I never even saw it coming...

[cynthialee]

Interesting thought... I've also had similar ideas. We see the gender spectrum with far more clarity then those who are not trans. Is that clarity itself worth the pain and suffering we go through?

I think that for those of us that do not face too much abuse from our peers maybe it is.

[Janet_Girl]

Janet Lynn: I don't suppose said ex- has ever gone to a dentist to have her wisdom teeth (or any other teeth) removed.

As a matter of fact she has had the wisdom teeth removed.  She is younger than myself by 7 years,

[BunnyBee]

Interesting thought... I've also had similar ideas. We see the gender spectrum with far more clarity then those who are not trans. Is that clarity itself worth the pain and suffering we go through?

I think we see the gender spectrum with enough clarity to realize it's confusing as hell.  Gender swirling cacophony is more like it.

Is it better to be blissfully ignorant of your own ignorance than to understand something well enough to realize that you don't know anything?

[Jasmine.m]

Jen,
Good points, b/c I know I sure don't fully understand it!! Perhaps a better way to say it is that we see gender as a spectrum, rather than simply binary.

[cynthialee]

I found this essay to be very interesting.
From http://www.transsexual.org/cherish.html

But to be a transsexual is a magical, wondrous thing.

Consider. We are given many gifts in compensation for the terrible loss of our childhood as ourselves, and for the pain we endure. We are by some as yet unknown mechanism statistically far more intelligent, as a class, than perhaps any other kind of people. We are almost universally more creative, and we often possess incredible levels of courage and self determination, demonstrated by our very survival, and ultimate attainment of our goal. We are rare as miracles, and in our own way, as magical, or so has been the belief of all ancient cultures on the earth.

We are given awareness that others would never experience, understanding of gender, of the human condition, of society and the roles and hidden rules unquestioned within it. We are given a window into the lives of both sexes, and cannot help but be, to some degree, beyond either. From this we have a rare opportunity: to choose our own life, outside predetermined and unquestioned definition or role. We can do new things, original things, only because our experience is so unique.

We get to be true shapeshifters, and experience the sheer wonder of melty-wax flesh and a real rebirth into the world. Our brains and bodies gain benefit from having been bathed in and altered by the hormones of both sexes. We appear to retain our visible youthfulness where others wrinkle, and for years longer. We possess neural advantages from both sexes, such as the language advantages of the feminized brain, and the spatial abilities of the masculinized brain both.

[RebeccaFog]

I'd like to see the basis for these claims, because I've seen no concrete evidence of either. Intelligence spread and creativity spread are normal across trans people, from what I've seen.

I've been thinking of that too. I need to see the evidence that we tend to be more intelligent and creative.

I think once you add emotional IQ into the mix, you've pancaked the statistics.

[cynthialee]

I'd like to see the basis for these claims, because I've seen no concrete evidence of either. Intelligence spread and creativity spread are normal across trans people, from what I've seen.

I dont know where the author got her data.
But....I think that an inspection of various fora across the web might give one a clue as to the veracity of the original claim.
Many if not most forum are populated by utter morons. Go ahead, check out investment forums, history forums, political forums, newspaper forums. They are all dumb ->-bleeped-<-s. The quality of posts is lacking any atempts at proper grammer or respect for the other people on said forum. Then look at the quality of posts the average person here posts. We tend to at least occasionaly try to stay within the rules of gramer and decency. We tend to post things that are reflective of knowledge of the topic at hand.

[FairyGirl]

I found this essay to be very interesting.
From http://www.transsexual.org/cherish.html

But to be a transsexual is a magical, wondrous thing.

Consider. We are given many gifts in compensation for the terrible loss of our childhood as ourselves, and for the pain we endure. We are by some as yet unknown mechanism statistically far more intelligent, as a class, than perhaps any other kind of people. We are almost universally more creative, and we often possess incredible levels of courage and self determination, demonstrated by our very survival, and ultimate attainment of our goal. We are rare as miracles, and in our own way, as magical, or so has been the belief of all ancient cultures on the earth.

We are given awareness that others would never experience, understanding of gender, of the human condition, of society and the roles and hidden rules unquestioned within it. We are given a window into the lives of both sexes, and cannot help but be, to some degree, beyond either. From this we have a rare opportunity: to choose our own life, outside predetermined and unquestioned definition or role. We can do new things, original things, only because our experience is so unique.

We get to be true shapeshifters, and experience the sheer wonder of melty-wax flesh and a real rebirth into the world. Our brains and bodies gain benefit from having been bathed in and altered by the hormones of both sexes. We appear to retain our visible youthfulness where others wrinkle, and for years longer. We possess neural advantages from both sexes, such as the language advantages of the feminized brain, and the spatial abilities of the masculinized brain both.

This of course would be the ones of us that don't kill ourselves first, making us by definition the survivors. Perhaps some have an easy time of it. I think it's safe to say that most do not. In fact, for a lot of us it's a very hard road. But we do it because we have to, not because it's even a choice. (And for the record, my "spatial abilities" are shot to hell since HRT.)

[Asfsd4214]

I refuse to seek the approval of any god that decides to give me such a crappy existence and then expects me not to try and better it on the grounds of "I made you to suffer, now live with it!".

People who use the 'god made you this way you should learn to accept it' for one have never had to go through what many of us have, and for another, are attempting to cast judgment in the place of god. I don't know a whole lot about the mainstream Abrahamic religions, but I'm pretty sure only god is allowed to cast judgment on people in the long run.