Editing Emasculation (section)

==== Skoptsy ====
{{Main|Skoptsy}}
[[File:Skoptsy man and woman.jpg|thumb|Emasculated Skoptsy male (left) and Skoptsy female with breasts cut off (right)|upright=1.1]]
Emasculation was one form of genital mutilation practiced by the Skoptsy, a Russian Christian sect. For males, the other form of mutilation available was castration. Females could remove their nipples, breasts, [[labia majora]], [[labia minora]] or [[clitoris]].{{Sfn|Engelstein|1997|p=6}} These practices may have begun sometime during the 1760s, after the sect was founded by Kondratii Selivanov, although they were only discovered by the broader community in 1772.{{Sfn|Engelstein|1997|p=2}} They continued up until the 1930s, when the sect was destroyed and its members sentenced.{{Sfn|Emeliantseva|2009|p=190}}

The Skoptsy practiced genital mutilation because they believed the genitals were the source of original sin, and that by removing them, they could attain salvation.{{Sfn|Engelstein|1999|p=13}} The aim of removing the offending genitalia was to purify the body.{{Sfnm|1a1=Engelstein|1y=1999|1p=12|2a1=Goldberg|2y=1930|2p=346}} Their belief was based on a literal reading of the verse of [[Matthew 19:12]], which states: "There are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake."{{Sfn|Wilson|2018|p=565}} In addition, the verses of [[Matthew 18]]:8,9 and [[Luke 23]]:29 were also cited as support.{{Sfn|Engelstein|1999|p=14}} Of the two types of genital mutilation available to men, emasculation was called the Greater Seal. Castration, by comparison, was called the Lesser Seal.{{Sfnm|1a1=Engelstein|1y=1997|1p=5|2a1=Goldberg|2y=1930|2p=348}} Emasculation was preferable because it rendered a recipient physically incapable of engaging in sinful sexual conduct, allowing them to attain a higher level of purity.

Originally, the emasculation procedure was performed by burning the testicles off with an iron.{{Sfnm|1a1=Engelstein|1y=1997|1p=5|2a1=Goldberg|2y=1930|2p=347}} Later, the genitals were tied at the base and removed using a knife or razor blade. The wound was then cauterised, or a [[salve]] was applied, to prevent bleeding. Many Skoptsy were peasants and were familiar with animal husbandry, which meant their emasculation procedures were often performed with "surgical precision."{{Sfn|Wilson|2018|p=566}} In some instances, members of the Skoptsy would perform the emasculation on themselves, in an act of [[self-surgery]], though it was more typical for the procedure to be performed by an elder during a ceremony.{{Sfn|Engelstein|1997|p=6}}