And my answer is!

It’s complicated!

There was a fascinating discussion on the Discord servers a little while ago about this subject, as my partner in the new web services tries to define the term and fit herself into the term “eunuch”.

There are a lot of technical definitions of the term, which don’t always agree. Historically it hasn’t always meant the same thing either, the only common thread is male infertility. However, if adapted to today’s world, that also includes men who have had a vasectomy. I’m pretty sure most of them would be horrified to be called eunuchs.

It would also seem that one cannot be born a eunuch; eunuchs are made and the transition is essential to being a eunuch. The permanent transition and the affect it has on one’s perception of self seems to be a critical element in being a eunuch (it was for me; I couldn’t see myself as a eunuch until after my nuts were removed). However, that thought excludes the chemically castrated (as that isn’t necessarily permanent), who may identify as eunuch.

Would somebody born with an intersex condition be classed as a eunuch? Not under the above understanding. Sadly, many intersex people have the choice about their gender taken from them at an early age and are configured as male or female. An intersex person who identifies as male and had their configuration changed to match a eunuch style, could adopt the identity eunuch should they wish to.

I really struggled with the word before my operation; I had to talk about it and think about it a lot. I preferred terms like “gelding”, which conjures images of over energetic ponies neutered to calm them down. Or “steer”, which creates the idea of a strong ox-type, which I liked until somebody rather spoilt it by saying that steers were raised for their meat!

I decided that I needed to embrace and own the word “eunuch” if ever I was going to be happy. However, I didn’t think the term applied to me until my balls were taken. In my mind a eunuch was somebody who didn’t have testicles.

I did, however, feel that a person has to take the label/identity for themselves, that it shouldn’t be forced on them. I image that many medically castrated might not be happy with the word.

I also started drawing parallels with trans-people. A trans woman is an Assigned Male At Birth (AMAB), who feels like they are a woman. Bodily configuration may not have changed and hormone treatments may not have started. Actually, after discussing with my husband, a trans woman simply says they are a woman. Therein lies a whole other discussion – for another day.

Can I draw any similarities between eunuch wannabes (I’m wondering how happy I am with that term now) and pre-op trans-folks? There are some similarities, especially if one considers eunuch a gender. Can somebody identify as a eunuch without surgery or hormonal changes? Many modern people who identify as eunuch take hormones. Many take testosterone, some take oestrogen, depending on whether they feel more masculine or feminine, or simply what artificial hormone works better for them irrespective of whether they feel more masculine or feminine.

There are some who feel that the only true eunuchs are men who have been voluntarily castrated and do not take hormones. Which actually makes eunuchood a potentially transient state. I am not taking hormones, and haven’t had testicles for over four months now (at the time of writing). That would make me a eunuch in their eyes. However, I would stop being a eunuch if I started taking hormones. How does that work? That makes being a eunuch a fragile condition which could be lost if a doctor said “for your own health you must take a hormone”.

Personally, I feel that there first criteria has to be self-identification, secondly there has to be a desire – a mental imperative – to at have the testicles removed. Although, somebody who identifies as such and never has them removed would cheapen the word “eunuch”.

I am proud to be a eunuch – I never thought I would say that!

I will admit that there is a part of me that wants to gatekeep the word to something that includes my specific bodily configuration.

I feel that for the good health of those who wish to be eunuchs, that I need to acknowledge that even if their bodily configuration isn’t what need for themselves, that in their heart they are eunuchs.

Maybe, being a eunuch is a heart – a soul – thing – and the physical matters much less.