A question about how many of us there are.

[Satrana]

I think that the real number is approaching 100%.... It just that 99% of the guys are too chicken to admit it! Lol.

Yup, in a world free of stigma and guilt, I can predict nearly all men would be crossdressing. Being girly is great fun and very self-indulgent and every person, irregardless of gender, loves the feelings it generates.

Everyone is a crossdresser once strict gender conditioning is removed.

[BeckiB]

Wow! So, IIRC, there are around 600 million people in the US. For convenience, we'll say half are male. So if I CD "fairly" often, that means 10%, or 30 million are just like me. And if I accept the "bi" label for the sake of the math, then 15% of that 30 million means that 4.5 million guys in the US are just like me in this regard! That's pretty wild!

No wonder why I can't find shoes in my size!!!! LOL

[JoAnne Wheeler]

Several .


JoAnne Wheeler

[UASIANGAL]

My own experience includes a visit to a school in France where the entire class (boys and girls) of thirty late-teenagers admitted having worn clothing of the opposite sex at least once. My own school class at that age (20 boys) included one transvestite and one transsexual, plus others who had dressed for theatrical purposes.

In my high school, they had a "FROSH DAY" which is to initiate all the students from Jr. High into High School. All the boys had to dress like girls with lipstick, pantyhose, painted fingernails and wear any kind of dress. Girls had to have a mustache, no make up and wear a janitor jumpsuit. So I'd say 100% of the students at my High School had crossdressed!

Oh... I went to High School in Canada!
Take that to Googl!

[Sarah Michelle]

I looked at a study recently that reported 1 in 4,000 men had significant gender identity or gender dysphoria issues. Crossdressing isn't necessarily either of those though because appropriate clothing is a social construct not genetic or psychological.
I don't want to be unique which is probably why I lived suppressed for so long. I want a community to be part of. I can deal with the snickers and the down-the-nose looks if I have a circle of support.
And the numbers quoted [only 6% of cross-dressers are gay] seem to be consistent in most reports....
not only am I a cross-dresser but I'm an information geek... woe is me... my circle just keeps getting smaller....

[christinek]

I think until CD goes mainstream your numbers will only be a best guesstimate as so many would answer falsely.

To give another guesstimate when at the SCC about 1000 total people were there and the military was asked to stand up (Hero's among us was the theme) about 40% of the room came to there feet, it was amazing actually.

People are no longer afraid to admit being gay (in general) but cross dressing still holds a stigma.

I just found this: http://www.yvonnesplace.net/survey/s.../sexuality.htm

[wendychic10]

This is something I have wondered for years. I think that most men could get some kind of thrill from crossdresseng. Some are just to scared to try. How could you not feel good looking or feeling like what you find attractive and sexy.

[Ralph]

It's called science. Maybe you don't have that in your country?

1) Science doesn't make up numbers; it produces repeatable results and derives statistics from a known source.

2) With regards to statistics, results that vary a full 100% from one end of the range to the other are meaningless.

Calling it science doesn't make it so. I could say "The sun is probably 5 million to 10 million miles away from the earth" and I'd still be wrong, no matter how condescending I am to anyone who questions my figures.

You want to convince me "probably 5% - 10%" is science? Show me the sample size. Tell me the study you are citing, or performed yourself, to reach that determination. Otherwise, "probably" isn't science, it's "I have no idea what the right answer is so I'll make some numbers up that sound plausible."

[Ralph]

That's fine, KB. I wasn't questioning those sources cited; I only had issue with "probably 5-10%" without any basis for that claim -- which was made before any of those other replies were added. Your post #4 was exactly the answer the OP needed; post #3 was just numbers tossed out of nowhere.

I find Bilinda's ad hoc survey more interesting. 38% say they are straight, but 40% are married. I wonder if the wives of those other 2% know?

And Uasiangal... sounds like fun! But where on earth were the girls supposed to get hold of mustaches and janitor jumpsuits? (presumably that would be more difficult to accomplish than the boys finding someone to lend them a dress).

[Jill]

Before taking classes on research for my undergrad, I kind of assumed and figured that there was just some kind of magical way of producing numbers and statistics on things. Despite their best efforts, coming up with accurate statistics on something like this is not as simple as one might think.

I used to buy into that statistic about how many bugs an average person eats in a year during their sleep. But after understanding how statistics are gathered I realized that particular stat is a total bust and could not possibly be accurately measured without an astronomical amount of money and man hours used and when you start talking about those things, a study like that is just a huge waste. So if you're spreading that one around, please stop.

My point though is that it's unlikely that someone is curious enough to do an extensive and accurate study on crossdressing. IMO, I think the 1% statistic is pretty generous. Even at a half of a percent that would put nearly a thousand CDers in my area and I've met like 3. That must mean that the vast majority of them are in hiding. But given my geographical location, that's not surprising. Oh the guilt and shame...

[Jill]

Statistics aren't generous, they're either accurate or inaccurate. The following are moderately accurate.

There are 2.5 million people in Utah, one million in Salt Lake district. Of that million, 1/3 are women and 1/3 children, say. So 300,000 men. That makes in the region of 15,000 crossdressers, if Utah is typical of the rest of the civilised world. Let's say 10,000 so as not to annoy Ralph.

But this is Salt Lake, Utah, USA we're talking about. They're not hanging around on the corner of Main Street and University Boulevard shouting "Hi look at me!" Most of those 10,000 are either kneeling by their beds praying for God's for forgiveness or else writing posts to this website saying "Oh, I'm so brave, I actually put on a pair of panties today to drive to the supermarket!"

I'm surprised you've met as many as 3.

Thanks for those statistics and also thank you for making me laugh. (seriously, you made me laugh.) But at the same time, Ouch! How dare you! I'm totally offended! Even though you're right! lol

[Ralph]

But this is Salt Lake, Utah, USA we're talking about. They're not hanging around on the corner of Main Street and University Boulevard shouting "Hi look at me!" Most of those 10,000 are either kneeling by their beds praying for God's for forgiveness or else writing posts to this website saying "Oh, I'm so brave, I actually put on a pair of panties today to drive to the supermarket!" I'm surprised you've met as many as 3.

Now THAT was worth coming back to read. And who's annoyed? You trotted out the research, which I have no reason to question, so I can accept the 15,000 estimate. Wonder how many of 'em are reading this thread right now, not daring to speak up?

[TorieGG]

One of the best scientific studies I've read estimated that 10% of the male population are cross dressers. I agree that we may never know but in most university studies I've seen (which are admittedly very few) they agree on the 10%. Vernon Coleman's study (vernoncoleman.com) has that number too for what it's worth. Nice to know you are in good company.