MEN LINING UP FOR LIFE-EXTENDING CASTRATIONS
Only a day after a new study revealed that castrated men live significantly longer lives, surgical centers around the country were swamped with men demanding to have their testicles removed.Men in Chicago wait outside a Cherry Pickers neuter boutique, a new chain owned by the Spay Club for Men.âI was on a diet. I exercised. I took cholesterol medication. And all I had to do this whole time was cut my balls off? Damn, do I feel stupid,â said Joseph Barton of Phoenix City, Ala., who found a large animal veterinarian to do the job.âWeâve had men lined up around the block since the news broke yesterday,â said Dr. Gil Sigurdsson, who usually performs castrations, also known as orchiectomies, on transgender patients in his Manhattan office. âWe have never been so busy. Itâs balls to the wall in here, literally. Also figuratively.ââSeriously, itâs a safety issue,â he added. âItâs like a carpet of marbles. Iâve fallen down six times already.âThe study, published in the journal Current Biology, showed that castrated men lived nearly 20 years longer than âintactâ men. The report was based on the life expectancy of eunuchs in Koreaâs Chosun Dynasty, which ran from 1392 to 1910.In San Diego, Cal., Robbie Cattermole was among the first in his area to have his testes removed after his wife Carlene told him about the study.Cattermole conceded he would have preferred anesthesia, but Carlene convinced him that they would need all their extra cash for their now longer retirement together. Carlene also saved money by performing the surgery herself, he said.Like Carlene, a surprising number of women have shown a keen interest in performing or encouraging the procedure, according to Chicago urologist Dr. Marvin Shaktar.âWeâve had calls from at least a thousand women wanting to sign up their husbands and boyfriends, obviously hoping to prolong their relationships,â said Shaktar. âKind of renews your belief in love, really.âPlanned Parenthood, meanwhile, has come out in support of the surgery, since it is a form of birth control. âBut itâs not a spur-of-the-moment decision,â warned Planned Parenthood Director Naomi Wigan. âMen should think long and hard before they do anything â¦ well maybe âlong and hardâ isnât the right way to put it.âContrary to popular belief, however, castrated men can still have sex, they just canât impregnate. But there are drawbacks. The procedure is painful, and neutered men often report feeling emasculated. But that didnât deter Lakewood, Ill., resident Karl Jenkinson from going through with it.âIâve been married 20 years, have three teenage daughters, and drive a minivan,â Jenkinson said. âPain and emasculation were already part of my life.â