Academic paper links GNC with past lives as the opposite sex

[Silentlyobserving]

I thought you might like this: Academic paper links GNC with past lives as the opposite sex - stop the world I want to get off: twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1063507469895417856

I have just read the whole paper.
I think it is interesting.

The authors clearly know the difference between gender and sex, and talk about typically sex-typed behaviours, which I think is a good way of putting it.

If it is a crock of shit, it is a meticulously argued and referenced crock of shit. I am on my phone so I will not go through the arguments one by one which make me say that - but the authors are looking at two phenomena which co-exist in children not saying one causes the other, or making any political statements about this. They also question whether ‘gender non-conformity’ fades around the same time as past life memories fade. You do not have to believe in either concept to see how the relation of the two concepts can be statistically shown to co-exist amongst people who do. And if children are reporting past lives which end violently and correspond to actual lives which have happened, who are we to disagree?

If the data is completely made up, they have done a good job
I have not had time to check out the references yet though they seem to be cross linked to actual articles.

Katara I haven't read it - glad someone did. I would expect it to be as you described, but the abstract is poorly written.

Yeah, so, ... at the risk of pointing out the bleedingly obvious: no, you really can't bloody use unfalsifiable metaphysical bullshit like past lives to meaningfully explain other unfalsifiable metaphysical bullshit like people having some kind of an inherent essence of manhood/womanhood that is separate from their bodies.

Serious research grants are actually used for this kind of hogwash? Seriously?

On a way less serious note: HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS

Yes, the Roman version of "Arthur" would, indeed, be "Artorius" - but this really messes with the rhyme.

I just checked back to see if a research grant was acknowledged.

The data about the past life experience is taken from a database of over 2000 cases - apparently there is a Department of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia - and they pulled out cases where ‘gender non-conforming behaviour’ as a child was also cited.

I guess the cost of this is their time to their employers. But researchers are under such pressure to publish, I am not sure their institutions will be worried. It is not the worst paper I have read by a long shot.

I do think it makes a serious point - if you can suspend your disbelief about the paranormal - which is that being ‘gender non-conforming’ may be perceptual whereas previous research looks for environmental and genetic causes.

Quite frankly if a child can express him or herself by dressing as they wish and the adults say oh she/he was the opposite sex in a past life, that is way less damaging than the current path children doing this are pushed down 🤷🏻‍♀️

Oi, I'm a Satanist!

And in a past life I was abducted by aliens. Now I'm triggered. Where's my safe space?

Saturn?

Fekko

Thanks for taking the time to read it and to share your thoughts, Katara. Tbh your description of the methodology makes me wonder if this is one of the few types of research academics are 'allowed' to do now about this topic...data already existing in a huge database, so the ethical issues are minimal and no-one can stop them 'collecting data' in committee since it already exists.

Of course correlation isn't the same as causation, but as a creative writer, I like the idea that GNC children could be associated with having a freer imagination...the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes is usually a good thing, in my book.

A similar piece of data mining by someone who viewed 'past lives' as a purely psychological not a 'real' paranormal phenomenon might have been more interesting. The guff gets in the way of any serious point it might have been making.

Yes, I agree, Errol. Until quite recently the University of Edinburgh had a paranormal studies wing of the psychology dept., and although their website looked a bit iffy (to recruit participants), they were actually interested in what personality traits might be associated with a belief in ghosts, etc. But the researchers didn't actually believe themselves...it's quite worrying if the authors of this paper do believe in past lives.

Next up, serious research into why the Blessed Virgin appears to children so much, and how her apparitions to older women differ - what conclusions can we draw about the chances of the apocalypse occuring in this century?

Good. Grief.

A similar piece of data mining by someone who viewed 'past lives' as a purely psychological not a 'real' paranormal phenomenon might have been more interesting.
I didn't get the impression that the authors accept paranormal as real (I might be wrong, haven't read the paper).
What r0wan said about 'common script' is definitely worthy of more research.