Japanese artist cooks, serves own genitals at banquet

[mr friendly guy]

title says it all really

Last month, 22-year-old Mao Sugiyama had his genitals surgically removed, frozen and double-bagged in plastic. Then, the proud asexual artist turned to Twitter and made an offer five people just couldn't seem to refuse:

"[Please Retweet] I am offering my male genitals (full penis, testes, scrotum) as a meal for 100,000 yen [$1,250]. I'm Japanese. The organs were surgically removed at age 22. I was tested to be free of venereal diseases. The organs were of normal function. I was not receiving female hormone treatment. The length at full erection was 16.1 cm [6.3 inches]. First interested buyer will get them, or I will also consider selling to a group. Will prepare and cook as the buyer requests, at his chosen location. If you have questions, please contact me by DM or e-mail."

Sugiyama, a Tokyo-based illustrator, was born male but now identifies as asexual. The artist paid $12,000 for the operation to remove all sexual features from his body as part of the gender nullification process.

Calorielab.com reports that six people paid for the privilege of dining on his cooked organs at a "Ham Cybele - Century Banquet" on April 13. The story has since been picked up by the international wire service Agence France-Presse.

At the event Sugiyama publicly seasoned and braised his genitals on a portable gas stove in front of dozens, assisted by a professional chef.

Only five diners actually tasted the dish (one backed out before the event), which was served with button mushrooms and parsley. The group included two women and three men, all between the ages of 22 and 32.

A spokesman for the Suginami police told CalorieLab.com that they'd received inquires from concerned citizens but could not pursue the matter further, as no laws prohibiting cannibalism exist in Japan.

I saw this originally on a segment of the Alyona show. It seems that several web sites are carrying this story, including RT and the linked canadian news site, so perhaps not a hoax, but I could be wrong. If it is real - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

[Phantasee]

what the fuck

god dammit

fuck

fuck



FUCK


how the fuck am i supposed to be able to coherently discuss this story? honestly

Can someone put a NSFL tag in the title? And maybe...edit it? It's just... ugh.

[Panzersharkcat]

I cannot be the only one who squeezed his legs together when reading this.

[Sidewinder]

I REALLY wonder what Sugiyama was thinking when he decided, "I'm asexual, so I should have my cock and balls cut off, cooked and eaten, so they can never be reattached." This seems like something out of Gurochan or the Eunuch Archive.

[Akhlut]

I REALLY wonder what Sugiyama was thinking when he decided, "I'm asexual, so I should have my cock and balls cut off, cooked and eaten, so they can never be reattached." This seems like something out of Gurochan or the Eunuch Archive.

There are people out there who legitimately have no sex drive and don't care for their genitals anymore than some people care about their hair. So, he probably just decided that since they are useless to him and don't fit with his own self-image that it was better to get rid of his genitals. It's similar to transsexuality, except that he doesn't want to transition from male to female, but, rather, from male to neutral.

[Ford Prefect]

I REALLY wonder what Sugiyama was thinking when he decided, "I'm asexual, so I should have my cock and balls cut off, cooked and eaten, so they can never be reattached."

I imagine he thought 'I'm asexual, I have no interest in having these genitals attached to my body'.

[Raw Shark]

Yeah, sounds like he wanted it off either way, and was just trying to recoup part of his expenses with a side order of free publicity for his career. More power to him - or it, now, if he prefers, I guess.

[snip] no laws prohibiting cannibalism exist in Japan.

I am somehow... not surprised by this...

[Frank Hipper]

what the fuck

god dammit

fuck

fuck



FUCK


how the fuck am i supposed to be able to coherently discuss this story? honestly

Can someone put a NSFL tag in the title? And maybe...edit it? It's just... ugh.

It's a fantastic title, perfectly desciptive; why would I deface it?

[Bakustra]

Cannibalism insamuch as it ought to be part of the law is covered entirely by homicide and assault and battery for criminal law, and involuntary commitment procedures for civil law. All of these are part of Japanese law, and so if someone did not commit a crime in order to commit cannibalism, and involuntary commitment was deemed unnecessary, then why exactly should cannibalism (at this point, a voluntary activity performed by the mentally competent) be forbidden?

Anyways, this guy is probably okay with it, but I wonder about the lucky guests and why they did it. Thrillseekers? Fetishists? Does it really matter?

[Broomstick]

[snip] no laws prohibiting cannibalism exist in Japan.

I am somehow... not surprised by this...

I am guessing (mainly because I pressed for time this morning and don't have the time to spend hours on the research) that in many places there are, in fact, no laws against cannibalism... just the usual ones against killing people. Cannibalism is, after all, seen by many as an acceptable, if extremely squicky, solution to certain types of survival emergencies. Now, killing someone in order to eat them is forbidden as that would be murder, but after a plane crash eating one's already deceased fellow passengers to prevent starvation until rescue (as one example) is generally seen as tolerable.

I confess to a visceral feeling of "no fucking way! That's sick!" but as repugnant as I find this on an emotional level it is his body to do with what he wills and that includes disposing of parts he no longer wants. On the other hand, wanting your sexual characteristics, including genitals, surgically removed, can not be considered normal. It may be this is an atypical situation where the person in question won't regret this decision later on and will actually be happier for having done this, but I have to wonder whether or not this person is in a healthy mental state.

[mr friendly guy]

Huffington post has pictures of the um, finished culinary product. Don't click on it if you are squemish and for God's sake, don't click on it if you at work.

linky

[Col. Crackpot]

being transgendered is all fine and dandy, and if you want to have surgery and change yourself then all power to you. But he cooked up his man parts and served them to himself and other people for money... ugh... something in that person is broken and i hope he? (is there a personal pronoun for an asexual person?) gets help.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

Unless you consider any form of body dysphoria a form of a person being broken, I don't see where you're coming from. Mao wanted a part of their body removed for, presumably, hormonal and body image reasons, and instead of disposing of it, they wanted to get some use out of the removed parts. With the money from the sale and the publicity from this, there's a chance they'll recoup all the costs of the surgery.

Unless a person identifies with a specific pronoun, it's usually safe to just go with the singular "they" in cases where gender is ambiguous or irrelevant.

[Akhlut]

being transgendered is all fine and dandy, and if you want to have surgery and change yourself then all power to you. But he cooked up his man parts and served them to himself and other people for money... ugh... something in that person is broken and i hope he? (is there a personal pronoun for an asexual person?) gets help.

How is Mao broken? While this is certainly unorthodox and transgressive, I don't see how it is crazy. I certainly wouldn't do this myself, as I'm far too attached to my dick [size="25"(HAR HAR HAR!)[/size], but from what I can tell, he wasn't getting the surgery solely so he could cook up his own genitals. That was an ancillary thing, and I assume he did it both for some quick cash and a transgressive statement on society.

[mr friendly guy]

Unless you consider any form of body dysphoria a form of a person being broken, I don't see where you're coming from. Mao wanted a part of their body removed for, presumably, hormonal and body image reasons, and instead of disposing of it, they wanted to get some use out of the removed parts. With the money from the sale and the publicity from this, there's a chance they'll recoup all the costs of the surgery.

Unless a person identifies with a specific pronoun, it's usually safe to just go with the singular "they" in cases where gender is ambiguous or irrelevant.

Not even close from other articles I read. The surgery cost $12 000, but he sold the meal at $250 each to 5 people (totally $1250). Barely one tenth of the cost for surgery.

[Themightytom]

Kudos for having balls that feed five people I guess O.o

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

Not even close from other articles I read. The surgery cost $12 000, but he sold the meal at $250 each to 5 people (totally $1250). Barely one tenth of the cost for surgery.

Mao's an artist. The publicity from this could be a boon to their business. And even if not, that's $1250 they wouldn't have if the flesh had just gone in the medical waste bin.

[Raw Shark]

Not even close from other articles I read. The surgery cost $12 000, but he sold the meal at $250 each to 5 people (totally $1250). Barely one tenth of the cost for surgery.

Mao's an artist. The publicity from this could be a boon to their business. And even if not, that's $1250 they wouldn't have if the flesh had just gone in the medical waste bin.

My thoughts exactly. Making a living as an artist can be as much about selling yourself and your image (typically as a shockingly unusual person) as it is about making art that people generally consider "good" (ie: aesthetically pleasing and/or thought-provoking). People who throw down large sums of money on contemporary art are often just as interested, if not more so, in comments like, "Holy shit, you have a Mao Sugiyama? I totally know who that is - That guy cooked and fed people his balls!" as they are in comments like, "Wow, I really like how that Mao Sugiyama piece ties the room together."

[Blayne]

I clicked on the link, because well, schmuck bait. I think that if you didn't know what you were looking at you wouldn't be able to tell it was cooked genitalia. Some nausea from extrapolation that there might be an illegal black market for this sort of thing though instead of your kidneys.

[loomer]

I'll be honest. I'd probably have tried it myself, because how often do you get to eat human flesh of any stripe, let alone the jimmies?

[FSTargetDrone]

I'll be honest. I'd probably have tried it myself, because how often do you get to eat human flesh of any stripe, let alone the jimmies?

I'd have to be in a pretty dire situation to even consider it for a moment.

[Mr. Coffee]

I the only one that read the article, saw "Japanese" and just kind of shrugged? Nothing against the Japanese, but I've seen so many odd stories come out of that country that shit like this doesn't really surprise me much any more.

[Panzersharkcat]

I the only one that read the article, saw "Japanese" and just kind of shrugged? Nothing against the Japanese, but I've seen so many odd stories come out of that country that shit like this doesn't really surprise me much any more.

Nope. That was also one of my first thoughts after squeezing my legs together. I just didn't want to express it. There was the whole shit steak thing a while back, too.

[Purple]

I the only one that read the article, saw "Japanese" and just kind of shrugged? Nothing against the Japanese, but I've seen so many odd stories come out of that country that shit like this doesn't really surprise me much any more.

Same here. Although with me it had the effect of making me sad for not being Japanese. Seriously, those people are cool enough not to go out of the box but to refuse its very existence. You have to respect that.

Also, am I the only one who did NOT cringe and squeeze my legs together?

[bilateralrope]

At the event Sugiyama publicly seasoned and braised his genitals on a portable gas stove in front of dozens, assisted by a professional chef.

I wounder how that chefs career will be affected.