Female-to-male transsexual people have a higher than average number of autistic traits

The researchers measured autistic traits using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and compared AQ scores from five groups: 61 transmen, 198 transwomen; 76 typical males; 98 typical females; and 125 individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS). They found transmen had a higher average AQ than typical females, typical males and transwomen, but lower than individuals with AS.

Simon Baron-Cohen interpreted the results as follows: "Girls with a higher than average number level of autistic traits tend to have male-typical interests, showing a preference for systems over emotions. They prefer not to socialise with typical girls because they have different interests, and because typical girls on average have more advanced social skills. Both of these factors may lead girls with a higher number of autistic traits to socialize with boys, to believe they have a boy's mind in a girl's body, and to attribute their unhappiness to being a girl."

Link to source and full article.

I find it interesting that the autistic traits displayed in these individuals, might indeed be the very thing that convinces them they might be a boy trapt in a girls body, or vice versa.

Would this then proof that transexualism is nothing more than a mere autistic trait that is being acted upon? Or is it indeed something else?

Your opinions is valued on this topic.


VVV

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep



I haven't had the chance to read the link yet, but looking forward to it.

Will look at it later today. S&F.

So these are people trapped in the middle when god casts down his determination?

GOD - "You are Male. Gay!" - bam!

LIFE - out pops a guy who will scream at you when you don't compliment him on having a good morning let alone his fancy hair cut.

GOD - "You are Female. Ga.. No Heter.. Damn it!" - bam!

LIFE - out pops a chick who will bash your face in, but is soooo hot you'd like it.

This is fairly classic faulty logic. Same premise as the "Recruitment via abuse" and "She is only a lesbian because she hasn't been had by a REAL man" that leads to conversion-via-rape attempts.

Autistic tests are geared with expectations on a given normal range. IE: It accounts for normal gender roles and in the west-judeo christian upbringing etc. etc.

The Trans girls score more in line with boys and therefore hit a score on the autism scale-ie: emotional detachment compared to a normal girl.

That is to be expected. Not to mention the fact there is alienation from upbringing causing a lot of guarded reactions as well.

In short: There is absolutely nothing credible here.

Ohhh boyyy!!

Yet another study about us done by people who have no concept of the hell that trans people go through

As a male to female transsexual myself I can categorically say that my own experience goes against this attempt at labeling us all in yet another compartmentalized bit of nonessential crap..

I have ALWAYS been a girl even if not externally, and a very flirty, sociable, girly one at that!!

My family kind of guessed

And it was complete hell to get to the stage i am at now..

The only difference between myself and a natal woman is that I cannot give birth.. And there are many women who cannot do that either but no one says they have autistic traits!!

Autism has absolutely nothing to do with the self-identification of such people. If anything, it is a symptom of having lead a tough life, but, as said, it has nothing to do with the identification itself, nor the cause.

In fact, a thorough medical research in this speficic matter have shown it to be caused by the number of a specific type of brain-neurons, whereby comparishment between "normal" males and Females, verses Trans-males and transfemales, showed that;

Regardless of sexual orientation, men had almost twice as many somatostatin neurons as women (P < 0.006). The number of neurons in the BSTc of male-to-female transsexuals was similar to that of the females (P =3D 0.83). In contrast, the neuron number of a female-to-male transsexual was found to be in the male range. Hormone treatment or sex hormone level variations in adulthood did not seem to have influenced BSTc neuron numbers. The present findings of somatostatin neuronal sex differences in the BSTc and its sex reversal in the transsexual brain clearly support the paradigm that in transsexuals sexual differentiation of the brain and genitals may go into opposite directions and point to a neurobiological basis of gender identity disorder.

Link: jcem.endojournals.org...

Perhaps they score more like boys/men because they are males ? If they did not score similar to men then I would be more worried? It’s my understanding that Transsexual people’s brains are structurally more similar to the gender they identify as, as opposed to the one they were born .I’m not a neuroscientist but I remember reading something a while back which stated as much .

Originally posted by lordtyp0
This is fairly classic faulty logic. Same premise as the "Recruitment via abuse" and "She is only a lesbian because she hasn't been had by a REAL man" that leads to conversion-via-rape attempts.

Autistic tests are geared with expectations on a given normal range. IE: It accounts for normal gender roles and in the west-judeo christian upbringing etc. etc.

The Trans girls score more in line with boys and therefore hit a score on the autism scale-ie: emotional detachment compared to a normal girl.

That is to be expected. Not to mention the fact there is alienation from upbringing causing a lot of guarded reactions as well.

In short: There is absolutely nothing credible here.

Your right if people try to apply this universally to all transmen, but your wrong in that it has no value. It either might be true for some(which means by ignoring it we do them a disservice), or it might yield results that leads to a more correct/accurate theory or understanding of the situation.

Either way they should do a more extensive study of this issue.

Originally posted by TransJenny
Ohhh boyyy!!

Yet another study about us done by people who have no concept of the hell that trans people go through

As a male to female transsexual myself I can categorically say that my own experience goes against this attempt at labeling us all in yet another compartmentalized bit of nonessential crap..

I have ALWAYS been a girl even if not externally, and a very flirty, sociable, girly one at that!!

My family kind of guessed

And it was complete hell to get to the stage i am at now..

The only difference between myself and a natal woman is that I cannot give birth.. And there are many women who cannot do that either but no one says they have autistic traits!!

Glad to see their actually is someone who went through this on ATS

Maybe some of the more "ignorant" members may actually learn a thing or two

Kudos to you

I have two FTM transgendered friends and having seen the struggles they have encountered with wanting to be accepted legally (and also by their own families and friends) it seems like rubbing salt in their wounds to suggest that the reason they want to be a different gender could be attributed to a mental disability.