Gender Preference in the Sexual Attractions, Fantasies, and Relationships of Voluntarily Castrated Men

Introduction

Some men seek castration outside a clear medical need. This study explored how their sexuality changed after castration.

Aim

To explore changes in preferred gender(s) of sexual attraction, fantasy, and relationships in voluntarily castrated men with or without gonadal hormone therapy.

Methods

A questionnaire was posted at http://www.eunuch.org that yielded data on men who had been voluntarily castrated physically (n = 198) or chemically (n = 96).

Main Outcome Measures

Respondents were asked to report retrospectively on their sexuality, including their sexual activity and which gender(s) they were sexually attracted to, fantasized about, or had sexual relations with 6 months to 1 year before and after castration.

Results

A substantial proportion of men remained sexually active after castration; 37% had sex at least several times per week. Most respondents did not report a change in preferred gender(s) of attraction (65%, n = 181), fantasies (62%, n = 169), or sexual relationships (66%, n = 163), although approximately 20% to 30% of respondents did report such changes and 8% to 11% became non-sexual after castration. Respondents who were attracted to and fantasized about “only men” or who had sexual relationship with “only women” before castration were the least likely to report a change subsequent to castration. Respondents who were taking neither supplemental testosterone nor estrogen were more likely to report (i) becoming attracted to no one, (ii) fantasizing about no one, and (iii) becoming sexually inactive.

Conclusion

Sexual changes in voluntarily castrated men vary and can be influenced by various factors including the use of supplemental testosterone or estrogen therapy.

Average Age at Castration and Current Age for Respondents with Various Frequencies of Sexual Activity (Solitary, eg, Masturbation or with a Partner) After Castration

Current frequency of sexual activity	Respondents, n	Average age at castration (y)	Average current age (y)
Several times per day	13	39.7	50.5
Approximately daily	35	40.5	49.0
Several times per week	52	40.3	46.7
Once a week or less	99	43.6	48.6
Never or almost never	68	47.4∗	53.9∗
Overall average		43.4	49.7

∗P < 0.05; significantly different from all other groups in the same column.

Reported Changes in Gender Preference in Sexual Attraction, Fantasy, and Relationships After Voluntary Chemical or Physical Castration

Preferred gender(s) before castration	Total	Change	No change	Change to non-sexual
Attraction
Only men	54	6	46∗	2
Mostly men	28	14	11	3
Equally men and women	31	16∗	13	2
Mostly women	43	13	26	4
Only men	87	16	62	9
Mostly eunuchs	2	0	2	0
Only eunuchs	2	1	1	0
Mixture of men, women, eunuchs, and others	24	5	17	2
No one	8	5	3	0
Total, n (%)	279 (100)	76 (27.2)	181 (64.9)	22 (7.9)
	χ216,279 = 39.0, P < 0.05
Fantasy
Only men	59	9	49∗	1
Mostly men	31	14	14	3
Equally men and women	29	11	17	1
Mostly women	29	12	15	2
Only men	70	16	45	9
Mostly eunuchs	9	4	4	1
Only eunuchs	4	2	2	0
Mixture of men, women, eunuchs, and others	33	9	21	3
No one	8	5	2	1
Total, n (%)	272 (100)	82 (30.1)	169 (62.1)	21 (7.7)
	χ216,272 = 29.0, P < 0.05
Relationships
Only men	16	9	7	0
Mostly men	20	12∗	7	1
Equally men and women	28	10	11	7
Mostly women	83	13	70∗	0
Only men	0	0	0	0
Mostly eunuchs	1	0	1	0
Only eunuchs	8	0	8	0
Mixture of men, women, eunuchs, and others	21	6	15	0
No one	56	7	44	5
Total, n (%)	233 (100)	57 (24.5)	163 (70.0)	13 (5.6)
	χ214,233 = 66.9, P < 0.05

∗P < 0.001; significantly different from the expected frequencies.

Full article at: http://goo.gl/oI6qwc

By:  Ariel B. Handy, BA,1 Robyn A. Jackowich, BA,2 Erik Wibowo, PhD,3 Thomas Wayne Johnson, PhD,4 and Richard J. Wassersug, PhD5,6,∗

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

²Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada

³Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada

⁴Department of Anthropology (Emeritus), California State University–Chico, Chico, CA, USA

⁵Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

⁶Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

^∗Corresponding Author: Richard J. Wassersug, PhD, Level 6, Gordon & Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9, Canada. Tel: 604-875-4111, ext. 62338Level 6, Gordon & Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre2775 Laurel StreetVancouverBCV5Z 1M9Canada 

Sex Med. 2016 Mar; 4(1): e51–e59. Published online 2016 Mar 2. doi:  10.1016/j.esxm.2015.11.001

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