In this thought-provoking interdisciplinary work, Shaun Marmon describes how eunuchs, as a category of people who embodied ambiguity, both defined and mediated critical thresholds of moral and ...physical space in the household, in the palace and in the tomb of pre-modern Islamic society. The author's central focus is on the sacred society of eunuchs who guarded the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina for over six centuries and whose last representatives still perform many of their time honored rituals to this day. Through Marmon's account, the "sacred" eunuchs of Medina become historical guides into uncharted dimensions of Islamic ritual, political symbolism, social order, gender and time.
The Castratois a nuanced exploration of why innumerable boys were castrated for singing between the mid-sixteenth and late-nineteenth centuries. It shows that the entire foundation of Western ...classical singing, culminating in bel canto, was birthed from an unlikely and historically unique set of desires, public and private, aesthetic, economic, and political. In Italy, castration for singing was understood through the lens of Catholic blood sacrifice as expressed in idioms of offering and renunciation and, paradoxically, in satire, verbal abuse, and even the symbolism of the castrato's comic cousin Pulcinella. Sacrifice in turn was inseparable from the system of patriarchy-involving teachers, patrons, colleagues, and relatives-whereby castrated males were produced not as nonmen, as often thought nowadays, but as idealized males. Yet what captivated audiences and composers-from Cavalli and Pergolesi to Handel, Mozart, and Rossini-were the extraordinary capacities of castrato voices, a phenomenon ultimately unsettled by Enlightenment morality. Although the castrati failed to survive, their musicality and vocality have persisted long past their literal demise.
The endeavor of the present study is to describe the impacts of covid-19 on the life of eunuchs (hijra) in district Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. In order to investigate the impacts of covid-19 on the ...life of eunuch’s in-depth interviews were performed on those persons who are by birth eunuch including Guru who is usually the leader of that particular group and three Chelas who are the followers of guru. Sample was collected through the snowball sampling technique qualitatively. For the purpose, all interviews were transcribed first then main themes were extracted from each interview. These major themes were: offended by Socio-Economically depressed, facing mentally and physically disturbance due to corona virus. Based on the interviews, the results revealed that, eunuchs were facing lot of predicament during covid situations because eunuchs were dependant on the begging, dancing, as well as involving in the different local meetings which were totally closed due to the COVID-19. However, in that situation, the eunuchs were being ignored by the people, and no any funding was provided them for support. However, internationally they need to be given all those rights as the locally met. The findings of the study are supportive and have potential to guide the intervention plans for enhancing the life of eunuch community people. Finally, the study recommends that, there must be the active policies for eunuchs which should highlight the same enjoyments for eunuchs as met to the local people.
Administration draws its legitimacy from neutrality in cultural contexts where power relations are shaped by gendered norms. Neutrality bestows legitimacy where power is vested in the male generative ...force and is heritable. In the public sphere, neutrality renders administration nonthreatening to politicians and justifies administrators’ use of discretion despite their lack of democratic accountability and oversight. We examine historical and cultural roots of administrative neutrality as embodied by the physiologically transformed man and the resulting genderedness of public administration. We highlight two examples of power and sexuality in anime and different implications of neutered maleness. We also discuss enforced administrative neutrality in practice—the Hatch Act in the United States—which prevents administrators from engaging in political activity, rendering them “political eunuchs.”
This study aims to compare some images of beardless attendants in monumental reliefs from the Achaemenid (c. 550-330 BCE) and Neo-Assyrian (c. 911-612 BCE) empires, which we consider relevant sources ...for the study of court eunuchs and cultural conceptions about castrati. We argue that such comparisons are possible since eunuchism was a long-standing institution in the Ancient Near East, as shown by several analogies with the Assyrian evidence. We also argue that scholars have downplayed the importance of court eunuchs due to gender/sex assumptions based on Western and modern perspectives that consider eunuchism incompatible with high-ranking social standing. With these theoretical considerations in mind, we finally sketch some possible analytical proposals to explore the images of beardless attendants in Persia and Assyria.
An Addendum to the Plre? Christian Michel
Classica Cracoviensia,
10/2019, Letnik:
22
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Addendum to the PLRE? The short article deals with the existence of a court eunuch that was named Novianos. The person in question can be found in a study of the French Byzantinist Rodolphe Guilland, ...but seems to be non-existent in the classical sources.
Typically, the cupbearer in Genesis 40–41 is interpreted only as a member of Joseph’s supporting cast. However, closely reading this minor character suggests more options for interpreting both him ...and other anonymous courtiers found throughout the Hebrew Bible. The cupbearer’s actions (and inactions) raise ethical and psychological questions about remembering, forgetting, and the shades of grey between them. The cupbearer, ironically, is remembered most for forgetting Joseph; yet in forgetting the cupbearer, we forget the lesson in remembrance that he exemplifies. This minor character study partners conventional narrative criticism with the gaps and possibilities found in the cupbearer’s reception among sources as diverse as Jerome, the Qur’an, Genesis Rabbah, and Thomas Mann.
Some men elect castration voluntarily without any clear medical reason. Here we aim to document their perception of genital ablation and injuries to better understand their motivations for ...castration. Participants completed an online survey with open-ended questions related to their perspectives on castration, genital ablation, and genital injuries. Thematic analyses were performed on the responses to these questions. Responses were obtained from 208 male castrated individuals (51.9 ± 16.0 years old). Among these, 154 were physically castrated, 36 chemically castrated, and 18 nullified (had testicles and penis removed). The majority learned about castration from media (55.8%) or animal castration (23.4%). The circumstances when they first wanted to be castrated varied greatly. Most (46.3%) wished to achieve an idealized self motivated by gender dysphoria, body integrity dysphoria, or wanting to be conspicuously non-sexual. The top themes we identified related to the respondents’ perceptions of the pros of genital ablation were physical appearance, psychological benefit (i.e., a “eunuch calm”), and being non-sexual. Conversely, themes related to the cons they saw in having no genitals ranged from no disadvantages to loss of sexual/reproductive capability. Some perceived performing genital injury as a step toward ultimate castration or nullification. The respondents similarly varied in whether they saw any loss in having non-functional testicles. Perceptions in this regard appeared to differ depending on whether the respondents were taking supplemental androgens post-castration. Motivations for castration vary greatly between individuals. Clinicians need to understand men’s diverse perceptions on castration in order to provide appropriate care for individuals with strong castration desire.
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