The Unkindest Cut
“The Unkindest Cut” was the headline in The Nation this past Saturday concerning an editorial in Bangkok’s Kom Chad Luek newspaper.
Unkindest Cut? This word has many meaning in the English language. You can perhaps silence a pompous person with a social cut. You are really a joker and fun person if you are a cut up or perhaps a good dancer who can cut the light fantastic. Maybe I should just cut out writing this preamble and get on with The Nation’s article.
The article use of the word cut as in Webster definition to divide into parts with an edged tool <cut bread>, but in the article cut refers to the removal the male penis and testicles. Read on.
According to The Nation, “Kom Chad Luek editorial leader urged the government to speed up the control of clinics performing castrations for underage boys without parental approval.
“With the title Must Tighten Control, the editorial said that a growing number of young transvestites were getting cheap castrations, not only reflecting a social trend where society shows more tolerance to the “third sex”, but also showing lax supervision in the Thai medical sector.
“Moreover, pre-teenage (italics supplied) boys may not know what they want. They are at the stage of soul searching. They may not be ready to take such a major decision by themselves. Some may be homosexual. Pre-teenage boys can be easily confused by their raging hormones. Thus, it is not the right age for them to decide whether they should undergo a sex-change operation.”
Listen mum and dad: if your pre-teenage son knows what he wants and has had appropriate psychological evaluation, bring him to Bangkok on a “medical vacation”. Enjoy Amazing Thailand with its Buddhist temples, glorious beaches as well as its tip top, cutting edge medical facilities. He . . . er she will always be grateful.
“Cut” prices start at a reasonable 80 Euros (US$130, GBP 64) at clinics on just about every street corner.