tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post6823433045693092360..comments2024-03-28T21:56:51.675-04:00Comments on Face to Face: The inability of gays to empathizeagnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-80445819226942427802012-03-18T05:35:53.924-04:002012-03-18T05:35:53.924-04:00And just reading some of the stuff about Mad Men -...And just reading some of the stuff about Mad Men -- those are not high-charging men at all. For professionals, they're fairly meek and rudderless, even Don to some extent. Roger's the only one who comes off as high-charging.<br /><br />Remember they're showing the era of the company man, the man in the gray flannel suit, not Jay Gatsby or Alex P. Keaton.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-17188126316797410102012-03-18T05:33:08.677-04:002012-03-18T05:33:08.677-04:00Any research into how little empathy gays have in ...Any research into how little empathy gays have in a real-life setting (not a questionnaire), plus trying to pinpoint where the mental defect lies, has about zero percent chance of getting funded or published.<br /><br />Actually, establishing the basic facts wouldn't be so taboo. But then you'd have to embarrass yourself by doing a dance about how it can't mean what we think it means, etc. etc.<br /><br />Or you go be honest and get hounded forever just because of some fleeting, peripheral hunch you once had.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-51344639362721511662012-03-16T23:05:32.914-04:002012-03-16T23:05:32.914-04:00agnostic, you're a psych grad student, right? ...agnostic, you're a psych grad student, right? Sounds like you've got some low-hanging branches to investigate overlooked by the profession.TGGPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11017651009634767649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-42060576188795803252012-03-14T16:31:11.618-04:002012-03-14T16:31:11.618-04:00I think empathizing vs systematizing as measured b...I think empathizing vs systematizing as measured by the Baron-Cohen scale is currently inconclusive regarding gay empathy - <br /><br />dspace.uel.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10552/570 - "Homosexual males reported significantly lower levels of physical aggression and higher levels of empathy but report similar levels of indirect aggression, and other forms of direct aggression, to heterosexual males."<br /><br />http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/daniel.nettle/bjp2.pdf - "The results show that whilst the non-heterosexual men in this sample do not depart significantly from the SQ-EQ profile of heterosexuals, the non-heterosexual women have sharply increased SQ scores.<br /><br />There was also a trend towards lower EQ amongst non-heterosexual women, whose lack of significance may be due to small sample size.<br /><br />As predicted, non-heterosexual men and women differ from heterosexuals in their interests in certain ways that shift them toward the opposite sex. Thus, nonheterosexual men have greater interest in aesthetic domains than heterosexuals, whilst non-heterosexual women have increased interest in technology and computers. The latter differences are largely explained by the increased SQ of non-heterosexual women. The former difference, however, like the greater female interest in the arts in general, cannot be explained by SQ or EQ differences and must be due to some other factor"<br /><br />Interest and ability are not the same thing of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-20504993423668626452012-03-14T07:04:27.901-04:002012-03-14T07:04:27.901-04:00Don't know if Bailey's done anything. I go...Don't know if Bailey's done anything. I googled around and didn't find much on gays and empathy. Wouldn't be surprised if they scored higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, probably just on the subset that measures egocentrism, perhaps not the delusions of grandeur part.<br /><br />"A lot of what you say about selective empathy is true of people in general, not just gays."<br /><br />But most people can and do empathize with others not like themselves. Think of anyone who has ever played a mediating role, getting two sides to come together, overlook differences, etc. It takes an empathetic person to understand and feel both sides.<br /><br />I don't believe I've ever seen a homosexual do that. Their extreme clingy-neediness keeps them from standing apart; they pick a side and hunker down.<br /><br />"All that being said, I don't think gays totally lack empathy."<br /><br />Not totally, but like I said they do seem stuck in childhood in this way. They don't have a very advanced systemizing mind either -- few gay geeks. Whatever part of the mind is involved in this empathizing vs. systemizing stuff seems to stop developing in gays at around 5th grade or so.<br /><br />Perhaps that's another source of the stereotype -- on an absolute level, and especially compared to normal people, they're not very good at empathizing. However, they're less stunted there than in the systemizing style, so their profile may still lean heavier on empathy than systemizing.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-33686875210707291182012-03-13T20:25:51.675-04:002012-03-13T20:25:51.675-04:00Off-topic, but you may be interested in this news ...Off-topic, but you may be interested in this news article:<br /><br />"New Zealand suffered a series of major earthquakes last year, several being within the city of Christchurch. Now, matchmakers in the area say the disasters have changed the way locals view dating.<br /><br />Rosie Bowie, who runs the New Zealand-based dating service Matchcompany, says residents are now more open-minded about their potential partners.<br /><br /><br />"Before the quakes, people were fussy about what they wanted. They would say they wanted someone who went to Christ's College, and there was a sense nobody was quite good enough for them. Now they are much more realistic about the fact they won't ever meet the person they expect to meet. They meet people who are available.""<br /><br />http://living.msn.com/love-relationships/love-sex/singles-shake-up-dating-scene-after-earthquake?ocid=OTD_0313Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-30376884046084766962012-03-12T23:49:41.880-04:002012-03-12T23:49:41.880-04:00Has Bailey written anything on the subject?Has Bailey written anything on the subject?TGGPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11017651009634767649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-7263790845092987552012-03-12T20:32:47.812-04:002012-03-12T20:32:47.812-04:00Of course, I have some ideas about who gays empath...Of course, I have some ideas about who gays empathize with. We have only to study gay media.<br /><br />A key example is "Sex and the City" - written by gay men . The show sympathetically portrays four "high-testosterone" women, all of whom work professional jobs and promiscuously date into their 30s(and even 40s, in the movie). <br /><br />Also portrayed sympathetically, is "Mr. Big", Carrie's boyfriend. Mr. Big's occupation is never given, but its clear that he's a "MAster of the Universe" type - one of the men who runs our country. A plutocrat, in other words.<br /><br />Here's another example: "Mad Men". Andrew WEiner, the guy who created the show, is gay. In the show, high-charging, professional men are portrayed sympathetically. As is Christina Hendricks' character, a high testosterone woman. The more traditional women in the show are seen as being stupid and weak..<br /><br />We see a pattern emerging: Gays sympathize with high-testosterone women and the small number of financial elites who run the world. <br /><br />Gays have contempt for high-estrogen women("girly-girls"), as well as virtually every man who is not a billionaire(that includes, obviously, masculine-but-coarse men such as outlaw bikers)etc.<br /><br />Now why are gays empathy systems aligned in this way? It beats me... maybe you can figure it out...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-14441353628689829472012-03-12T20:20:44.593-04:002012-03-12T20:20:44.593-04:00A lot of what you say about selective empathy is t...A lot of what you say about selective empathy is true of people in general, not just gays.<br /><br /> If evolutionary theory is true, than humans only empathize with those they perceive as furthering their own self-interest. This *tends* to be people "who are like I am", but not always. For instance, rich liberals typically empathize with illegal immigrants because they perceive these immigrants as empowering themselves. At the same time, said liberals typically have scorn for the white blue-collar class.<br /><br />You see this with women too, where they fawn over the dominant man who stubbed his toe, but heartlessly ignore the subdominant man who was molested as a child.<br /><br />All that being said, I don't think gays totally lack empathy. Its more that they only empathize with a very small portion of the population. The question should be "who are gays actually capable of empathizing with, and why?" <br /><br />-CurtisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-62005129416990885992012-03-12T20:05:04.668-04:002012-03-12T20:05:04.668-04:00Gays are better adapted for an oligarchic society....Gays are better adapted for an oligarchic society. they are far less ambitious - since they use looks to attract prospective mates and not power. They're more likely to accept the status quo - as long as they can party etc. - rather than aggressively try to gain money and power in order to attract mates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com