<p>It appears the Python signal module doesn't have anything similar to the sighold and sigrelse functions found in C, using signal.h. Are there Python equivalents of <em>any</em> sort?</p>

<p>Many thanks!</p>

How sure are you that calling a member function via a pointer is slower than just calling it directly? Can you measure the difference?
In general, you should not rely on your intuition when making performance evaluations. Sit down with your compiler and a timing function, and actually
measure
the different choices. You may be surprised!
More info: There is an excellent article
Member Function Pointers and the Fastest Possible C++ Delegates
which goes into very deep detail about the implementation of member function pointers.