Gulf Coast Mensa

Greetings from Houston, Texas!
I am writing you from the Regional Gathering sponsored by Gulf Coast Mensa. Technically, I am not in Mensa. I tested and was accepted in September, but have not paid dues. My boyfriend and our roommate are both members and they basically talked me into testing during Austin Regional Gathering so that the other folks wouldn't look down on me during Mensa events I would attend with them in the future. This was their justification, not mine, and since I wasn't paying the $40 I approached it as one might approach Kinky Friedman as Texas Governor - "Why the hell not?"

I can tell you that neither I nor my boyfriend exactly fit the bill for the typical Mensa demographic. Most of the membership is of at least middle age (40-45 +), white and male. This isn't a criticism, just an observation. I can't help but wonder about this observation. What is it about Mensa that makes this the dominant demographic. Here are some of the thoughts I've tossed around.

1) The test is developed primarily by those who are white and male, therefore the test's definition of success is most likely to reflect the reality of those who created it.
2) People in other demographics genereally have more to be concerned with than taking an intelligence test to join a social club. Maybe the test is an unjustifiable luxury or waste of money.
3) The organization has not sought to actively recruit those of other backgrounds.

All or none of these may be the case, but it does give me a lot to think about. There is a great deal of pride in being a Mensan that is on display at these gatherings. There is frequently talk about what it means to be a Mensan and how these sorts of gatherings are an escape from the "normal world" where intelligence is not well accepted or even frowned upon.

I'll tell you the truth - I barely passed physics. I know that this is not does not necessarily define my intelligence, but surely it is some sort of indication of it. Also, I never felt like I was made into an outsider because of my "intelligence" (I'm not trying to be silly about the use of quotation marks, so hopefully you know what I am getting at). Honestly, in some respects, I feel more like an outsider here because I don't share a common experience with these folks who are allegedly my peers as far as IQ is concerned.

Additionally, there is kind of a culture of pride at underachievement that kind of turns my stomach. For example, a blub describing a guest speaker on a program described him as an engineer that has successfully avoided doing real work for over 12 years. How is that supposed to be an accomplishment? Is the fact that someone is squandering his intelligence supposed to impress me? Now, the regional gatherings are supposed to be fun. There is a lot of eating, drinking, merryment, and great presentations/ talks. Today I saw the ear of a grey-horned owl and met a blacksmith who discussed his hobby and watched some bellydancing. However, there are often some serious discussions too. At dinner on Friday, a member with whom my boyfriend and I are friendly asked my boyfriend why he thought the world was going to hell. (I assume he was referring to our country's current economic state.) My boyfriend's response was that it is probably the result of a lot of intelligent people just sitting around eating and drinking.