The Eunuch in Byzantine History and Society

Tougher, Shaun

doi:10.4324/9780203866207

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Many early Christians, most notably Origen, believed in "Christian castration" (Kuefler, 2003;Stevenson, 2002). Saint Theophylact of Ochrid, Archbishop of Bulgaria in the late 11th century even suggested that the castration of a boy by his own family in order to maintain his chastity was a respectable Christian act (Tougher, 2008). The tradition continued into modern times with the Skoptsy sect of the Eastern Orthodox Church (which flourished from the early 18th century until WWII), which practiced castration of believers including the children of converts and orphans adopted by believers (Engelstein, 1999;Pittard, 1934).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religiosity, childhood abuse, and other risk factors correlated with voluntary genital ablation.

Vale¹,

Siemens²,

Johnson³

et al. 2013

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des

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We explored the personal history of men who voluntarily seek genital ablation for reasons other than male-to-female transitioning. We focused on three groups: (a) men who have had voluntary genital ablation; (b) men who desire genital ablation and fantasize about it (self-described "wannabes"); and (c) those who claim to be merely interested in the subject of castration. An online survey was posted at eunuch.org that asked about religiosity, childhood abuse, sexual orientation, parental threats of castration, and whether the respondents had witnessed animal castrations in their youth. Data were collected on 301 men who had obtained genital ablations (mean age 45.4 years old), 1,385 wannabes (44.3 years old), and 1,242 individuals who were reportedly "just interested" in castration (41.8 years old). We have confirmed that: (a) having witnessed animal castrations during childhood, (b) having been threatened with castration as a child for behaviours deemed inappropriate by a parent figure, and (c) being homosexual or bisexual, are all common among individuals with extreme castration ideations. In addition, the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among men who had genital ablations and wannabes was 1.4 times greater than among "just interested" individuals. For men who had obtained genital ablations, "very devout" parental religiosity was 1.8 times more common than it was for wannabes and 1.3 times more common than it was for "just interested" individuals. Individuals who were raised by "very devout" parents and who were also sexually abused had significantly greater odds and likelihood of reporting being voluntarily castrated and/or penectomized than respondents without those risk factors. Our study may aid clinicians in identifying and distinguishing individuals who are at risk of genital ablation through self-surgery or by nonprofessionals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religiosity, childhood abuse, and other risk factors correlated with voluntary genital ablation.

Vale¹,

Siemens²,

Johnson³

et al. 2013

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des

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“…56 Many of those slaves were captives, and many of those captives were eunuchs. 57 Many emperors were sexual predators. And occasionally an emperor was castrated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suffodit inguinal: Genital attacks on Roman emperors and other primates

Betzig¹

2014

Politics and the Life Sciences

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When Julius Caesar was stabbed, 23 times, on the Ides of March, at least one of the daggers is supposed to have gone into his groin. He wasn't the last Roman to have his privates attacked. And he wasn't the last primate. In competition for sexual access, gonads are occasionally targeted: canine incisions in monkey and ape scrota are not uncommon; and rumors had a number of Roman emperors--from Caligula and Nero, to Galba, Vitellius, Domitian, Commodus, Caracalla, Elagabalus, to Balbinus, Pupienus and Valerian over the course of the third century crisis--done in with their genitals at risk, or with their genitals cut off.

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“…In commenting on the existence of eunuchs in the present day, Tougher suggests that for some, 'it can be a step on the path of transsexualism'. 104 This does not translate into respect or affection. Where Ringrose refuses a continuity between Byzantine effeminacy and present-day transness, Tougher allows a continuity but does nothing to challenge the value system that despises effeminacy.…”

Section: Transmisogyny Anti-effeminacy and The Cisness Of Eunuchsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When describing the discovery of a burial that may have held a gallus, a devotee of Cybele, Tougher adopts a panel-comedy affect; referring to her as 'the supposed Yorkshire transvestite'. 105 Like the braying comedians he imitates, Tougher keeps his subjects at arm's length. 106 It is the impulse to defend against the charge of effeminacy that hampers Tougher's analysis.…”

Section: Transmisogyny Anti-effeminacy and The Cisness Of Eunuchsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Selective historians’: The construction of cisness in Byzantine and Byzantinist texts

Maude

2023

Gender & History

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Far from being a natural, prelapsarian state, cisness is a hegemonic ideal of gender performance demanded of all people. This article explores the construction of cisness in the field of Byzantine studies, and the historiographical tropes through which it is maintained, naturalised and made invisible. It uses analysis of hegemonic cisness in Byzantine studies to suggest new avenues of investigation for Byzantine gender history. It proposes ‘cisness’ as method; a focal point for historical and historiographical investigation. It asks, was there cisness in Byzantium? If so, did it resemble ours?

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The Eunuch in Byzantine History and Society

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Religiosity, childhood abuse, and other risk factors correlated with voluntary genital ablation.

Religiosity, childhood abuse, and other risk factors correlated with voluntary genital ablation.

Suffodit inguinal: Genital attacks on Roman emperors and other primates

‘Selective historians’: The construction of cisness in Byzantine and Byzantinist texts

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