I'm sure this has been brought up before but I'm too lazy to find a topic on it so here we goooooo-
I was watching a show where men and women were shown images while doctors monitored their brain patterns. They then compared the differences in how their brains processed the information and came up male and female patterns. This got me wondering which pattern my brain would show up as. Which got me thinking. Would I take this test? What if my brain had a female pattern, what does that say about me?
So now I'm wondering how other trans people would feel about this test. Would you take it? How much would you put into these results? Would you second guess transitioning if you came up with your birth gender's brain pattern? What about androgynes?
Now I'm not insinuating that you HAVE to have the brain patterns of the gender you're transitioning to; there's already been great debate in Nero's thread on reasons to transition. I just want your personal opinions in how this would pertain to YOU. Why? Because I'm bored and curious.
Sooooo let the discussion begin...
I wouldn't take it. If I did, I'd put no stock in the results. I already know I'm right-brained, much better with language than numbers and spatial stuff. Yeah, it's stereotypically femmy, but it's me and I'm a man.
go figure. :P
There are many male/female tests you can take on the internet. There are writing tests, tests with questions, etc. Go ahead and do them. There is nothing to lose. You may find out something about yourself. What's wrong with that?
Cindi
First off, I would like to ask a question: What tests are you talking about, Osiris? the Cogiati, the gender aptitude test, the empathy quotient test, the systemizing quotient test or??
These tests are unreliable and do not prove anything. The only test that could prove something can only be performed in an autopsy after I die, and I'm afraid that I am not willing to take that one yet! ;)
tink :icon_chick:
It's a test kind of like an MRI it tracks your how your brain works during stimulus. So they show the participants pictures and their brains respond, showing a pattern- what's happening and what's not in their brains. While everyone responds differently to some things the same areas of our brains are processing the images. However, it is different between genders. Some things are processed in a different part of a woman's brain than a man's.
So my question is would you take this test to see if your brain matches your true gender, or your birth gender and how would the results possibly affect you, if at all?
The test I believe you are talking about can only be done through disection fo the hypothalimus area. The results of such an investigation can be vound in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 80, No 5.
MRI and other such non-invasive techniques do not show the differences you are seeking.
Sorry.
Chaunte
When someone sees something certain areas of the brain process it, those areas have increased blood flow. An MRI tracks that blood flow and shows a brain pattern.
This isn't exactly what I'm talking about but close enough: Linkage (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n7_v147/ai_16702756).
Had I been able to take a test to prove my case to my family 25 years ago, I would have done it. It makes little difference now. So, I'd take a pass.
Cindi
If it doesn't really show what you're looking for why take it? It would show both sides working equally well, the mathematical and the creative. But yeah, now that I think about it, MRI's can really only show levels of brain activity, not different types.
Quote from: Tink on March 14, 2008, 10:54:54 PM
First off, I would like to ask a question: What tests are you talking about, Osiris? the Cogiati, the gender aptitude test, the empathy quotient test, the systemizing quotient test or??
These tests are unreliable and do not prove anything. The only test that could prove something can only be performed in an autopsy after I die, and I'm afraid that I am not willing to take that one yet! ;)
tink :icon_chick:
I agree with Tink, none of them prove anything... most of them seem to be based on gender stereotypes anyway...
Quote from: Alison on March 15, 2008, 05:01:36 PM
Quote from: Tink on March 14, 2008, 10:54:54 PM
First off, I would like to ask a question: What tests are you talking about, Osiris? the Cogiati, the gender aptitude test, the empathy quotient test, the systemizing quotient test or??
These tests are unreliable and do not prove anything. The only test that could prove something can only be performed in an autopsy after I die, and I'm afraid that I am not willing to take that one yet! ;)
tink :icon_chick:
I agree with Tink, none of them prove anything... most of them seem to be based on gender stereotypes anyway...
True. The old 'only men are logical' sort of thing.
Quote from: Chaunte on March 15, 2008, 12:02:51 AM
The test I believe you are talking about can only be done through disection fo the hypothalimus area. The results of such an investigation can be vound in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 80, No 5.
Chaunte
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/85/5/2034
Quote from: Cindi Jones on March 14, 2008, 10:04:23 PM
There are many male/female tests you can take on the internet. There are writing tests, tests with questions, etc. Go ahead and do them. There is nothing to lose. You may find out something about yourself. What's wrong with that?
I recommend skipping COGIATI altogether because it uses outmoded gender-role stereotypes and its results are notoriously vague and unreliable; it may cause more confusion than it solves. The BBC brain-sex test (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sex/add_user.shtml) is the best-designed one I've found online, based on science, try it and see.
Quotedissection for the hypothalamus area.
I'm dissecting my hypothalamus area even as I type.
I would do it. I know who I am despite the results, but I believe my results would not be male. Either female or childlike, but not male.
I'd like to see a great big giant ocean of materials from different resources to try to study us. DNA, Genes, psych, dissections, live scans, and more. Even if it amounted to nothing and proved nothing, I would be interested in seeing it done. I'd rather know nothing than know that there was no effort made.
Of course, a huge number of cisgendered people would need to be included.