The MBTI personality type INTJ female are a minority in society. Men make up about 2% of the general population and women about 0.8%. The common term for this group is Mastermind or Architect. Certainly they are excellent thinkers and have strong powers of deductive reasoning. This trait enables them to appear mildly psychic when it’s probably simple logic applied to a routine situation. INTJ women value knowledge and enjoy exploring a wide variety of interests. Often, one curiosity leads to another. The depth of knowledge may be astonishing as not much is left undiscovered once a fascination takes hold. INTJ women are lifelong learners and self motivated to know about a great many things.
Learn/Acquire Knowledge
INTJ’s commonly educate themselves continuously throughout their lives. Typically, there is an initial period of fascination with something or someone. The topic will be thoroughly explored not only with book knowledge, but also through practical experience. There may be an acquisition period where things are gathered in the home for exploration. Introverts prefer to learn at their own pace, quietly and methodically. There is comfort in having the interest around in different forms. The intense interest may continue for three or five years, perhaps a lifetime. After as much knowledge as can be absorbed occurs,, another topic of interest will come along and sweep them away.
An Example of INTJ curiosity ~ Arts ~ Culture ~ Travel
In 2012, I became charmed by an Italian pop-opera group. I tuned into a PBS program about half-way through the broadcast and my attention was caught by the excellent lyric tenor in the group.
When they sang the Charlie Chaplin song, “Smile”, the INTJ fascination tuned in. Many years ago, Chaplin became a personal hero. I fell in love with his character, Charlot or the Little Fellow and enjoyed his films. Chaplin was a superb storyteller and filmmaker. The films were humorous and engaging. However, they didn’t strike me so much as funny but poignant. The attraction to the character went in quite deep. He tugged at feelings. INTJs are clever at not letting feelings rule the moment. We don’t often give in to their power. The Little Tramp captivated audiences with the sincerity of his feelings. Chaplin was a charismatic actor who showed us the heart of this character. The term genius is not misapplied. Chaplin had a great understanding of human nature and tuned into the challenge of needs in relationships.
Most INTJ women will repeat a tale of not fitting in to the family, workplace or with social groups. Their social skills and values are not conventional. They want to be taken seriously because of who they are, not their place in society. Often, they are outsiders and prefer their own company. INTJ’s do not follow the crowd and consider those who do to be suspect.
Chaplin’s character routinely came into a situation alone. He is cast as an outsider with no permanent home, family or social network. He works for the necessity of money. Being alone, he often becomes a target for misdeeds or misadventures. Sometimes, he is the culprit causing a ruckus and getting in the way. The tramp often displayed a blindness to authority. Most INTJ women are aware of power structures but don’t follow the rules. Chaplin was quick to kick anyone in the pants that crossed him. He was not always the aggressor but was no push over.
His struggles to fit into society, a sense of having come down in the world, and mostly, his ability to connect to an audience are fascinating to watch. He is often left out, despite his efforts not to be. He is me, I don’t have the funny bone and his habit of getting even or outsmarting his adversary. However, in so many moments, so many looks, he reveals what he felt deep inside. How close this man’s spirit was to mine. The fondness for this fictional character is difficult to convey. INTJ’s feel things deeply, we just hesitate to expose them in public.
The Little Fellow often left a story on his own, either kicked out or running away. Sometimes, he is seen hobbling away in despair for having misjudged the situation. He put himself at risk by exposing his feelings and they were squashed. As the character shuffles on, he suddenly sparks and snaps out of the mood. It’s as if he said, I’ve been alone and abandoned again, but I can survive, I can pick myself up and carry on.
Chaplin walks into scenes with a certainty about himself. No matter what is happening, he stays in balance and in character. He learned somewhere along the way to become his own best friend. INTJ women carry this ability, learned through painful interactions in social situations. The trait of self-reliance and self-acceptance is a prime support to most INTJ women.
INTJ Pathways of Exploration
The pop-opera trio revived my appreciation of Chaplin and the important place he has in my life story. The trio also brought back enjoyment and appreciation of classical music and opera. In my teens and twenties, I commonly listened to Chopin, Beethoven, and Mozart. I had a tape of famous opera arias routinely listened to Friday afternoons. Placido Domingo was a prominent tenor on the recording.
The trio sing in Italian, Spanish and English. As I could understand about one word in fifty in the other languages, a spark to learn Italian took over. This led to a continuous study of Italian until this day. Much of the learning is solitary as I cannot find a local language class. The motivation to learn connected with a pen pal in Italy. The fascination with all things Italian took over and I explored Italian culture and eventually traveled to Italy twice. The discovery of Italian wines has been fun. This article was written at the beginning phase of Italian fascination. The Labels are Pretty but Where Do I Start?
The revival of a love for classical music led to a new appreciation of opera and Mozart’s collected works. The local cinema offers Met Opera simulcast on Sunday afternoons. I listen routinely to the Mozart opera “Lucio Silla” during the daily work commute. I was so captivated by the music I eventually traveled to Toronto to see the opera live. It is not often staged and so, I found the courage to go. The adventure is told in this blog: Review of Lucio Silla at Opera Atelier Toronto
This is a typical INTJ path of exploration. The motivation to get out and experience it hands on pushes the means to save, plan and eventually, find the gumption to travel out into society to experience the curiosity in person.
As it is almost seven years since the fascination took hold for the Italian trio and interest has waned. They were a springboard to other paths ready for exploration. During my travels to Italy, I did visit the hometown of the lyric tenor and met his mother in Sicily. The adventure proved to be outstanding as Sicily is rich in complex cultural histories including Greek, Norman, Roman and more. The baroque architecture is beautiful to behold. The cities on the island are all unique and offer much to enjoy. The quality of life, folklore, panorama and cultural experiences offered this INTJ a bounty never expected.
Fandom Follies
It was one glance, one song well sung that led to adventures. The only negative experience was the behavior of obsessed fans. After spending some time around and in different fan groups, it became obvious the crowd placed the Italian trio on pedestals. Other fans needed to follow the crowd for acceptance. The choice was go along or move on. The behavior was too controlling by strangers whose intention was association to the trio in some way. Fans would steal artwork and relabel it as original if it drew positive attention. Any challenge to the so-called influencers was met with a public pillory.
The social structure of the fan groups required a setting aside of values and willingness to follow self-appointed leaders. INTJ’s are well grounded in the common shortcomings we all possess. INTJ’s bow down to no one. It’s fine to be star struck for a while, however, the rational inclination reminds us to stay grounded. Some of the encounters were painful as INTJ’s put all of themselves into acquiring knowledge. We are not at all superficial. Interactions matter. Activities matter. Friends matter. Our actions matter and if we are exploited, the instinct is to move on.
Perhaps it was my affection for Chaplin’s character that stopped a full immersion in celebrity. I love his works, and the character he created. Chaplin achieved great fame as a celebrity. However, his biographies and personal reflections reveal a driven, brilliant artist with many flaws. It’s the artistic expression that brings enjoyment. It is how the art brought satisfaction and comfort into my life on many levels. The persona and not the person.
The pop-opera trio reconnected previous enjoyments and expanded my horizons. While I appreciate the prompt, I put things in motion and achieved goals long dormant or never dreamed. The obscuring of reality in fandom is something INTJs would see through sooner rather than later. It’s the art, that opened doors.
This article demonstrates how an INTJ women acquires knowledge. We are sincerely curious about many aspects of life. When the motivation is strong, we’ll go anywhere and within reason, do many things to understand a topic in every way. While at times it appears the article rambles, it’s typical of how one interest reveals another, and another and the remarkable depth of knowledge acquired as a way of life and an attempt to understand the order of things.
The spring rolls into May with plentiful rains creating many a vernal pool in Central Massachusetts. All trees are budding up and we await the return of a soothing green canopy. Birds are starting to return from winter grounds. The wood thrush is on the way. We await in joyful expectation of the lovely forest trill. Spring gardeners are pruning blossoming fruit trees. The earth opens to the sun.
My MBTI personality type assessment outcome is routinely INTJ or ISTJ. Every test is slightly different, and of course, I am different on the day it is taken. In reviewing forums or articles on the female INTJ-ISTJ,, it’s not unusual to find similar traits for these two types including, introversion, independence, intelligence, organizational skills,, deep listeners, deep thinkers, non-verbal, distant and intimidating.
Also, I am a feminist at heart and idolized Gloria Steinem from about age 11, I was born in 1960 and came of age during the height of the equal rights movement in the United States. Once in a while, I would share this fact publicly and some men and women often reacted by backing up a step or two. Steinem intimidated the crap out of many people, yet she never raised her voice but spoke with direct, intelligence.
INTJ/ISTJ value privacy, theirs and others. Exposure of strong emotions in a public place, among colleagues or strangers is considered very rude. Loud voices and sobbing are done at home, with family or the most dear of friends. I believe INTJ/ISTJ define friendship differently than most other MBTI personality types. A friend is an intimate, a confidente, we tend to not have many as the relationship needs to be reciprocal. A lot of people take away energy and time without sharing the experience of another. INTJ’s pick out, the all about me folks right away and keep a distance. They are bores. Introverts conserve energy, talkative bores expand and tax the energy of an introvert. Nothing of value has been exchanged.
LuceStellare 