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Throughout human history, many cultures and societies practiced brutal forms of castration. It was used as a form of punishment, a method to eliminate competition, and even to make young boys better singers—yes, you heard that right.
While much of human history, especially the medieval period, is filled with bizarre
and barbaric practices, surely such things wouldn’t happen in the modern era, where men supposedly “hold all the power” in society. Surely, violations of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights wouldn’t still be occurring today, right? Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Eugenics and Forced Sterilization
Many of us have studied the eugenics movement in the Western world, where European countries and colonies like the United States and Canada implemented eugenics programs. These programs targeted marginalized groups, aiming to stop them from reproducing. This was done through forced castration or sterilization, violating both bodily autonomy and reproductive rights.
The Utah Eugenics Program
In the 1970s, a teenage boy at the Utah State Training School learned that he was scheduled for sterilization. His initial reaction was one of violent objection, as he wanted to have children. However, over time, he resigned himself to the fact that there was little he could do to stop the operation.
The paper “Victims of Eugenic Sterilization in Utah“ documents how these tragic cases unfolded. When state-sanctioned sterilizations began in 1925, they were almost exclusively carried out at the Utah State Hospital in Provo, primarily targeting men. When the Utah State Training School opened several years later, the program shifted to sterilizing a younger population, and by the 1940s, more women than men were being sterilized.
Utah had one of the most aggressive sterilization programs in the country. In 1947, eugenics leaders even praised Utah for sterilizing a greater proportion of its residents than any other state, calling it an “important achievement in public health.” [Source: University of Utah]
Global Eugenics Programs
Although these programs initially targeted institutionalized individuals with mental disabilities, people of color, and gay men, by the late 1930s, proponents justified involuntary sterilization as a means of protecting vulnerable women from unwanted pregnancies.
Meanwhile, Nazi Germany’s Hereditary Health Courts approved at least 400,000 sterilizations in under a decade. After the horrific revelations of Nazi eugenics, forced sterilization programs declined rapidly in the U.S. However,; coerced sterilization has remained widespread in countries like China and India, particularly against minority groups.
India’s Forced Sterilization Campaign (1970s)
Between 1975 and 1977, India experienced one of its darkest periods when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a national emergency, effectively making herself a de facto dictator. During this time, she and her son, Sanjay Gandhi, carried out a horrific forced sterilization campaign.
Although both men and women were forcibly sterilized, male victims are often overlooked in historical discussions. Men from poor socio-economic backgrounds were especially targeted, treated like animals being neutered. Government workers—from top officials to low-level employees—were given monthly quotas and incentives to sterilize men.
Consent was irrelevant; their choices and human rights were disregarded. Dr. Arvind Bhopalkar, a surgeon involved in the campaign, recalled losing count of the procedures he performed. In a 2015 interview with The Indian Express, he said:
“We were told to perform the operation on as many men as possible. A revenue department official, in his zeal to round up men, even brought a doctor’s father to us.”
Bhopalkar admitted that he occasionally let unmarried men and childless married men escape the procedure, stating: “Doctors have hearts too.” In 1976 alone, the Indian government sterilized 6.2 million men.
The Legacy of Eugenics
The belief that governments should control reproduction was widespread among eugenicists. Consider this chilling quote:
“The sum total of human freedom and human happiness will be greatly promoted, in the long run, by eugenical processes which call for the elimination of degenerate and handicapped strains from the racial stocks, and the increase of numbers of citizens highly endowed by nature with splendid mental, physical, and moral qualities. The state, then, must exercise its undoubted right and duty to control human reproduction along the lines of race betterment.”
— Harry Laughlin, Eugenical Sterilization in the United States
Even prominent feminists like Margaret Sanger adopted similar language in support of eugenics programs. Many had incredibly racist views and contributed to the forced sterilization of marginalized groups, including both men and women.
Some specifically targeted women, and their arguments are horrifying to read. If you want to know more, I highly recommend conducting further research.
Violation of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights is not just issue of the past but also a current reality, be it the rights of women or men as many aren’t aware forced sterilization programs in prisons have happened as recently as 2010s and let’s not forget that male victims or even minor male rape victims are still made to pay child support to their rapists. There are also some lesser but commonly ingnored violation like reproductive fruad, circumcision and family court biased, which is still widely present and perfectly legal.
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