James C. Burt

'''James Caird Burt''' (August 29, 1921<ref>{{cite web|last=Burt|first=James C|title=United States Public Records Index|url=https://familysearch.org/|publisher=familysearch|accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref> – July 10, 2012<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/170178667/james-c-burt |title=Dr James C. Burt (1921-2012) - Find a Grave Memorial |date=19 Sep 2016 |website=Find a Grave |access-date=27 February 2022}}</ref>) was an American gynecologist who was sometimes nicknamed the "Love Surgeon."<ref name="ap1988">Associated Press (December 9, 1988). Ohio "love surgeon" called up on ethics charges. ''Bangor Daily News''</ref> After practicing for two decades while based in Dayton, Ohio, Burt was sued by female patients for altering their vulvas without their informed consent.<ref name=horny>{{cite news |author=Isabel Wilkerson |author-link=Isabel Wilkerson |title=Charges Against Doctor Bring Ire and Questions |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=940DE5D81630F932A25751C1A96E948260 |quote=Dr. Burt, once a well-regarded physician considered merely eccentric, began the special surgery in 1966. Explaining his philosophy in his 1975 book, ''Surgery of Love,'' Dr. Burt wrote: ''Women are structurally inadequate for intercourse. This is a pathological condition amenable to surgery.'' In franker terms, he also said that his surgery would turn women into ''horny little mice'' and asserted that ''the difference between rape and rapture is salesmanship.'' |work=New York Times |date=December 11, 1988 |accessdate=2010-10-26 }}</ref>

==Career== Burt was born in Dayton, Ohio, and earned his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1945. He was licensed in Ohio in 1951.

Burt began performing "love surgery" in 1966.<ref name=horny/> In his 1975 book, ''Surgery of Love,'' Burt wrote: "Women are structurally inadequate for intercourse. This is a pathological condition amenable by surgery." He claimed his surgery would turn women into "horny little mice" and asserted that "the difference between rape and rapture is salesmanship."<ref name=horny/><ref name="burt1975">Burt, James C. and Joan Burt (1975). ''Surgery of Love.'' Carlton Press {{ISBN|0-8062-0158-4}}</ref> Burt's procedures caused sexual dysfunction, infection and the need for corrective surgery in many patients.<ref name="ap1989">Associated Press (January 20, 1989). [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5D71F3EF933A15752C0A96F948260 Ohio Doctor Offers to Quit]. ''New York Times''</ref>

In 1988, women subjected to the procedure came forward, eventually initiating several lawsuits.<ref name="pd1988">Women go public with charges against Dayton surgeon, Dr James C Burt. ''The Plain Dealer'' 29 Oct, 1988, pg. 01 sec. A</ref> He voluntarily surrendered his license in January 1989, thereby avoiding a medical board hearing which might have uncovered more evidence against him. He subsequently divorced and declared bankruptcy due to the victim lawsuits totaling $21 million.<ref name="brower1989">Brower, Montgomery; Breu, Giovanna (March 27, 1989). [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20119884,00.html James Burt's 'Love Surgery' Was Supported to Boost Pleasure, but Some Patients Say It Brought Pain.] ''People'' (retrieved April 15, 2011)</ref> Burt died in Dayton, Ohio in 2012.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite journal |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Sarah B. |title=Female Sexuality and Consent in Public Discourse: James Burt's "Love Surgery" |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |date=2012 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=343–351 |doi=10.1007/s10508-012-0030-8 |pmid=23179235|s2cid=8760361 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burt, James C.}} Category:1921 births Category:2012 deaths Category:American gynecologists Category:Medical malpractice Category:University of Rochester alumni Category:Female genital mutilation {{US-physician-stub}} Category:Violence against women in Ohio