DUMB question? Or just one with an obvious answer?

[Wildaboutheels]

Which is why no one ever asks.

I believe there is a simple and clear reason as to WHY MtF CDers far outnumber FtM. And one can only guess at the magnitude? Five to one? Ten to one? A hundred to one? No reliable way to even make a guess is there?

NO, I am not talking about the fact that the public can ONLY see the MtF Forum here. [w/o joining]

So the Q is WHY do YOU think so few females have an interest in CDing?

[suzy1]

There can’t be that many that want to be aggressive, muscle bound, morons with smelly socks, stubble and talk about nothing but football and fast cars all day can there? :eek:

[To the nice mods, this comment was made in a light hearted way and is not to be taken as a serious criticism of the lovely male sex]:)

[Diana Bain]

It's just a thought....there may'be a lot more FTM than we think...they have a better opertunity to blend easier...society maybe a little more accepting

[StarrOfDelite]

I don't know if this is a scientific answer or not, but I've always thought that it's because males are born with both X female and Y male chromosomes (XY), whereas women have only the X chromosome (XX). Perhaps some genetic males are already half-programmed to be female, and all it takes is some sort of developmental thing to trigger it, whereas that wouldn't be true for genetic females.

In a similar vein, I recall that back in the 70's and 80's there was some sort of theory that a very small percentage of males are "Double Y" males (really XYY) who are hyper-masculine in both musculature and behavior. I'm not sure if the theory has been discredited or not, but, if they exist, I wouldn't expect many Double Y males would develop into crossdressers.

[kimdl93]

There are no dumb questions, but there are lots of questions that have not been adequately studied in any meaningful way. I can hazard a guess, but its based on nothing at all - its not even my opinion - but just a guess: There's a broad spectrum of males attracted to female clothing - from occassional fetish dressers to transsexuals, and an abundance in between. Among GGs, perhaps only a transsexual FtM might feel that clothing helped define her gender identity. Other women may simply do not make the same associations between clothing and sex or clothing and gender identity.

[GeminaRenee]

Perhaps because MTF is considered more forbidden than FTM?

Maybe it's because it's difficult for men to get inside the 'secret world of women' than it is for the converse? MTF can be a way for men to (at least attempt to) see inside a world that is normally closed to them?

I don't really know. These are just semi-educated guess. I will say one thing that I think is NOT the reason: because women's clothes are innately sexier/ more fun/more femme/etc. I'm sure that answer will come up, but it's a cop out. Women's clothes are innately nothing. They're purely constructs of the world around us. That's why I borge that what we're really reaching for is a fascination with the ideas or attitudes that femme clothes have come to symbolize. If this were not true, skirts or gowns or tights or heels would have been restricted throughout history to one gender or another - not the case!

[RADER]

It's just a thought....there may'be a lot more FTM than we think...they have a better opertunity to blend easier...society maybe a little more accepting

I totally agree; look at it this way. I girl can wear men's clothing and not get a second look.
Men on the other hand wear a skirt, and you are an evil creachier.
Women do not have to cross dress to look like a man, they can do it naturally.
But I think most women find that they have more power being a Woman that look like
or assuming the presence of a man. In some societies, Women are made to hide their Identity
so others will not see them. I wonder if it is because they know how powerfully beauty can be.
Rader

[Wildaboutheels]

Billboards and magazines are just 2 of many clues.

[Nigella]

Two things

Firstly, the FtM forum is visible to anyone (w/o logging on)

Secondly, lets keep out of the trap of Oh woe is me, they can, we can't.

Why don't we hear much from the FtM? maybe if the testosterone levels stayed low, there would be more input, from our brothers in the F2M forum.

[Sandra]

I know why there isn't many on here that post. It's because in the past other members were always pulling them down, not taking them seriously and calling the women/ladies, but oh boy heaven forbid if they called an MtF male....in essence they were driven away by members of this forum.

[suzy1]

Coming back on a more serious note.

Nigella and Sandra, I am a little upset that members have acted like that towards the FtM members. That’s a bit upsetting. Us MtF members are not all like that.

[Kate Simmons]

When it comes to expressing gender roles, men need a lot more positive reinforcement than women.:)

[AllieSF]

Is that true Sandra? I really do not remember seeing any of that. Maybe it was in subtle comments that I did not pick up on. I love our brothers who have really gone quiet in these last 2+ years. They were much more active before. Regarding this site, I think that maybe the FtM's have maybe found other sites with a larger population where they can get into more and varied conversations. Regarding the overall comparison in the real world, I have no idea how many there are of either, though do believe that the MtF group is much larger.

[Wildaboutheels]

Just to be clear, this Q has nothing to do with how anyone at this or any other Forum has been treated by anyone else, currently or in the past.

Surely no who participates at this site thinks the owner/s of this site just pulled the MtF Forum out of a hat? [as the only one made public]

DO YOU?

[NicoleScott]

I know why there isn't many on here that post. It's because in the past other members were always pulling them down, not taking them seriously and calling the women/ladies, but oh boy heaven forbid if they called an MtF male....in essence they were driven away by members of this forum.

Many MtF members offer advice to other members that we need a thicker skin to deal with unpleasant comments. FtM's might heed the same advice.

I thought demeaning comments were against forum rules. Maybe those comments should have been....uh....moderated.

[Nigella]

I think you need to log off, then look at the home page, the M2F, Transmen and Transexual main forums, but not the sub sections, are all viewable by the general public.

Maybe because our F2M brothers can and do blend in they are not so visible. Most of the F2Ms are not crossdressers (don't even think about going there), they are transexuals. If there was such a thing as a F2M crossdresser, they would not be noticed because they dress appropriately.

[KellyJameson]

Males are made from females so in a since you are going back to the beginning and the less you were made into a male the shorter the trip back but for a female it is not a trip back to the beginning (home) but a visit to a completely different country so it is a movement away from not back to, which is pure adventure
driven by a spirit that will not be contained.

Two energies pursuing two forms of freedom that lead back to the self.

Males are like boomerangs so no matter how far nature throws them from the female they always come back and it is only a question of how.

I have often wondered what it would be like to be FtM, some part of me thinks that if I had been born female I would want to be male as if I do not know how to
be any other way but incongruous with my body.

[Sandra]

I thought demeaning comments were against forum rules. Maybe those comments should have been....uh....moderated.

They are against forum rules and were moderated, but in a lot cases not before the FtMs had seen them.

[Beverley Sims]

Take the cross dressers out of the loop and there is a more even spread.
F to M seem to take the change more conservatively, because of dress I think.
M to F have a wider choice of expressing themselves and I think the attraction lies in the ability to express ones self.
The same theory can be applied to cross dressers of both genders as well.
Conclusion? IMHO.....
Females have more fun than males..:)

[ReluctantDebutant]

I would say in order for males to feel more feminine they feel they need to look more feminine, where as being masculine can be seen in actions. Its is often said that males are visually oriented when they view woman. So a man trying to be feminine will see it as an act of looking feminine. A woman has many nonvisual, nonclothing related ways to act masculine; sports, hanging out with guys, talking like a guy, (insert stereotypical guy thing in here) etc. the evidense for this is in the number of Mtf CDers who say they dress in order to feel feminine in other words they need the clothes to feel the feelings or act feminine.

The best way to experiment this is for all the MtF CDers who claim to feel and act feminine after dressing is for them to try and feel an act that way without dressing.

[bobbimo]

SO I wonder.
If you took a boy child, and raised in in an isolated desert island where clothing did not exist.
And you educated him in math, reading, history and the appropriate social skills, but kept him from seeing any pictures of men and women in clothes.
Then when he was ~18, you rented Macy's clothing section for a day, and told him it was time to wear clothes. I wonder what would be in the pile, boring boy clothes or the bright and beautiful girls things?
Then repeat the experiment with a girl.
I wonder how their choices would differ?
Bobbi

[noeleena]

Hi,

Go to our island peoples & youll see the bright colours for both men & women dress's skirts no tops , yet when the english .....they ......changed all that with..... thier own...... set of standards, just over 150 years ago.

Tell me then whos right the english or should our island people have stayed the way they were,

Some test case's have proved you can not change a persons wireing only by force & then the persons will go back to who that one was, when left on thier own, one bent Dr tryed & it all failed he never admited he was wrong .

...noeleena...

[Mathilda]

My fuzzy thoughts on the matter are that females are already in natures default state, so a female's desire to dress as a man is less a genetic yearning and therefore less common.

Also, have you seen mens clothing? More power to FtM Crossdressers but why would fillet steak want to dress up as rump?

[Helen_Highwater]

Without generalising too much I hope;
The average male is taller, heavier, bigger framed than the average female. GG having smaller build can more easily resemble either immature or just smaller males.
For MTF it requires a whole new wardrobe, makeup, hair growth (or wigs), hair removal. Add to that weight control, body shaping, what's often referred to as a "High maintenance" routine.
Reverse that and you're looking at regulation jeans, sweatshirt or tees, trainers, un-plucked eyebrows and non shaved arms and legs. Add a boyish hair cut, put on a bit of weight and at worst you're going to be someone who will be noticed as a girl who, "Could look very pretty if she made the effort". Ok there's the issue of chest strapping, I didn't say everything is straightforward.
I guess what I'm saying in my own inept way is we as a society pay less attention to what may appear to be a dressed down girl than a dressed up boy. It’s less threatening. Hence being more easily lost in the crowd reduces the need to share and seek the support of fellow travellers on forums such as this.

[Amy Fakley]

I always figured it was because society in general is tolerant of a wider degree of gender variance in females (within certain limits of course).
How many completely straight movies feature the "hot lesbian kiss?" ... hardly anyone gets all "eeewww gross!" about that. You will not see the "hot gay dude kiss" in mainstream movies, and you will hardly ever see "tally-whacker shots", but you will almost always get a boob shot.

I can't speak for straight GGs, maybe it does squik them out, but they just don't aggressively complain about it the way straight men do?
But you can bet any mainstream movie featuring gratuitous dude-smooching would be controversial as all hell in most parts of the world.

So I suspect that, while our FtM bros do encounter all sorts of the same acceptance issues we do, there's a freedom to experiment with it that is devoid of the nuclear shock value we experience right out of the gate on the MtF side ... and hence that crew is not quite as pent-up when they get to a place where they can discuss it openly. Speaking only for myself ... I know when I eventually took the step of talking here, I pretty much couldn't stop talking, because it felt so good to after a lifetime of not being able to even allude to it.

[docrobbysherry]

I believe I have the answer, Wild! But, it MAY not be popular one! It's quite simply, really.

Men dressing as women find appearing to be an female sexually erotic, exciting, and arousing! Females don't generally feel the same when dressed as men!

[Lorileah]

Oh! I know I know!!! Because they know size doesn't matter so when they wear their prostheses it doesn't scream "Look at my big........." like Cd's do. Am I close? That and they also know how irritating a stubbly beard is when you make out so they don't push the facial hair

[Wildaboutheels]

Someone is close.

I think what one sees at the checkout of most any store is quite reflective of it of the world today.

Most here are always complaining that women GET to wear all kinds of "nice" clothing unavailable to men. GET is the wrong word. There is a thread currently running that illustrates this very thing quite well. I seriously doubt there are many GGs who "enjoy" all the time and effort many of them put into "looking nice". Of course there are some but it is easy to predict that they are in the minority.

[kimdl93]

Please let me know when you've got the right answer. I'm anxious to hear!

[BLUE ORCHID]

Females crossdress all the time and everyone just thinks that it's ok.

[Wildaboutheels]

I just checked 20 minutes ago at my local grocery store, to "check my facts". It's a Publix and probably typical.

Almost everyone buys groceries unless they eat out all the time? People literally have to buy groceries. And it's likely that women do the majority of grocery shopping? Of 27 full sized NON rag [Enquirer etc.] mags at the checkout counter, seven had lone females on the front. ONE had a lone male on the front - Dr Oz if you are wondering. Seems about right compared to what is typically on display.

Does that help any?