Are we transpeople just eccentric, not giving a flying fuck about approval?

[BigDF]

IQ is not a constant. A test can really only prove how efficient a brain's process is at any given time. I've been tested more than once with scores ranging from 115 (when I had just run away and was emotionally overwhelmed) to 138 (when I had much less to worry about).

I also think that while smarter people are generally more likely to either reject or experiment with the concept of gender, that doesn't necessarily make transpeople smarter as a whole. Some people transition without even thinking about it. It's more of a 'feeling' and it's just as valid as someone analyzing it to death because many times, it's just something in the soul that makes a person trans.

~BB~

I agree with you Bella. Those tests do little more than measure someone's potential at a given time. What we define as intelligent or smart in the real world cannot be measured with most tests. I've know some people with really high IQ's who couldn't find their ass with both hands and a map (from time to time, myself included). And I've known pure geniuses at least in actions who scored very low on such tests.

As far as the original question goes, no, I don't think it's about eccentricity or not giving a flying fuck about approval. Most of the TS I've seen and admittedly most are in show business of some sort or the other are looking for approval. I suppose some shallow folks find some eccentricity in a person living the life they wish, but I think it's courageous to do that. As far as I'm concerned everyone should be able to live as they wish so long as it doesn't involve harming someone else.

I like people for the most part and I celebrate those who go at life 100 percent and try to live as themselves, even in face of adversity. And I thank everyone who has ever posted a photo of themselves living as a transsexual. I think the most powerful sexual organ we have is our brain and my brain is happy when I see someone who appears truly happy to be alive.

[dunkiex]

I have seen the gambit. This one tgirl that I see on a regular basis is one of the most intelligent and talented people I have ever known. She is a great deal smarter than a lot of the professional, college-educated people I have know. Then, there are those that are in the range of normal intelligence, but not a lot of personality.

[audifan]

I think androgeny and other self-aware eccentricities, such as choosing not to care about approval, are all conscious choices which require applied intelligence.

I'm not trans, so I don't really know, but I don't think there's any conscious choice to be truly trans - you don't choose it, fate chooses you. So I don't see any reason for a correlation to exist between being trans and high intelligence. I think intelligence is likely to be randomly distributed within the trans population just like the overall population.

I think internet forums attract the more intelligent and eloquent members of the trans community to come along and speak out, where others who may feel they lack the quick wits might feel intimidated. So the trans population in places like HA may have self-selecting bias towards high intelligence. Just my 2c.