Men accused of rape should be castrated

Con interpreted the resolution as "men accused of rape should be forcibly castrated." He is not alone. In the comments, several people have assumed coercion even after reading my Round 2 arguments which mention choice specifically.It is not the language that leads to that conclusion. If I said people should be more serene, or you should be given a pay rise, there is no implication of force at all. These are merely recommendations. Yet, when I say "men accused of rape should be castrated," many readers cannot separate the idea from forcible castration. This difference in interpretation puzzled me for a while, until I recognized it for what it is - an expression of testicular privilege. Con and other readers have internalized the stigma against castration so deeply that they simply cannot believe that a man would be castrated voluntarily.Let's talk more about testicular privilege.Eunuch Stigma and Testicular Privilege: Confronting the MythsHere are six common myths. Perhaps these are familiar to you, and maybe you can think of more examples from your own life.MYTH 1: No man would ever volunteer for castration --> FALSE!There are hundreds if not thousands of men who would like to be castrated, despite the sociocultural pressures against it. We don't hear those stories because of bias in the mainstream media. An academic study of 134 men interested in being castrated showed that main reason is to achieve calm and freedom from sexual urges (10). This is a legitimate health concern, and yet 40% of the surveyed men felt uncomfortable raising the issue with a health care provider.They are right to hesitate given the outright prejudice many health professionals exhibit towards the procedure. For example, on this respected health forum (11), a man asks a simple question about castration and is subject to open disbelief and insensitive remarks about needing to talk to a psychiatrist.MYTH 2: Wanting a castration means wanting a sex change. --> FALSE!A study from California State University shows that the majority of voluntary eunuchs identify as male and not as male-to-female transsexuals. (12)MYTH 3: Castration is bad for you --> NUH-UH!As I showed in the previous round, eunuchs live 14-18 years longer on average than other men! MYTH 4: Eunuchs are asexual --> FALSE!This myth is in response to Con's false claim that castration involves getting your "penis chopped off". It doesn't. Your penis remains intact and eunuchs still enjoy sex, albeit with more controlled sexual urges. (6 - source from previous round)A historical review in the journal Social Science and Medicine concludes that "given the right cultural setting and individual motivation, androgen deprivation [castration] may actually enhance rather than hinder both social and sexual performance." (13)MYTH 5: Eunuchs are always bald -->DERP!As I showed last round, castration is the most effective way to stop balding! Men who are particularly sensitive about their hair may consider castration for this reason. (14)MYTH 6: Castrated men are less male than other men. --> NO WAY!Of all the myths, this is the most pernicious. So far, I have shown these consequences of castration - none of which have been contested by Con:Castration leads to a longer life, more serenity, and better hair. It makes rapists less likely to rape, makes men better fathers, and reduces conflict in social interactions.None of these qualities are inherently unmasculine. Dying young, being aggressive, balding and assaulting people are not essential to being a man. To suggest otherwise is to belittle men everywhere.To assume that men would trade over a decade of life and a lifetime of serenity for a pair of testicles is to sell men short. We can't assume that men will not volunteer for castration. On the contrary, I have shown that many definitely do want it even in the context of an extremely repressive culture. Summary: Why our Society needs PEACEIn Round 2, I introduced Population-Enhancing Accuse-Castrate Evolvement (PEACE). I showed that PEACE can reduce the number of unwanted children in our society WITHOUT abortion. PEACE creates better environments for children by turning difficult men into serene, better fathers. PEACE directly reduces the incidence of sexual assault and because a large proportion of abortions are to women with violent partners, PEACE will also reduce the incidence of abortion. Con chose not to challenge these ideas. If he addresses them in the final round, I will not have a chance to respond, and I hope readers take this into consideration.Castration is NOT a punishment. It has substantial benefits to the men in question. In Round 2, I proposed several inducements to compliance including health care and legal benefits. Castration does not need to be violently enforced. This is a confronting issue for many people, due to the stigma in our society surrounding castration. It may take a while to educate people about how PEACE can really make our world better.PEACE will require substantial political and financial investment. For this reason, I propose that it be limited to men accused of rape to start with, because this is the demographic whose involvement promises the greatest social benefit.Con argued that men could be falsely accused of rape. On the rare occasions when this occurs, it is no violation of rights because the castration is voluntary. A man who gathers false accusations to himself may have a less-than-serene approach to social interaction and could benefit from PEACE in any case.Thank you to Mikal for this debate and to readers for your attention.(10) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...(11) http://www.health24.com...(12) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... (13) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... (14) http://www.hairlosstalk.com...