Faculty of Arts & Science

Visual and Critical Studies

Amaaya Dasgupta

Accessing Queer Futurity Through an Exploration of Pre-Modern Castration

Through the queering and exploration of pre-modern castration, this study aims to establish the significance of connecting the past, present, and the future via various channels of queer theory to pave the way towards a hopeful queer futurity. In this current historical moment of increasing unrest and debate over the validity and rights of trans and queer folk, it is integral to explore avenues towards securing a queer futurity as queer and trans lives are being subjected to violence and vicious legislature. By looking at the historical significance of various groups of castrates -- such as the Castrati of Italy: young boys that were forcibly castrated by the Catholic Church to retain their operatic singing voices; the Skoptsy of Russia: a spiritual Christian sect that performed self-castrations to get closer to God; and the Hijras of the Indian subcontinent: a collective term that includes castrated, intersex, and trans people, all identifying to some degree or another with queerness -- through the lenses of queer theory, temporality, historicity, futurity, and utopianism, this study aims to suggest a hopeful look forward through a critical look at the past.