Castrated Boys

In his essay “The Joy of the Castrated Boy,” Joon Oluchi Lee talks about “castrated,” or effeminate, boys as being “inadequately female and inadequately male” because they do not display traditional masculinity but are also not women. In a society that maintains the distinctions of male = man = masculine and female = woman = feminine, this “double inadequacy” serves to alienate them and also attract strong negative reactions from others.

Both Lee and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s (“How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay”) essays discuss society’s hatred of these castrated boys. But Sedgwick goes on to emphasize that masculine girls encounter less pushback than feminine boys do, citing how much easier it is for a boy to be diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood (the supposedly psychopathological condition of non-conforming gender identity during childhood) than it is for a girl to be diagnosed with the same. These circumstances reflect the cultural notion that it is acceptable for girls to show masculine characteristics but it is unacceptable for a boy to show any femininity whatsoever, a concept likely based in classical Western philosophy, which upholds the superiority of the male body and masculine behaviors over anything female and feminine. The writings of Hippocrates and Galen, for example, demonstrate these ideas, which were prevalent when they were recorded and still are today. This explains the phenomenon of the tomboy and the lack of a socially accepted male counterpart.

Sedgwick also discusses society’s “wish that gay people not exist.” If society hates castrated boys, and wishes that gay people did not exist, what does this say about the stereotype of the effeminate gay man? (N.B. effeminate men are not necessarily gay, but femininity in men and homosexuality are often conflated.) Just as the castrated boy is doubly inadequate, so too is he doubly ostracized: He is at best ignored by society and at worst loathed, while also being made into a joke and a stereotype—and nobody wants to be associated with jokes or, worse, stereotypes. Therefore, this is even more damning for the castrated boy’s prospects of acceptance. There is nowhere for him to fit in, which makes his predicament even more dismaying. Thus, he must find a niche for himself in not having a niche; as Lee says, he must “make something positive” for himself out of this situation.

Lipstick -Not- Lesbian (Close But Nice Try Though)

Interestingly enough, upon reading both Sedwick's and Lee's essays I almost instantaneously had a thought about someone I knew through high school. We were friends and hung out within a circle of people that were always open and almost completely unabashed about themselves and their lifestyles. So, when it came up in conversation how a "bottom" gay man understood his own masculinity, he jumped right in to dispel the ignorance. He stated that although he may act in a flamboyant manner and take on characteristics which are often affiliated with being "feminine", at the end of the day he's still a man and both attaches himself deeply to and takes great pride in his own masculinity. At the time I thought it was a great answer because it rebuked the constriction placed on gay men (actually, really anyone for that manner) by stereotyping and emphasized the security he feels in his own being. But I think now, after reading both essays although I do give my friend very much credit, I feel as though his answer may do more harm than good.

Both essays stress the concept of men acting outside of what their expected behavior as a male is being indicative or symptomatic of being homosexual. Though there are obviously many faults with this concept already, what I thought was intriguing is the way that both essays insinuate that there is therefore a rightful manner for men or women to act in. It totally removed the reality of homosexuality from the actual sex act and redefined it in terms of a lifestyle choice or way of existence. I feel as though my friend perhaps unknowingly did this too, disregarding the fact that there is a correlation in being a male that is penetrated to women in that they both generally share the experience of being penetrated. By placing character traits and habits into the conversation, I feel as though you only work to perpetuate the gender stereotyping which a man like my friend clearly desires to escape. If one could only wear lipstick and love manhwa girls and just be Joon or whoever they may be instead of falling suddenly into a new realm of what they are as a person, perhaps the world would never have to know "How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay."

-Jheanelle G.

While reading the pieces "The Joy of the Castrated Boy" by Joon Oluchi Lee and "How To Bring Your Kids Up Gay" by Eve Sedgwick, I found myself wondering a couple of things. Reading the statistics about the suicide rates of LGBT youths vs the suicide rates of other young people really opened by eyes to the hatred within our society that is focused on this group of people. To think that these children see death as their only option to escape ridicule and persecution made me realize how the expectations of our society can dictate the lives of individuals in extremely negative ways. In the same way, Lee's testimony also made me think about how individuals often change who they are against their will in an effort to please society. The idea that humans can have so much hatred and prejudice in their heart for people makes me sick; makes me sick at the idea that this hatred is so accepted, that society justifies the injustice as the cost of other human lives.

Another think I found my self wondering about, is the role of a parent in a child's life. At first, thinking about a parent making decisions for their child regarding their sexual orientation and gender identification seems astounding; shouldn't a child have their own say in the matter? Shouldn't the child get to decide their fate and the course by which they will life their life? Yet, is this area of a child's life much different from any other decision that a parent makes for their child? Although many would argue that a parent's decisions to direct their children to a heterosexual lifestyle is a negative approach, I can see why many do. Although it brings up much controversy, I began to consider the possibility that these parents are justified. They are justified to a certain extent as the are attempting to protect their children from the judgement of society. But even then I struggle to discern which is more important, a child's choice and freewill, or the parents attempt to protect their child from things that they are yet too young to realize.