It might surprise you to know that humans have been modifying their bodies to suit transient trends for centuries. Sometimes against their will in the case of eunuchs under the barbaric Arab slave trade (7th to 20th centuries), which included the trans-Saharan, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean routes. Castration was performed to prevent male slaves from reproducing, especially in roles like harem guards, where they were near women, and to ensure loyalty by eliminating potential rival lineage claims. Also, Byzantine Empire (4th–15th Centuries): Eunuchs were valued as court officials, administrators, and guards. Boys, often from Slavic or Caucasian regions, were castrated to serve in imperial palaces or churches. China, Korea, India, Africa and South America all have practiced this barbaric procedure at some point in their history.
Meanwhile in Europe castrati were male singers castrated before puberty to preserve their high-pitched voices, creating a unique vocal range blending childlike clarity with adult power. Popular in European opera from the 16th to 18th centuries, they performed in sacred and secular music, especially in Italy. Castration halted the deepening of the voice by preventing hormonal changes, resulting in a voice that could reach soprano or alto ranges with exceptional agility and breath control. The practice, driven by demand for their ethereal sound, was controversial and declined by the 19th century as musical tastes shifted and ethical concerns grew. It was banned in Italy by 1870. Of course, female genital mutilation occurred simultaneously and persists to this day even within western nations. But I am focusing on males here.
You might be surprised by this information because male suffering is systematically erased and ignored. This occurs In the Marxist Olympics promoted by academic postmodernists, these ideas are associated with Marxist and postmodern frameworks of class struggle. They have been gamified into a contest of victimhood or moral superiority, where groups or individuals vie for recognition based on intersecting oppressions (e.g., race, class, gender). I am not completely unsympathetic to class struggle, I grew up very poor in South Africa during Apartheid, but I also witnessed the bait-and-switch strategy of post-Apartheid politicians who hijacked Mandela’s dream to seize power for self-enrichment. I learned the hard way that noble acts sometimes mask malevolent goals.
In my work counselling trans ideating and detransitioning males and females I have been given an intimate peak into the causes of modern sex change ideology. Today, the western medical industry is performing sex change procedures like hormone ‘therapy’ (sterilization), breast amputation, castration (vaginoplasty) and female genital mutilation (phalloplasty), shaving of the Adam’s apple and jaw line, forehead shortening, implants and extreme binding of breasts and ribs at epidemic levels. Sex change surgeries in the U.S. nearly tripled from 4,552 in 2016 to 13,011 in 2019, 776 mastectomies and 56 genital surgeries were performed on minors (ages 13–17) from 2019–2021 while 42,167 youth diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” in 2021, with between 90,300–129,150 minors and adults on hormones.
Some sex changes procedures for men are motivated by paraphilias like autogynephilia (AGP). The AGP male makes himself a “sexual singularity”. Of course, this is completely maladaptive since it sabotages motivational drives and the innate drive toward procreation. But, for example in a recent interview Diana Fleishman tortured evolutionary psychology to extract an opinion rooted in gamma bias. What they do have is a distorted sexual pathway that also protects them from failing as men, failing with women.
However, the younger males I have met are intelligent, sensitive and gentle people who have been corralled into feeling shame and guilt for being born male, yes; “born in the wrong body”. Often these males have no healthy male role models, very depressed fathers, or have been crippled by the recent western war on men and masculinity. But detransitioning males (those who reject sex change as a solution to their problems) also told me they deliberately chose to lower their sex drive by adopting transition medicalisation procedures. They reported that they felt this after awkward experiences in puberty, feeling shame for it while having no healthy outlet or emotional competence and mired in naiveté and confusion. They often experienced or imagined homophobia, at least humiliation for being gentle or too sensitive. Surprisingly, they often admitted being bullied by a family member, and even becoming bullies themselves. Yes, they admit coercive narcissism during the transition period. This then caused more shame and guilt they still had no skills to process, they wanted to “kill the bully within”. Notice the misguided idea that the feminine persona cannot be a bully, and that their conception of “being a woman” is rooted in perceived social interpretations of femininity which can be rather sexist and condescending to real women.
Most agreed that trans-id was a shield against the scorn of others, shame of being incompetent, and guilt for being associated with other males who are predators. As young boys they felt that “nobody needs me” and saw that men must “fight to be loved”. There is some Oedipal regression and often anorexia predates trans ideation. This suggests misguided attempts to control others’ reactions and perceptions, however incompetently. There is a common theme of misattribution; they attribute outcomes to the wrong things. For example, being loved is a result of what you look like, or feeling anxious is because you don’t fit in. There seems to be some childhood experiences and social stigma that trigger these maladaptive beliefs, which in turn coalesce into narcissistic behaviours and further ‘dysphoria’.
Common reasons to desist from transitioning are listed in my report, including
- Noticing people became uncomfortable around them
- Rising guilt and shame at sustaining a deception
- Wanting to distance themselves from anti-social “trans-women”
- Other lifegoals become more important, work, love and health
- Renewed appreciation for what masculinity really is, that it can be healthy and enabling
This reveals that these men are finally finding healthy ways to process guilt, shame and frustration. What I see in the detrans males I meet is men who overcome deep wounds, feelings of being betrayed by professionals and permanent changes to their bodies, to begin the harder path of self-actualization, forgiveness and redemption. The awareness of their role in a workplace reflects a maturing social awareness and a will to contribute to society.
It’s 2025, and men may have rediscovered their voice in many ways, we have men’s rights advocates, male mental health, and male role models accessible online. But some young men are still floundering and being abandoned. Fathers need to engage their sons in meaningful ways, while all parents should ensure that they are modelling self-determination, healthy sexual behaviour and are creating purpose and meaning in their own lives. These behaviours can mitigate the threat posed by trans ideology, which is designed to destroy the family, cripple the meritocracy and usurp human potential for political goals. Let’s ask some hard questions and see if survive the truth instead of vilifying all boys who question their gender as deviants or sociopaths. After all, it’s we adults who created this era where minors of both sexes are so terrified of adulthood that they would rather mutilate their bodies permanently. Let’s learn from history and look within ourselves before we discard a generation, we do not need Castrati to sing for us anymore.
Angelo Vincent Deboni is a registered professional counsellor who is based in Sweden.