The disturbing truth behind the influence of male stereotypes on destructive behavior
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Many of my friends who live abroad asked me if it was true that a man from a little town in Macedonia had chopped of his own penis. Was it really because his girlfriend told him his penis was too small? Well the truth is unclear whether this unhappy guy had a small penis or suffered from impotency, but the story is genuine. It’s 100 % true.
When you live in a small, and to the rest of the world, insignificant country like Macedonia, the only stories that will have an international impact must be war related, connected with Ebola, or about someone’s self mutilation.
Since the last war in The Balkans was resolved more than 10 years ago and Ebola’s threat is far away from Macedonia, self mutilation is the most recent story that actually “celebrated” Macedonia.
The whole drama occurred near Kocani, a small town in the eastern part of Macedonia. Kocani’s main ‘industry’ is emigration to Western Europe. A young Kocani lad felt that his penis was useless and chopped it off, justlike that. According to doctors he had no history of mental illness. So, let me explain a few things.
In places where there is no future, like Kocani, mental illnesses are not diagnosed until someone becomes dangerous to others or themselves. The unfortunate guy who hurt himself now may be put under medical care, but before his self mutilation there was no way for somebody in Kocani to diagnose a disturbance in a 22 year old man’s psyche. There is no chance that someone who grew up in such a place will willingly put himself under psychiatric observation. This is a socially forsaken person.
If you are searching for a place where you can find a pattern of how stereotypes function, go to some small town in The Balkans. There is everything, but in everything this does not mean mutual understanding for someone’s health issues. There you can find ignorance, gender inequity, domestic violence. Mocking is what you will get if someone’s certain body parts come under surveillance. In Kocani it is hard to find a decent gynecologist, not to mention a psychiatrist or “god forgive me” a sexologist. In a place like Kocani for a man to seek doctor’s counsel because “my penis won’t work” is blasphemy, and he won’t find any friends or girlfriends in support.
It is a sad story from a sad country and there is nothing to do about… Well actually there is. The dismembered member was found, but doctors decided not to reattach it because there was little chance that it would be functional. Instead, the chief surgeon decided to make another fully functional penis from the part of the organ remaining on the body. The results are most promising.
With another surgery to go, the hero of our story will be in full functioning capacity. If he had any obstacles in the past considering his penis, now there will be no problems with quantity or “technique.” But the real problem is now the whole world has heard his story. More importantly, everyone from his shire are fully informed of the details of his incident, his mental condition, and his personal issue. Providence won’t easily forgive this “out of routine day” and nobody will stop talking about his “little dick” behavior. We can bet that in years that follow, this will become the most interpreted story in the whole region.
The doctors may reattach a dismembered penis, or make a new one from the remnants, but what doctor could make our “small town mentality” stop bullying people whose differences or disadvantages make them more vulnerable?
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Photo: jlz/Flickr
great article,
i enjoyed reading yr perspective on this local and at the same time universal behaviour