Autocastration and Autopenectomy as Surgical Self-Treatment in Incarcerated Persons With Gender Identity Disorder
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2010
Description
The author reports on a case series of four inmates who engaged in attempted or completed surgical self-treatment of their gender dysphoria via autocastration, autopenectomy, or a combination in the absence of concomitant psychosis, intoxication, or other comorbidities that could reasonably account for this rare behavior. These behaviors occurred in the context of persistent denials of access to transgender health care in prison settings. The literature on genital self-harm is also reviewed. Incarcerated persons with severe GID may resort to life-threatening surgical self-treatments when persistently denied access to psychiatric evaluation and cross-sex hormonal treatment. In all cases of surgical self-treatment (SST; i.e., autocastration with the primary intent to reduce circulating testosterone levels) the intensity of gender dysphoria decreased compared to reported baseline levels, although symptoms of GID were still present. Of the four inmates, two were able to obtain access to cross-sex hormones after successful litigation at the time of this writing; another was not. One case remains active. This case series expands the limited literature on surgical self-treatment in the form of autocastration and autopenectomy with a focus on the potential influence of incarceration with denial of access to transgender health care.
Citation Information
Brown, George R.. 2010. Autocastration and Autopenectomy as Surgical Self-Treatment in Incarcerated Persons With Gender Identity Disorder. International Journal of Transgenderism. Vol.12(1). 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532731003688970 ISSN: 1553-2739