New research shows being raised in a devoutly Christian household and growing up on a farm are two defining characteristics of “the cutters” — what the eunuch subculture calls people who perform medically unnecessary genital castrations on others.

“Individuals, who perform surgeries without a license, put themselves at serious legal risk — in addition to putting their clients at great physical risk,” a team of Canadian researchers wrote in their study, which was published in the scientific journal Sexual Medicine.

Men seek surgical or chemical castration for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are medically necessary, such as for those suffering from testicular or advanced prostate cancer. Transgender women sometimes seek castration as part of sexual reassignment surgery.

But there are also healthy men who seek castration but do not identify as female. Since their desire is not related to any recognized medical or psychiatric condition, these men “seek services outside of the medical community for their genital surgeries,” the researchers said.

In their study of 2,871 individuals, the researchers were interested in the so-called “cutters” — those who had performed or assisted in the castration of another person. The study included 278 individuals who reported that they had been physically castrated, and 98 individuals who were cutters, some of whom were also castrated.

The study failed to find a “singular, invariant psychological profile of the cutter.” However, the researchers did identify a number of distinguishing characteristics of people who performed castrations on others.

“The general picture that emerges,” the researchers said, “is of someone who both sought out injury for himself and is willing to injure others.”

Many of the participants grew up on farms, and 40 percent of cutters had witnessed animals being castrated.

Childhood abuse emerged as another major factor. Twenty-seven percent of cutters in the study reported being abused or assaulted as a child, and 24 percent said they were threatened with castration by their parents or other adults.

“Several of our participants reported that their mothers had held a knife or scissors to their penis and threatened to cut it off after finding them masturbating. One respondent wrote a long account of being held by his father while his uncle pulled down his pants, held a knife to his scrotum, and offered to castrate him just like the pigs he had been watching them castrate.”

A large portions of the cutters also reported being raised in a devoutly Christian household, and the researchers suggested there was a link between religiosity and being threatened with genital mutilation.

“Children raised in devoutly religious homes are often taught that sexual activities for pleasure, such as masturbation, or certain sexual orientations and partnerships, such as homosexuality, are sinful,” they wrote. “As children threatened with genital mutilation, they may have come to believe that castration is a method to control undesirable sexual thoughts and activities.”

People who performed castrations on others were also more likely to have body piercings and/or tattoos, and to have had an underground castration themselves. A significant majority of cutters, 72 percent, identified as “eunuch,” “third gender,” or “other.” Many cutters reported being charged and convicted of crimes relating to sexually inappropriate behavior.

“Few individuals have all these risk factors, and we cannot comment on which risk factors are dominant in the development of extreme castration ideations,” the researchers said.

“Unfortunately, individuals with a collection of these risk factors seldom present to their family doctors, psychiatrists, or other healthcare providers. It is important, however, that healthcare professionals recognize that these individuals exist. Our study may help healthcare providers identify individuals who are at the greatest risk of injuring their own genitals and the genitals of others.”