foreign
A Eunuch is defined as someone usually a man whose testes and sometimes also penis and scrotum have been
destroyed or removed this leads to sterility and depending on the stage of Life at which it is done
various degrees of impotence and loss of libido may occur pre-pubertal castration
causes a eunuchoid build which causes the person to be tall have broad hips
narrow shoulders and breasts like that of a woman secondary sexual characteristics
affects such as small genitals lack of beard and an unbroken voice may also
occur castration after puberty does not lead to degeneration of secondary sexual characteristics
the build remains unchanged and the reduction of sexual activity is unpredictable although sterile
castrate May remain potent for a year or longer and some even retain libido throughout their lives
there is a reduction in aggression but other abnormalities of the psyche are usually
representative of a psychological reaction to force castration and the accompanying
humiliation and rejection by the community in addition to the effects of hormonal deprivation
so where were the eunuchs prevalent in ancient times against whom were these procedures taken
upon and why let's try and find out hello I'm Mike droberg Marine Corps veteran and filmmaker
and we will try to answer these questions on today's episode of Forgotten history foreign
[Music]
Antiquity eunuchs were mostly employed in the Middle East and in China with two main functions
as guards and servants and harems or other woman's quarters and as chamberlains the Kings the
Assyrians are credited with creating eunuchs for government service because it was believed that
since they could not have any Offspring they would not attempt to overthrow the ruler and create
their own hereditary Dynasty later the Assyrians created eunuchs for ritual religious purposes
the priests of ku-baba the goddess of fertility voluntarily became Eunuchs at the altar so that their
goddess would provide them a plentiful Harvest prevent droughts famines and bring prosperity
to their people eunuchs were considered the most suitable guards for the many wives or concubines
a ruler may have in his Palace and the Eunuch's confidential position in the harems of princes
frequently enabled them to exercise an important influence over their Royal Masters and even to
raise themselves to stations of great trust and Power some Rose to become bodyguards confidential
advisors and even ministers generals and Admirals most eunuchs underwent castration as a condition
of their employment though others were castrated as punishment or after they had been sold into
slavery Eunuchs functioned as political advisors to the Emperors of China as early as the Chow period
from 11 22 to 221 BC and continued as such under the Han Tang Ming and Song dynasties persisting
almost until the end of the Imperial regime at times Palace eunuchs became more powerful than the
emperor and effectively ruled China eunuchs were used as Court advisors and officials in Persia
under recommended from 559 to 330 BC the Roman emperors Claudius Nero and Titus also employed
eunuchs after Nero's wife Poppaea Sabina died in 65 A.D supposedly a childbirth although it was
later rumored Nero kicked her to death later that following year he married Sporus a young slave boy
which he had castrated during their marriage Nero had Sporus appear in public as his wife
wearing the regalia that was customary for Roman empresses among other forms of address Sporus was
termed lady empress and mistress Suetonius quoted one Roman who lived around this time who were
remarked that the world would have been better off if Nero's father had married someone more like the
castrated boy going forward after the fall the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Empire in
Constantinople many of the Patriarchs during the Byzantine times were eunuchs for example Justinian
the first had eunuch bodyguards and even many of the legendary janissaries especially under
Mehmet the first and Murad the first and Murad the second were eunuchs who were in political
positions political eunuchs also flourished in the centers of Muslim power after ad 750 and as a class
eunuch advisors only disappeared with the end of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century
although not a form of eunuchism in the terms of the definition above voluntary abstention from
sexual activity played a strong role among the early fathers of the Christian Church giving rise
in due course to the establishment of celibacy in the monastic religious orders a relationship was
perceived between eunuchism and the voluntary abstention from sexual activity as a pure and
total dedication to God. an interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew 19:12 which reads for there are
eunuchs who are born that way and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others
and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven
the one who can accept this should accept it. this even led to the revered father of the early
church, Origen to castrate himself an act which in retrospect and with greater Insight he bitterly
regretted Clement of Alexandria recommended the virtues of self-discipline and the avoidance
of indulgences but warned that celibacy was worthless unless undertaken in the love of Christ
nevertheless various fanatical Christian sects such as the Arabian Valesians the manichaeans and
the Phrygian Montanists accepted self-castration as a part of their religious practice church
leaders such as Cassian and Tatian even denounced sexual intercourse as diabolical
Pope Gregory VII want to impose celibacy upon all priests and monks and while monks were so
ordained the priests were spared until the second Lateran Council in 1139 that made
celibacy mandatory for all Catholic clergy the Italian practice of castrating Boys in order to
train them as adult soprano singers, Castrati was ended by Pope Leo the 13th in 1878. so throughout
history eunuchs were usually forced into their situation yet today sex reassignment surgeries
are on the rise the number of procedures including the removal and construction of external genitalia
increased nearly fourfold from 2000 to 2014. according to the study published in the Journal
of JAMA however what is not commonly known is that complications from genital surgeries are common
California study found that a quarter of the 869 vaginoplasty patients had a surgical complications
so severe that they had to be hospitalized again furthermore Joseph Backholm president of the
family policy Institute of Washington said there is no conclusive evidence that these procedures
lead to beneficial outcomes for transgender patients people who go through gender masking
surgeries still experience disproportionate levels of stress anxiety and suicidality Mr
Backholm said he calls into question whether rushing into this is actually helpful
scarier still thousands of youths are lining up for gender affirming care
parents must make decisions about life-altering treatments that have little scientific evidence
of their long-term safety and efficacy while also the number of gender clinics treating
children in the United States has grown from zero to more than 100 in the past 15 years
puberty blockers and sex hormones do not have the U.S Food and Drug Administration approval
for children's gender care no clinical trials have established their safety for such off-label
use the Drug's long-term effects on fertility and sexual function remain uncleared and in 2016 the
FDA ordered makers of puberty blockers to add a warning about psychiatric problems to the drugs
label after the agency received several reports of Suicidal Thoughts in children who were taking them
more broadly no large-scale Studies have tracked people who received gender-related Medical Care as
children to determine how many remain satisfied with their treatment as they aged and how many
eventually regretted transitioning the same lack of clarity holds true for the contentious issue of
de-transitioning when a patient stops or reverses the transition process the current debate which is
being challenged in the courts are the attempts by school teachers and advisors to discuss these
options with underage students without consulting the parents so in conclusion we have gone from an
era of castration being forced upon slaves so now allowing the castration of our children
under the age of 18 cannot get tattoos vote buy firearms or purchase alcohol or cigarettes
but some people think they are capable of making these life-altering decisions
thank you for watching forgotten history please like share and subscribe if you have
any comments or show ideas we'd love to hear from you thanks again [Music]