A question about how many of us there are.

[Engendered]

Hello again. :)
This is something I've always been curious about. Just how many CDers are there? What percentage of the population do we make up? I was staggered when I joined to find over 30,000 members here.
I've never been able to find any proper statistic over the years for this, so I was wondering if anyone here might know, or have a link to somewhere that does.
A cookie to the first person who says "It's not important. Just enjoy being who you are." No cookies after that. :heehee:

I am genuinely curious about this. But, almost in a selfish way I want the number to be low, as I like being unique in my circle of friends.

[Deborah Jane]

A cookie to the first person who says "It's not important. Just enjoy being who you are." No cookies after that. :heehee:



"It's not important. Just enjoy being who you are."

I only came in to claim the cookie :D

[PaulaJaneThomas]

Probably about 5-10% of males cross-dress.

[JennaByNight]

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!

[Ralph]

Probably about 5-10% of males cross-dress.
Probably? Where did you get those figures from? What makes them probable?

[PaulaJaneThomas]

Probably? Where did you get those figures from? What makes them probable?

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

[Shayna2008]

I thought I heard that there was roughly 300+ million people in the USA a year or two ago (total population, that is).

[JennyS.]

This may not matter.... But, it occured to me that many of us just want to blend in. Others WANT to be noticed. Many CD's are very flamboyent. Others are totally in a darkened closet and want no one to see them. I wonder if there is a breakdown of all of that, or more?
Personally, I just want to blend in when I dress.

Again, it prolly doesn't matter... Just curious.

[Amy Lynn3]

I'm just glad to know I'm not the only one. For a long time I thought I was. I am glad we have sites like this one and others, so questions like this can be ask and information shared.

[JennaByNight]

Well stated Amy. And now I know the US population with such precision... There's still over 2 million like me, using those figures... Pretty cool.

[Toni_Lynn]

I am genuinely curious about this. But, almost in a selfish way I want the number to be low, as I like being unique in my circle of friends.

It doesn't matter really how many of us that there are in the world, as long as we are all unique just like everyone else :doh:

Huggles

Toni-Lynn

[TSchapes]

I have yet to find empirical evidence for the number of either MTF or FTM cross-dressers in the U.S. I've seen anecdotal numbers used in a number of books I have read, but I have not been able to find the original study they mention.

Most of the times I have seen them take the Gay/Lesbian numbers (around 5%) and apply that to TG.

If I do a quick calculation and figure about a million people live in the Detroit Area, 1/2 of that male and 75% of that over the age of 18, I come to around 375,000 males. If I take just one percent of that you are looking at 3,750 cross-dressers. Even that seems high to me. I know of maybe 50 TG girls in the greater Detroit area so I'm wondering where the other 3,700 are. I'm sure there are CD's that are not even out to themselves, so it's possible I guess.

Bottom line, until someone does a comprehensive study, I don't think we'll know. I do know CD's out number TS's and MTF out number FTM.

-Tracy

[Karren H]

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

[angpai30]

I really have no interest in finding out how many of us there are; as long as I can make some tg friends and have a fantastic time while beautified then I am satisfied.

[sterling12]

If I take just one percent of that you are looking at 3,750 cross-dressers. Even that seems high to me. I know of maybe 50 TG girls in the greater Detroit area so I'm wondering where the other 3,700 are. I'm sure there are CD's that are not even out to themselves, so it's possible I guess.

-Tracy[/QUOTE]

The other 3,650 are apparently chained in their bedrooms! Your math is about right Tracy, or maybe even a little lower than that. The number of Gurls who are regularly "out" is probably way less than 1% of The overall TG Population.

I'll bet you The Numbers for this very site would average about 1% of The 30K that are here. That would be about 300 gurls who do most of The Goin' Out. Isn't it a pity.

Peace and Love, Joanie

[Fab Karen]

Various large-scale surveys have been done in the USA and Britain, and the results seem to correspond. They are:

About 25% of men have cross-dressed at least once in their lives (Hallowe'en, Mardi Gras, fancy dress party, etc)
About 10% have done it fairly often at some time in the past
About 4% do it regularly now.

And before anyone asks the other question:

About 6% of crossdressers are gay
About 15-20% of crossdressers are bisexual.
MORAL: you are not alone.
When? What do they call large-scale?

I recall some therapist saying Americans would be shocked if they knew the number of male politicians who wear panties.

[Dave3]

In the past, perhaps out of a desire to diminish feelings of guilt, I used to ponder the same question. There was a fairly comprehensive discussion in this thread: http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75150

My views are still the same as posted here: http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1167806&postcount=45

And, whilst I'm not sure the mathematics is truly 'scientific', we can't deny there is at least some logical argument behind the figures quoted here:
http://www.vernoncoleman.com/downloads/mid.htm (~ 10%)

:)

[Carole]

I'm glad I only just saw this thread my laptop is full of cookies as it is.
The general concensus seems to go for around 10% of the male population crossdress on more than one occasion. I think thqat as so many are 'in the closet' there will never be a definitive figure found.

[Kate Simmons]

Hard to say. Cders aren't exactly that eager to share that information, especially the secret ones.

[Andy66]

I have personally known (in real life) four transsexuals, three gay crossdressers, and one bisexual crossdresser. I have never known one single straight male crossdresser that I was aware of. What is up with that? Why are you all playing so hard to get? :(

[Engendered]

Thanks for all the replies. :)
I was thinking that if being gay and being CD were completley unrelated, then doing a poll of gay people about CDing would give more honest results. (If they're open about one thing, they're more likely to be open/truthful about CDing too).

Oh and *gives deborah a cookie* :heehee:

[Jaclyn NM]

I don't know how many of us there are, or what the percentage is, but I do believe that there are a lot more of us than let on.

[Deanna]

Hello again. :)
This is something I've always been curious about. Just how many CDers are there? What percentage of the population do we make up? I was staggered when I joined to find over 30,000 members here.
I've never been able to find any proper statistic over the years for this, so I was wondering if anyone here might know, or have a link to somewhere that does.
A cookie to the first person who says "It's not important. Just enjoy being who you are." No cookies after that. :heehee:

I am genuinely curious about this. But, almost in a selfish way I want the number to be low, as I like being unique in my circle of friends.

Lots & lots more than will ever admit it.

Can I have a cookie anyway?
:battingeyelashes:

[Miranda09]

The numbers are always kinda interesting to look at, tho as others have said, it's likely even higher considering those that don't admit to it. In mind, the statistics are 100% crossdress!!! From a population of 1....ME!!! :D:battingeyelashes:

[Bilinda]

I have an ongoing poll in my site that covers a range of things. So far, 39% say they are bisexual, 38% say they are straight. Very few say gay. In fact all my gay friends say they are scared of CD'ers!

40% say they are married, 39% say they are single.

28% say they have never gone out dressed, 26% say yes but only once or twice, 15% say no and not sure if they want to, 9% say they don't want to, and 7% say they go out dressed all the time!
:)

[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!:D

[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/survey99/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.