Poll: Castration to Live Longer

[tkioz]

Recently there has been some research into the historical evidence that castrated men live longer lives then fully functional men, backed up with animal studies (cats and dogs for example live much longer after being "fixed").

I was reading the articles and each had tons of comments about the "price being too high!", now it might just be me, given I have a low sex drive (bordering asexuality) and I've been celibate for a number of years out of choice (and happier for it), but the idea of gaining ten extra years to live, healthier ones at that, at the cost of a few snips seems well worth it to me.

Keep in mind that we're not talking about the barbaric middle-ages version, and it doesn't remove the capacity for sex, it simply lowers the testosterone production which is why women live longer then men anyway. Of course you'd need to store some genetic material in case you wanted kids later, but that's not expensive, and you might have a lower sex drive (honestly I think that would be a good thing for society... too many men think with their genitals).

What say you?

 

[SckizoBoy]

To add to the creepiness:

Question - what type of castration? Penile? Testicular? Or complete?

 

[Rawne1980]

Not a chance.

I like my man bits to function as they are.

I had a testicular cancer worry a year ago (turns out it was just a blocked tube so panic was over) but had a serious talk with my wife (before we knew it was just a blocked tube) and laid it down firmly that if it was cancer then i'll have to live with it as there aint a chance in hell anybody is operating on my groin and removing anything.

I've grown attached to my genitals these past 32 years and that's how they are staying.

I have a pretty high sex drive, I like sex, i'd go as far as saying it's probably my favourite activity.

 

[Keoul]

yeaaaah, 10 more years of old age, not being to do anything from the fear of breaking my bones doesn't seem worth it to me :L

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Without my testicles the extra longevity of my life would not be worth living.

 

[tkioz]

yeaaaah, 10 more years of old age, not being to do anything from the fear of breaking my bones doesn't seem worth it to me :L

Guess we know different old people. I know a 78 year old man that still jogs, boxes, lifts weights, and delivers news letter for what he calls "fun money".

And the whole "life is crappy, so why live" thing totally doesn't work on me, if it did I'd be dead already. I'm 80% blind, I need a cane to walk, I suffer from extreme light sensitivities, and a number of other conditions, and I'm 32...

And you know what? I love life. I want to keep living for as long as possible. I really don't care that some people consider my life "horrible". To me, all that pain is nothing, I can still be happy.

I want to live until at least 2101, so I can see I've see three centuries, I want to see a man on mars, I want to go to outer space, I want to see mankind's first interstellar ship, I want to see all those things and more.

 

[Kahunaburger]

My plan is to exercise, eat well, and have balls.

 

[Keoul]

snip

I'm not saying life is terrible and all that crap, just that I've had my fun if I could live longer in my prime then sure what the hell but to just stay as an old man 10 years longer doesn't seem worth getting castrated for.

 

[smithy_2045]

Not a chance. And I bet that a significant proportion of the people who'd opt for castration would deeply regret it at some point later in life.

 

[HardkorSB]

You know, sex drive is one of the main driving forces on human beings. Having a low sex drive is already a sign that one has some chemical imbalance in the body. But that's not important at the moment.
Once you would remove that drive completely, you could end up with numerous physical and mental illnesses. Did the study also show how many of those people were a bit crazy or became crazy after castration?
I know that with animals, their behavior changes. They often become lazy, kind of like they're permanently sedated. They sleep much more and play much less. They often tend to get fat as well.
Maybe that's why they live longer? Because they do fuck all during their lives so their bodies can handle a few more years of doing fuck all?

The duration of life isn't important. The quality is.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

You should know that a longer lifespan doesn?t equal a better quality of life, and frankly, I?m afraid that humans are apparently living longer due to better healthcare because of exponential potential growth, rapid drain on our planet?s resources and, well, humanity overall being self-destructive jerks. And unless you suffer from hypersexuality, why on Earth would you want to decrease your sex drive? For those who aren?t asexual, it would be an understatement to say that it could cause problems in the bedroom.

 

[hazabaza1]

80-odd years is probably enough for me. I'll keep my balls, thanks.

 

[Cheesepower5]

Eh... I don't plan on living long anyway. I'd rather die a happy 70 year old, did his work, contributed to the world somehow and knew how to have a fun than a 110 year old hoarding his years.

 

[an annoyed writer]

So since I'm transgender I supposedly live longer? Yay? Hooray for that and stuff? Well, as long as I can stay young for longer than previous generations...

 

[Soviet Steve]

My plan is to exercise, eat well, and have balls.

Sounds like An Excellent Plan.

 

[tkioz]

You know, sex drive is one of the main driving forces on human beings. Having a low sex drive is already a sign that one has some chemical imbalance in the body.

Not always. In my early 20s I spent a lot of time worrying that there was something wrong with me. I tried a lot of things, different partners, etc. Then I tried doctors, there is nothing wrong with my sex drive... It's simply not that strong. I finally accepted it as part of who I am (after seeking help from a therapist... well two of them... the first was useless and made me feel worse... stupid cow...).

Some people are straight, some people are gay, some people are bisexual, some people were born into the wrong gender, and some people simply don't have much of a sex drive at all.

It takes all sorts to make the world.

The duration of life isn't important. The quality is.

Yes... and what's that got to do with sex, or physical condition? I'm already fairly frail and "disabled" but I live what I personally consider a great life.

If was 100 and was paralysed from the neck down I still wouldn't want to die. There is so much in this world.

I find it odd that healthy people are the first to say they wouldn't want to live as a "cripple"... but people who have been beaten with fate's big stick generally want to keep going, after all where there is life there is hope.

 

[Rowan93]

Not worth it. Not so much the loss being too much, but the gain being too little:
- Life expectancy increases every year, meaning the possible gain may have been eaten up by improvements in medical care and such, and if not it might soon be;
- Even if the gain is there, it's pretty small. If it's closing the women/men gap (which I bet it isn't going to do, the gain will be less) that's an extra 4 years. And that's 4 years at the end, so four more years of not-particularly enjoying my retirement. If I get a retirement, which I probably won't.
- When I said "which I probably won't", that's only partly cynicism about the government and the economy, it's also optimism about technology. If the singularity hits within my lifetime, which I think it has a good chance of doing, we'll all live for a whole lot longer, and the castration would have been pointless.

So yeah. Probably an extra 4 years, max, and that's only assuming it actually does give an advantage in the long term while civilization is changing more than it ever has before. Not worth it.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

The duration of life isn't important. The quality is.

Yes... and what's that got to do with sex, or physical condition? I'm already fairly frail and "disabled" but I live what I personally consider a great life.

Because a decrease in sex drive isn't the only effect of castration? It can fuck up your behaviour. No male (unless they're transgender) in their right mind should want to lose their cock and balls/intentionally disable themselves just so they can live longer, especially since they don't know what their life will be like in the future.

What if they end up living at 95 years old, suffering from a highly debilitating disease, and they're so depressed that they want to kill themselves, but they're too afraid or unable to do it themselves and their family and/or the government/law won't let them?

Basically, except for (maybe) animals, hypersexuals and paedophiles, castration has no actual benefit. Longer lifespan technically isn't a benefit, since it doesn't equal better quality of life.

 

[Athol]

Looking back at my relitives, I know genetics should see me well into my 80s or early 90s.If I take even the sligtest bit of care I should be fine as I am...so yeah, I'll keep it all thnaks.

 

[CityofTreez]

Wait, this is a serious question?