In the article, “Masculinity, American Modernity, and Body Modification: A Feminist Reading of American Eunuchs“, Brenda R. Weber critically analyzes the documentary American Eunuchs from a historical feminist perspective in order to understand the motivations behind male body modification in regards to masculine culture. Weber begins by siting Margrit Shildrick’s research in regards to Western culture’s dominant beliefs regarding the body. Shildrick argues that Western intellectuals have posited the body as hindering to reason and when subjugated to modification has the ability to reach a higher plane of knowledge. The ability to transcend the body has historically been seen as a trait of masculinity and in opposition to this lies the feminine, which is rooted in body. This juxtaposition of the masculine as the ability to transcend the body and the feminine as wholly rooted within the body has played a role in gender, race, and class inequality ( as those of lower socioeconomic status and oppressed racial identities have been historically depicted as feminine).

Weber uses Shildrick’s observations and applies them to to her own analysis of the American Eunich in opposition to the stance of the filmmakers who posited the film from the perspective of body modification as one dangerous outcome of American modernity and freedom. Although the documentary surveys the life of three men in order to tell their stories, the film is highly edited and depicts the men as compromising their masculinity through body mutilation. Weber argues the film lacks introspection beyond depicting the men as new-age freaks, and does not account or address the history and culture behind non-normative bodies.

Weber continues to combat the use of freaks by presenting her definition of freak rooted in the history of freak shows and then follows the stories of each of the men featured in the documentary. Weber notes, though not expanded upon by the filmmakers, the documentaries inclusion of interviews with all three men featured positing that they used the body modification surgery to remove their genitals in order gain further control over their masculinity. In contrast to Sigmund Freud’s theory about the fears of men involving the physical removal of genitals linked to their masculinity and power thus leaving them in a state that is more markedly feminine, ironically the men featured in the documentary feel more powerful without their phallic body parts due to their ability to control their hormones and thus achieve higher control over their bodies and minds. By removing their physical masculinity, they are ironically performing a thoroughly masculine act.

Weber concludes that the men’s want to move out of the realm of gender conformity  through performing individualized acts of body modification that physically represents their identification as neither male or female but simply human, also “creates the terms for the hyper articulation of gender codes” (Weber, 2013: 691.)

Although this article is not specifically about sex education, I found through reading the article about the physical and mental contributions of acknowledging, removing, ignoring, or keeping ones genitalia enlightening in regards to how sex educators talk about genitalia in the classroom. Genitals are often regarded as taboo and showing images of them, even though educational, non-sexual in goal, and constructive are still seen as breaching proper conduct with minors in the classroom. How does sex education and the way American students, specifically in California, are taught about the body parts they all have set the stage for performative body modification or self identification with ones genitals?

Weber, Brenda (2013). Masculinity, American Modernity, and Body Modification: A Feminist Reading of American Eunuchs. The Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 38(3).