There was a time when boys were castrated out of economic necessity. Now, it’s parental vanity/adherence to ephemeral ideological trends.
The practice in music goes back to the mid-16th century – though castration itself has a much longer history – when women were banned from performing on the stage. Higher voices were needed to play female and young roles; boys took the parts instead, but children grow up and boys’ voices break. It was very expensive to train the youngsters only for them to move on. Castration arrested this development, freezing the voice as a child’s.
As boys reach puberty, they produce testosterone which causes the larynx to descend and the thyroid to thicken, creating the Adam’s apple. Together these developments lower a man’s voice. Castration prevents the production of testosterone so the vocal chords don’t develop normally. The castrated boys retained their prepubescent vocal range into adulthood.
This lack of testosterone also meant that the castrati’s bones didn’t harden in the normal way so their limbs grew abnormally long. Their rib cages were also unusually large, giving them a huge amount of breath capacity. This, combined with the small size of their vocal chords and rigorous singing training, gave them unique voices that were extraordinarily flexible, and quite different from the equivalent adult female voice.
The operation was never legal, though, and so was generally undertaken by backstreet surgeons and dentists, while the boys’ families would make up stories as to why their sons had been castrated – often inventing implausible accidents such as being gored by wild boar. The procedure was usually undertaken between the ages of eight and nine. It was incredibly dangerous and painful – this was before the discovery of anaesthetic. However, the rewards for a successful castrato were significant and for poor families meant a way out of poverty.]
Well explained. If this crazy bitch wants this done to these boys, the judge should require her to to it personally, with a knift.
Takes on a little different complexion than when she’s ordering medical professionals to to it under a court order. Very convenient, no muss no fuss...like flipping a switch.
No chemicals, give her a knife then see what she does.
However, the rewards for a successful castrato were significant and for poor families meant a way out of poverty.]
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And in today’s welfare culture, just the opposite is required for poor families (moms only) to get money (but not out of poverty).
Wow. Thanks for your informative post.
I knew almost none of that. Thanks.