Is castrating young boys ethical?

[Violet]

Indeed there have, and in my opinion doing so is totally unethical. Look at David Reimer, for instance. Miriam, from "Something about Miriam" did not have sex reassignment surgery, but took hormones through "her" teenage years, and look where that led ... pornography, shitty reality TV, more pornography, prostitution.

Still on this lady are we?

I agree with you regarding John Money, by the way... that was sickening. And David wasn't the only man 'made a girl, because it's easier' shortly after his birth...

Fraudulent medical science to save face, someone didn't follow their Hippocratic Oath... and *hundreds* of intersex children have paid for that by their physician or parents choosing their advertised sex for them.

With that said, there are plenty of people with medical conditions that don't allow them to pass puberty who live very happy and fulfilling lives. And so they should.

That said... living with two (or 1.x) sets of genitalia will not stop someone from surviving until puberty. Leave the knife off a baby unless they will likely die (or have a very solid chance of it)... how things look below the belt really doesn't enter into it: it's benign in almost every case (and where it's not, it's usually due to urethra not getting connected right, which still doesn't involve lopping someone's dick off and binning it).

But should you allow someone who would normally go through puberty to be castrated in order to preserve their singing voice? Well that's certainly one way to determine their career choice for them early on. I think the biggest difference between now and the 18th century (/19th century) is that there is a lot more career choice, and being able to be an opera singer isn't as great an ability as it may have once been because there are plenty more career choices still available. But yeah, I can see how in the 17th/18th centuries it was desirable and an advantage.

Agreed, opera just isn't what it used to be. It's not so much a cultural phenomenon alongside theatre... as it is an 'okay' career choice and an occasional interest of the rich and the quirky

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Isn't it ironic?

... that this is your response?