Special Issue on David O. Cauldwell (1897-1959): Classic Reprints Series
(Reprints Series edited by Richard Ekins and Dave King)

DESIRE FOR SURGICAL SEX TRANSMUTATION

An Insane Fancy of Near Males

(Originally published as Section IV of Effects of Castration on Men and Women: Accidental, Voluntary and Involuntary Castration Eunuchism and History – Medical Treatment and Aspects by Haldeman-Julius Publications, Girard, Kansas, 1947. Copyright, 1947, by E. Haldeman-Julius.)

By D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.

Citation: Cauldwell D.O. (2001) Desire for Surgical Sex Transmutation: An Insane Fancy of Near Males. IJT 5,2, http://www.symposion.com/ijt/cauldwell/cauldwell_03.htm

If woman has her weakness for following fads, men, who may more appropriately be labeled near-males, have a weakness in desiring to be (or to become) women. Authenticated data will be cited in illustration of this. Meanwhile, because few readers may be found with present or previous knowledge of this that which may appear to be a pronounced digression should enable all to better understand.

That any person would seek to have a surgeon remove a perfectly good eye, arm, or leg seems incredible. Persons have sought, and are seeking, far more drastic surgery. The surgical removal of the vermiform appendix, because it may, in time, give trouble, sounds like right good sense. It isn’t. In fact, it is illogical, and within reasonable limits is insanity.

Perfectly healthy tonsils have been sacrificed without thought. Certain it is that one can live without tonsils and it is said that one hardly misses them. Life does not stop if the gonads, the sex glands, are surgically removed. It can hardly be said that one does not miss these glands – once they have been garnered by the scalpel. Indeed, when the male of the human species loses the gonads, through accident or surgery, the manifestation of the loss is ever apparent. Man misses gonads thus lost more than he would miss a leg or an eye. Of course, it is somewhat different with woman. Her gonads are not visible (except when exposed through surgery), and if she loses them she senses the loss consciously – or perhaps it would be better to say psychologically – as she would miss, for example, the tonsils or the appendix.

There are those who contend that Nature commits no indiscretions – makes no errors. Were this true there would be no idiots, no imbeciles, no morons. Likewise there would be no deformities and men and women, as well as the lower animals, would be creatures of perfection – physically and mentally.

If Nature may be said to create the beautiful camelia and the lovely orchid, then Nature may be said to create that horrid appearing human monstrosity, the phocomelus.

It has been held by men of wisdom of all ages that Nature is without intent – good or bad – and that all of her workings are through, by, and according to immutable law. Every evolutionary process studies by mankind indicates that one unchanging and unchangeable law of Nature is the contrast process of building up and tearing down. In this process there is invariably gain. The human body begins as a single cell. As it builds to uncountable millions of cells, used up and worn out cells are discarded – yet, there is always gain – until we reach the last decline.

Destroy the process of reproduction – even of single cells – and the world will become inert. It is because of this immutable law of reproduction that, long before he knew that it produced young, mankind indulged in the act of sexual intercourse. It is because of this same rule – which has its basis in immutable law – that man and woman, in equal manner, if not degree, have libido (sexual urge), and pursue this urge, not knowing whether they are fertile or sterile.

It has been said quite often that we rarely know ourselves. It can always be said with greater veracity that we never know our neighbors. Beyond a doubt we can never know ourselves too well. Our ordinary knowledge of our neighbors is sufficient for all practical purposes. As you read the following paragraphs the truth of this will dawn upon you.

Should someone tell you that your next door neighbor, a hard-working man by day, discarded his rough work clothing upon reaching home at night, bathed, shaved closely, and donned feminine make-up and finery for his evening’s relaxation, you might be both startled and surprised. This, doubtless, is untrue of your neighbor – but there are many men who indulge in this apparent frivolity. Such a practice represents a mental twist. The mental twist may be prompted by faulty early training, or it may be because of an inherent mental weakness or a protest against conforming to the practices of the herd, or, and this is most probable, there may be glandular pathology or simple grandular imbalance.

Suppose you should learn that a man of your acquaintance had sought, or was seeking, surgery which would transmute him into a woman – change his sex from that of a male to that of the female? Throughout the length and breadth of the land there are untold numbers of men who would give fortunes, if they possessed them, could the surgeon’s skill transmute them into members of the female sex.

There are men and women in countless numbers who are willing to pay heavy fees to have their sexuality destroyed. That women succeed far more often than men in accomplishing this is rather generally known. Almost everyone, male or female, can name quite a few women of his acquaintance who have had their "female organs" removed. The growing number of women thus practically desexed is appalling.

These women do not seek to have themselves made into males. They are prompted by reasons differing greatly from the reasons of males who desire to become females.

Women who have themselves desexed (with the exception of the sex center in the brain and the natural sexuality of their endocrine glands) do so more often than not because of fear of pregnancy or because of too many pregnancies. Surgeons invariably find justification in some mildly pathological condition of the sexual system. Fewer surgeons than one might imagine are willing to sacrifice the sexuality of their female patients. One school of thought among eugenically minded surgeons has the conviction that the human race of the future will be bettered if the sexuality of women whose mentality is so weak that destruction of sexuality is sought, is destroyed. Sterilization – sexual sterilization – however, would accomplish this. Far too many women are not satisfied with mere sterilization, however, and if one surgeon will not perform a totally mutilating operation, another will be found, in time, who will. Women not infrequently commit acts leading to the apparent and often urgent necessity for complete sexual mutilation.

The distortions of the mind of the male leading to a desire for castration or sex destruction are many and varied. It is normal that in early childhood the female child invariably has a desire, often vague, sometimes pronounced, to be a boy. Seeing the visible penis of the boy, she feels that she should have a similar visible organ. Normally this childish fancy disappears and does no harm.

The small boy, admiring his mother far too greatly, wants to be like her. Normally the boy outgrows this fancy. Even when a fond mother over-indulges her son, if he is of good sound sexuality and desirable hereditary antecedents, he will develop into normal masculinity – physically and mentally. The over-pampered boy with a weak glandular system and a poor hereditary background is a potential psychopath. Maternal pampering prevents him from outgrowing this potentiality. Many such male children grow up to be entirely harmless. They are often equally worthless to the human race. Some of these boys, develop great and remarkable talent as they mature – or appear to mature. They may be regarded as thoroughly masculine by male and female associates alike. Ever within them, however, burns an unchanging desire to change or destroy their inherited sex.

Many of these sexually weak children fail to reach useful and acceptable maturity. Early in life many of these become guilty of what the law chooses to call criminal sex acts. Some of them become inverts – homosexuals. One of the reasons why this is true is that they want to be, and to make themselves, as feminine as possible. In directing their sexual desires toward members of the male sex they feel that they are accomplishing a notable step toward femininity.

Males with such distorted mentalities and consequent distorted personalities have sought surgery by which they hoped to attain sex transmutation and become women.

Surgical transmutation was theoretically accomplished in the Einar Wegener case. Wegener was a Danish artist. Early in life he became a successful female impersonator. His biographer, Niels Hoyer, stated that surgery disclosed two distinct sets of gonads – one set being male – the other set being female. Wegener underwent surgery after he was past 40. Castration was performed as the first surgical step. The next step was amputation of the penis. Successive steps created an artificial vagina. It was when Wegener returned to the Women’s Clinic in Dresden (Germany) apparently for an operation through which he hoped a womb could be created, that he died.

A less well known case occurred in Germany and was reported by Dr. Magnus Hirshfield. The surgery was apparently successful.

Several months ago the author, as staff physician for Sexology (New York), received a letter which shows definitely the trend of some male minds. Because the letter and the reply serve well as illustrations, they are given, exactly as published in Sexology:

Is it possible for a man of mature age to have his reproductive organs taken out by an operation to make it possible to have sexual intercourse with another male? If so, where can I get it done?

The reason I want to know is that I have no sexual desire for women, but there is a certain man I care for and I want to change my sex for him.

– Mr L R Alabama

Answer: The question concerning which you ask is possible. Surgical procedures can remove the male organs and create an artificial vagina – but this will not – if the patient survives – cause a change of manhood to womanhood.

It is apparently true that Nature has created female minds and bodies and endowed them with male sexual organs. Likewise she has apparently created male minds and bodies and endowed them with female sexual organs.

The operation concerning which you ask was performed in one particularly famous European case. For a brief period the operation seemed to have worked out quite successfully – but another operation became necessary and the patient failed to survive.

Because of the doubtful success of such an operation most surgeons would probably be unwilling to perform it.

Suppose you should succeed in getting the operation performed. The results might not be all that had been desired. The physiology of your body might not respond. You would doubtless undergo personality changes involving a changed psychological outlook. And you might have no sexual desire. Furthermore, there is always the element of changeability in humans. The man for whom you would have gone to all of the trouble might no longer care. Men, you must realize, even transfer their affection from highly desirable women to apparently less desirable one. Can you imagine the disappointment under such circumstances?

Unfortunately homosexuals are not assisted by law, society and even the medical profession, in solving their sexual problems as are the purely masculine and the purely feminine of the human species. They must grope in the dark. Yet, they are not nearly as much alone in this as you may think. Many husbands and wives suffer through life knowing that they have problems, and yet knowing no more than homosexuals as to how to solve these problems. Even in this enlightened age, sex is a subject that is taboo in most schools. Surgical operations to aid in the attempt to change from one sex to another cannot be reversed. If your male organs were removed you might later wish you had them back.

Why not try to preserve the sex to which you apparently belong? The male hormone testosterone might serve to change your views – to give you masculine virility and awaken in you a desire for women – even for a family of children, and fatherhood might become possible. If this should prove true your outlook would be changed and you would be a happy man. Any physician can prescribe testosterone for you and you can well be advised and instructed by your physician. A psychiatrist might help you to experience an outlook more promising in the matter of happiness than your present outlook. After a few months of such treatment, if you failed to find yourself a changed and a much happier man – through your physician you might seek, surgical aid.

Following the publication of the letter quoted innumerable requests were received for further information. An almost unbelievable number of apparent males expressed a desire for surgical sex transmutation.

It is to be observed that hardly more than mechanical, although apparently physical, transmutation can be accomplished.

Through surgery the brain of the female beetle has been transplanted to the male beetle and vice versa. The beetles responded sexually according to the brain rather than according to their physical sexuality. So far surgeons have not been able to transmute the sex center in the human from that of one sex to that of another.

It is to be remembered that regardless of the disorder, it may be easier to change the psychological outlook of sick persons than to change their physique to conform to what a distorted mind may believe it desires. In numerous instances much can be accomplished in body change when but little can be accomplished in affecting a change in the psychology of an individual.

Numerous apparent females are, by reason of glandular and mental conditions, and especially body chemistry (hormonal constitution), more masculine than feminine. The same is true of apparent males. Males seeking to be transmuted into females are rarely more than "near-men."

Many persons are of doubtful sexuality and it is to be borne in mind that the sexologist and the biologist have entirely different ways of distinguishing sex.

The biologist distinguishes sex from external appearances such as the deep voice, the beard, the body contours and the external genital organs of the male. The lack of beard, the characteristic female or feminine voice, the body contours, the breasts and the external genital organs of the female guide the biologist in determining the sex of the female.

The sexologist distinguishes sex solely by the gonads. Testicles establish the sex as male. Ovaries establish the sex as female. The hermaphrodite is judged by those characters distinctly hermaphroditic. The most outstanding of these characters, from the viewpoint of the sexologist, is the ovotestis. This is a gonad which is part ovary and part testicle.

Virile males do not readily give up their gonads. Males and apparent males who have been referred to frequently by medical writers as "near-men" often seek to rid themselves of their gonads.

It will be shown later that whenever the sex characters are basically strong, medical science can do much for both near-men and near-women.