Title: Unmanned: An Unnatural History of Human Castration | Psychology Today
Headings: Unmanned: An Unnatural History of Human Castration
Robert D. Martin Ph.D.
Unmanned: An Unnatural History of Human Castration
From unkindest cut to soaring songs of praise.
Effects of castration
Skeletons of castrati
Castrati in the Sistine Chapel
Castration and lifespan
References

Content: The word “castration” has often been traced back to a Mediaeval myth about beavers, whose Latin name is castor . Beavers were hunted to harvest sweet-smelling “castoreum” from scent glands near the root of the penis. Purportedly, a cornered beaver would bite off its own scrotum and toss it to its pursuers to end the hunt. But there is a major flaw in this story because in beavers — as in many other water-living mammals, but in contrast to primates — the testes do not descend but remain in the belly cavity. So there is no scrotum to bite off! Oftentimes, the dangling scent glands at the penis base have been misreported as the beaver’s testes. Effects of castration
Castration after puberty, turning men into eunuchs, diminishes or completely eliminates the sex drive. Muscle mass, physical strength, and body hair are all typically reduced, and eunuchs are usually beardless. Breast enlargement is also common. In the most familiar example of castration to prevent cuckoldry, eunuchs have often been used as harem guards.