeries.

One such surgeon, Californian based Dr Peter K Davis, advertises his “smoothie” procedure which removes both penis and testicles for “gender non conforming patients”.

“The goal is to leave the area as a smooth unbroken transition from the abdomen to the groin,” reads his website.

Since very few surgeons are willing to perform voluntary castration for non-medical reasons – News.com.au was unable to find any Australian clinics offering the procedure – a number of amateur surgeons lacking formal qualifications who call themselves “cutters” have filled the gap.

King’s conviction isn’t the only recent case involving backyard castrations.

Last year, newlyweds Bob Lee Allen, 53, and Thomas Evan Gates, 42, were charged with performing amateur gender reassignment surgeries on a makeshift plywood table in their isolated Oklahoma cabin.

Bob Lee Allen and Thomas Evan Gates.

Allen and Gates are alleged to have advertised their services online under the pseudonym “theEunuchMaker” and kept genitals for the procedure to eat. Allen’s trial is still ongoing, with Gates recently entering into a plea deal in which he agreed to testify against his husband.

There is much debate among medical authorities on how to classify men who seek castration.

One research paper on eunuchs published in Nature Reviews Urology noted that although much of medical opinion presumes men who intentionally mutilate or remove their own genitals are psychotic, this doesn’t seem to describe the experiences of modern voluntary eunuchs.

Many users on The Eunuch Archive forum describe themselves as non-binary or simply “eunuch” in terms of gender identity. Other users see their urges as a result of body integrity dysphoria, a mental disorder characterised by a desire to be disabled or to remove a limb. Researchers suggest that a number of medical interventions may be appropriate to alleviate the distress experienced by eunuchs, from counselling to gender affirmation surgery in cases of male-to-female transsexualism.

A 2008 survey of users of The Eunuch Archive found that most users (around 40 per cent in the sample) may actually be motivated by sexual fantasies of castration rather than transgender identity or an underlying psychiatric condition.

The survey found that only about 20 per cent of users were at a risk of self-injury and 19 per cent had attempted self-castration. Those who appeared highly motivated to undergo castration showed a desire to reduce libido, change their genital appearance, transition out of male or prevent sexually offensive behaviour.

Eunuchs have existed in various forms throughout history. In ancient China, imperial servants were commonly castrated and seen as high ranking advisors to royalty. In 16th century Italy, young boys were castrated before puberty to preserve their youthful singing voice.

During the sentencing of King, Judge Richard Jones relented that there were “no complaints” by the men who sought his dangerous castration services. Both of King’s “clients” provided glowing victim impact statements, with one simply concluding: “I am eternally grateful to Ryan for enabling me to enjoy life.”

Jarryd Bartle is a freelance writer.