February 2, 2006 1:46 AM GMT
I'm not too surprised if there is some sort of genderrelated suppression of research in this area, Wendy. But I guess there's also great resistance against "descending" to such a fundamental level - sort of registering ourselves as series of interconnected impressions. For me, asking myself questions of this sort, it has been a question... of personal survival. I can even remember being "warned" nearly twenty years ago - by some relatives - that all the reading and questioning could end very badly. My answer for them was another question: Where would I have been if I had not put the harsh realities of my environment into question ? Probably locked away, I think - one way or another.
When I was writing my architecture thesis I did actually turn it more or less into a "mind research" project. I had these two quotes on page three:
"My body, an object destined to move other objects, is, then, a center of action; it cannot give birth to a representation."
"Association, then, is not the primary fact: dissociation is what we begin with, and the tendency of every memory to gather to itself others must be explained by the natural return of the mind to the undivided unity of perception."
There is a double meaning here: As things were, nearly thirty years ago, my body could not give birth to a representation - of my soul. Henri Bergson may have been right in some sense: For a man, perhaps, the body is first of all a center of action... But for a woman ? Surely she contradicts his claim - while still remaining the fundamental center of action.
But when it comes to dissociation she would confirm Bergson's position: We did indeed begin with dissociating - from the body, and, eventually, our minds struggled with returning to an undivided unity.
My guess is - without knowing that much about modern brain science - that Henri Bergson's book - Matter and Memory - probably still is one of the best text on the overall functioning of mind and matter.
Strangely, I see, Bergson's views are considered "queer" - strange, that is - by some:
Matter and Memory
Linda
Sabina
February 1, 2006 7:45 PM GMT
I"m almost 48 hrs into a migraine now. They are awful. If I was going to get girl-parts, couldn't it have been tits instead? They aren't bad enough to want to shoot myself........anymore.... but the fear of them getting worse again would be enough to make me avoid HRT. 6 days a month of wanting to die is not something I would be willing to risk. Time to turn out the lights and try to sleep again.
February 1, 2006 11:43 PM GMT
Linda,
Your experiences lead to questions on a level of brain function that is deeper than most of my studies in an area I wanted to study as a psychology major. If gender, and other brain functions are (as they appear to be) related to "hardware" and we know that experience changes brain structure, then it does lead to the conclusion that we might experience changes in perception due to the brain rewiring itself. Since introdution of drugs has a known effect on brain function by alteration of chemistry, this too would be expected, and does change thought and perceptions. It makes me wonder if there was any connection between your life experiences and the differnces in our TG brains. Perhaps, once the initial studies in non-modal brains is accepted more, we will see more studies in this area. Unfortunately, there are indications that studies that prove that non-heterosexual oriented brains are natural are being blocked by those who wish to push their non-scientific mythological beliefs that see it as "sin". Since TGs are usually deeply closeted at work, these people do not realize how much of this sabotage of scientific inquiry is seen and passed on to other members of the community.
Very interesting post, Linda.
