Is crossdressing actually more common than we think?

[Jasmine23]

Hi girls,
Just a thought that crossed my mind, but, is crossdressing actually more common than we think? I have always felt I'm the only guy I know or even have met, that's into this, but, in reality I've probably met and possibly know other crossdressers in real life. When I go online and it's flooded with guys crossdressing, now I know that's kind of skewed by the fact that I'm literally looking up crossdressing, but, even so a huge amount of men do actually crossdress. I know it's an impossible question to answer, but I wonder what percentage of men actually crossdress and is it becoming more popular among younger men?

[Verona]

I think you are probably correct. I think a lot of men cross dress but some do it more often than others, also different levels of dress, some will just wear underwear occasionally whilst some dress at every opportunity they can. X

[Marketa]

I can't answer the percentage question, but it's definitely more common than we think. I read boredpanda and not long ago there was a thread of replies to a question "What would be your loved ones shocked of finding if you suddenly died" and lot of answers were "that I'm a crossdresser" in one form or another. So it's really more common than we think, because a lot of CD are closet ones.

[Kris Burton]

So it's really more common than we think, because a lot of CD are closet ones.

...and I think there are FAR more men who are CD, or have least tried it, than will ever admit to it.

[NancySue]

I?m not sure we?ll ever know, I believe because most cding takes place in private it?s kept secret, i.e. DADT. If there are any guesstimate statistics, I don?t think they?re accurate. I also sense if surveyed asking if one ever cded, the answer would be ?no?. Having said this, I do believe there are many, many men of all ages who have tried it once or twice, but it may or may not last. With us it stuck. Yes, as fashions appear to be more androgynous and accepted , the younger men are more apt to try. The wide variety of women?s clothes offer more possibilities. Like some of us, we have our favorite item(s). Mine were hose, then progression.

[valerie anne]

Before I filled out so that I could wear normal ladies cup sizes, I used to get my bras from a specialist lingerie supplier who had a range of sexy smaller cup sizes.

I was in contact with the lady who ran it over returns etc., and she told me half her customers were men.

There could be selection bias here, however, as it's the sort of website that a CD wanting AA cup bras would go to!

[Cheryl T]

I think it's much more prevalent than we know.
If you search you will find thousands, but I read somewhere that it's estimated to be about 5% of the male population. Personally I think it's much more than that as so many would be adamant that they are not in order to maintain that appearance of masculinity. I think that the hidden portion of course would be in the straight population. Those that are bi or gay I feel would be much more likely to admit they have or do wear women's clothing.

[kimdl93]

How common do we think it is? For me at least, this question falls in the same category as “is life common in the universe?” I have no idea.

I would answer “Yes” with some confidence, if the question was, “Is crossdressing more common than you thought when you were 15?”

[tiffyjo]

I feel it may be more prevalent than we could know. I have worried someone might see a strap of a bra or feel a clasp if they patted my back, or possibly notice the outline of an adjuster or strap. At my work it's common by some to put their hand on my back to indicate they are behind me or just a show of caring. (Do any of you get that or could it be they did notice the feel of a clasp before and looking for a confirmation?) I've got my panties in black, heather and gray and have even wore them to Dr's appointments and not a word or a blink. All of this builds my confidence to continue in this direction and not look back. I doubt my kids (grown) know, but who knows and I doubt it would bother them. Their mom (my ex) knew and she even bought me some panties and gave me one of her old bras. I now have started to wear female denim shorts and some tops. I would love to try women's jeans but I find it tough to find them with a 33-34" inseam.

[Fiona_44]

I definitely think it is more widespread than most people realize.

[Taylor186]

Crossdressing might be more widespread than most people think, but it's less widespread than most crossdressers think. We're too deep in the weeds to make an unbiased assessment.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Jasmine :hugs:, There sure are an awful lot of CD sights on the Internet, >Orchid**O:daydreaming:O**

[Suzie Petersen]

Wait a minute .... if we think it is more common than we think it is, then it actually really isn't ... right! 🤣

[Sometimes Steffi]

I don't think it's very common. My guess is that it is sample bias.

[Jasmine23]

Crossdressing might be more widespread than most people think, but it's less widespread than most crossdressers think. We're too deep in the weeds to make an unbiased assessment.

Hi Taylor,
I think you are probably right in your assessment, more common than most people (non crossdressers) think but less common than we (crossdressers) think or hope it is. Most of us do seek it out and it's on our minds a lot of the time compared to the average person, so it does feel like it's more common to us, but, it's also good to know that so many other men do crossdress and that we aren't the only ones that do this as most of us probably thought at one stage.

[Nikkilovesdresses]

...is it becoming more popular among younger men?

That's a really good question.

My guess is that just as many (not all, of course) young people are being taught to be more accepting of others' gender preferences, that encouragement towards acceptance would apply to their feelings about their own urges.

It's possible that if they don't automatically feel bad about an urge to wear women's clothes, they might experiment with it then move on, rather than being driven into closets.

But I do think it's highly likely that a lot of men have secretly tried on a wife's or girlfriend's underwear, when they've had the chance, and that underdressing is probably far more common than we might suppose.

Full blown crossdressing though? I think it's relatively uncommon.

[Helen_Highwater]

So if I may can I skew the question slightly as ask if you've ever had suspicions about someone you know that they CD?

I must admit that I've one long time friend whom I've harboured suspicions about namely pierced ear marks but never seen them wearing studs which was fashionable with young men a while ago. Hardly definitive proof I know but there's been one or two little things that start to add to the trail of breadcrumbs.

[Abbycd41]

I definitely think it is more common than not. I think its more is it just underdressing or fully dressed or some where in between.

[CDMargret]

It's high. It's very very high.

[Karen RHT]

Since I like the idea of doing something "different" I want to believe that our segment of the general population has grown, but we're still in a small minority. Back in the day, I smiled when people told me I was crazy for riding motorcycles, now motorcycle riders are everywhere. Nothing wrong with being just a little bit out of the norm, the rest will catch up in their own way and time.


Karen

[danniUK]

It's one of those questions, isn't it? Because people feel potentially embarrassed about doing it then I can image a lot of people stay very closeted.
If you look at the members of this site I think it's fair to say that the vast majority, while open about it while on these pages, are super discreet in the real world.
So personally I think it probably does happen more than most think, but to what extent I have no idea!

[Amy Randal]

I have done a lot of reading on this. I have read 10% of men crossdress completely. I have also read 50% have tried or partially dressed. The research says it is hard to know for sure because most keep it secret and it is probably more than can be confirmed. If it is 10% that’s one out of every ten men you meet.

[docrobbysherry]

That's what "experts" seem to guestimate. Asking dressers how many dress is like asking alcoholics how many drunks there r!:devil:

Because u all r consumed by it u'd like to think many men r. Well, they aren't!:straightface:

I know. I was just an average guy until my 50's when my hormones or something in me changed. Before then it never even occurred to me to try on women's things. Even tho I had countless opportunities!:battingeyelashes:

[Penny Daniels]

I think the younger generation is a lot less rigid on gender expression, which is fantastic. In the early aughts we had the rise of the "Metrosexual," and since then queer culture and breaking of gender norms have become not just more common, but more accepted, and mainstream. Based on that, I'd think that outward expressions of femininity among men of younger generations is a lot more common than it used to be.

Now, full-on crossdressing? I couldn't say. I think men of my and older generations (I'm about the youngest GenX-er you can be) were hammered a lot more with rigid gender roles growing up, and as such we have a couple of things the younger gens don't: one, a fairly strict definition of what is masculine and what is feminine; and two, a deep feeling of shame and fear around presenting ourselves in a way that doesn't match up with the gender expectations we were raised with.

So I think there's a couple of things that come out of this. One is, we're probably less likely to ever give crossdressing a proper try, because we and those we associate with in our age group share this deep-seated gender norm hangup. But two, those of us who do try some painted nails here or some stockings there are probably more likely to expand our interests to full-on crossdressing.

The reason that I think this (and please note, I have zero credibility in this space, this is just the musings of a middle-aged dude who likes skirts) is that the younger generation probably sees gender-bending as less of a taboo subject. Once you slightly break a taboo, and find that you like the breaking or at least that there's no massive cosmic blowback, you're likelier to keep breaking it more and more. Remove the taboo, and people who like certain elements of traditionally femme presentation will just enjoy those elements as regular day-to-day fashion, not some taboo-busting thing.

I think (see disclaimer above about how what I think is probably a load of horse hockey) that the more we break down the taboo of gender norms, the more we're going to see people engage in some crossing over, but maybe we'll see less of people getting a taste and going full pink haze.

Feel free to rip this hypothesis, and if you feel what I've said is in any way disrespectful to any group, PLEASE let me know.

[DianeT]

This has already been answered by Francis Crossdrake with the famous Crossdraker equation.

The CrossDraker equation is:

N = R* . fp . ne . fl . fi . fc . L

where

N = the number of civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy with which communication might be possible (i.e. which are on the current past light cone);
and
R* = the average rate of star formation in our Galaxy.
fp = the fraction of those stars that have planets.
ne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets.
fl = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point.
fi = the fraction of planets with life that go on to develop male beings picking clothing items from the female aisle because the choice in fabrics and colors is so incredible compared to that of the male aisle (crossdressers).
fi = the fraction of crossdressers that develop posts on forums or social networks that release detectable cues of gender non-conformance into the Internet.
L = the length of time for which such crossdressers release these detectable cues into the Internet and then into space.[6][7]

According to this equation and taking some educated guesses for granted (1 yr**-1, 0.2 to 0.5, 1 to 5, 1, 1, 0.1 to 0.2, 1000 to 100,000,00) we can without any hesitation declare that the total number of crossdressers in the Milky Way Galaxy is N = 20. Ok, wait a minute.

[kimdl93]

According to this equation and taking some educated guesses for granted (1 yr**-1, 0.2 to 0.5, 1 to 5, 1, 1, 0.1 to 0.2, 1000 to 100,000,00) we can without any hesitation declare that the total number of crossdressers in the Milky Way Galaxy is N = 20. Ok, wait a minute.

I believe the correct answer is 42

[NjJamie]

I always was told that if you have to guess, choose "C", conveniently for us that's where this website starts!

[alwayshave]

I asked google the percentage of men who crossdress. The answer was 1.5 to 10 percent. See https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/health-and-sexuality-a-waning-interest-in-intimacy-a-cross-dressing-husband/2291904/#:~:text=First%20of%20all%2C%20cross%2Ddressing,bi ological%2C%20genetic%20or%20innate%20desire.

[Penny Daniels]

I believe the correct answer is 42

Ah, but what is the question?

[Suzie Petersen]

Kim: I believe the correct answer is 42
That is exactly the correct number! And by the way, Thank you for all the fish!

[Rosemary+]

I don?t really know how common cross dressing is. I only personally know of one other. I sat next to him in primary school, later in life we were employed by the same company. It was common knowledge that he was a dresser, but I was never comfortable coming out to him. In hindsight I wish I did

[BrendaPDX]

I am with Doc on this between 2% - 10%.

[kellyanne]

As others note because crossdressing does not have the social support of other sexual orientations it is very difficult to assess the rate within the population.

There was a surge of UK studies in the 70s - 80s and you can still find the results online but these were not gen pop studies but assessments of family dynamics ie - strength of parental bonds, absence of one or other parent etc birth order etc of self described CDs.

The body of research is not double blinded so its all self reporting.

An MRI can see if a man or woman is transgendered , gay or straight - this is well established and replicated in double blinded studies.

[Bea_]

The question of how common it is for men to dress is interesting, but there's also the question of how many men don't dress, but feel jealous at the freedom to dress. I know I was on that list for a couple of decades before I bought my first panties. I run across few, but memorable guys in various forms of women's clothing and presentation. I did not consider it for myself at the time, but there was a twinge of jealousy anyway. I'd have never admitted it at the time.

[BiancaEstrella]

Sometimes when I'm hosting a group of conventioneers or hobbyists or other small-to-medium gathering of primarily men, I think to myself "which one of these guys can't wait to get back to the hotel to slip into something more comfortable?"

[Snide_lobster]

I guess it depends on how we define cding. Occasionally wearing a skirt, or getting a kick from wearing panties, I can see 10%. Going all the way/shaving & makeup, seems closer to the 2% and below range. I definitely agree (completely anecdotal by the way) that rigid social norms probably encourage more of the latter while wider gender expression encourages for more androgyny as opposed to full blown transvestism. That being said, given the prevalence of pictures online and in old cd/drag magazines, its certainly far more common than anyone (not already on a website like this) really would want to admit.

[Camille58]

I think it is probably more common now than it was a few years ago. Society's attitudes towards clothing and gender are changing rapidly. Don't get me wrong, there is still a long way to go, but I really feel that we are on the right track. I see it in clothing advertisements every time I pick up a magazine or go shopping. Recently I was in downtown Chicago and walked into a very large consignment store. It was crowded with people of all different ages. When I found the clothing department, which was huge, I noticed that there was no men's or women's section. It was just clothes! That made my day! That is the type of thing that makes me hopeful for the future of crossdressing.

[ambigendrous]

An MRI can see if a man or woman is transgendered , gay or straight - this is well established and replicated in double blinded studies.

How can an MRI determine such traits?

[Stephanie47]

Perhaps the questionnaire should also ask if the man is suppressing his desire to cross dress due to the potential negative consequences that may arise if he acted upon his need. When my wife and I had "The Talk" she asked me why I did not tell her that I was a cross dresser. I asked her if she remembered the conversation she had with her female cousin about a cross dresser that lived on our street. She didn't. I told her she and her cousin filleted the man who was dropped by his wife like a hot potato. My wife's cousin worked with the wife. They were quickly divorced. Their plans to buy a corner lot in the neighborhood and build their dream home went out the door. Fortunately, they had no children. Given that conversation, why would I put myself through that potential disaster? I am sure there are men who live in actual terror and would never even fess up in a secret poll.

[RoseReve]

I believe the correct answer is 42



Ah, but what is the question?



That is exactly the correct number! And by the way, Thank you for all the fish!

Ah ah excellent you smart mice Kim Penny and Suzie :cm2:

[danniUK]

Oh if we're picking a number I'd have to say a Trillian!

[Liz Jones]

We have a open market. One of the stalls sells womans underwear ,on my visit to purchase some underwear i remarked to the stall owner that it must be unusual -- no came the reply -- a lot of men wear ladies underwear-- as he sells them he should know.....

[rachellegsep]

Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy the answer of life, the universe and everything / the film 42/ atomic number for Molybdenum, It appears in religions , cultures, mathmatics, physics, space and many other fields.

[Julie Frisky]

Hi, I do think it is more common than we think and I like to think there are guys in the closet that that go out underdressed like me, but sadly I have not come across any when out and about as I do keep an eye out for the tell tale signs.

[sometimes_miss]

Now showing on today's episode of Wishful Thinking. Since I want to feel that I'M normal, I will just assume that my supposedly oddball activities are actually considered so normal, that almost everyone does them. BINGO! I'm normal! Now I can walk among all those countries where they supposedly throw people like me off of roofs to splat on the pavement, then thrust spears through us to make sure we won't come back to life.
After all, soon there won't be a word 'crossdresser' since now everyone wears clothes previously restricted to the opposite sex.

Believe whatever makes you happy. Just don't be surprised when you find out it's not true. I spend 30 years of my life convincing myself that crossdressing was just a harmless, tiny piece of my life that no one would care what I do in my own home.

NOPE. Turns out lots of people care, some, to the extent that they want us all dead, and would happily string us up if they had the opportunity, and the legal support from those in power, which in the U.S., they are now about to get, as we revert to a 1950's mentality in so many areas.

Believe whatever you wish. Just please, always give yourself an escape route should any of the homophobes show up in a group after having their 'lets all prove how manly we are, by beating up some LGBTQ+ people' meetings at the local sports bar.

[Pauline Quirky]

It's hard to say for sure, but I suspect it is becoming increasingly more common as society becomes more liberal and accepting of such things. Plus we can now order clothes/make-up/accessories online, as well as using the internet for inspiration, or to chat with like minded people or learn how to dress and apply make-up. Also maybe guys are more likely to be single or in open relationships these days, so they can more easily explore their feminine side.

[Bruce64]

Probably, because I got 3 pairs of A N A jeans for Women in JC Penny and the zipper on the fly was on the right side I meant right hand zipper versus the old left hand zipper for Women jeans by the way they fit me perfectly and I love the fall color

[Lacey New]

Who knows for sure. In real life, I can only remember seeing one person who was an obvious male wearing women?s clothing. I think many of us tend to keep our dressing a secret and do it in private. However, with the advent of the internet, many of us have been able to connect on sites such as this and that might reinforce or perhaps inflate our perception of the number of men who crossdress. And my guess is that just about everyone here is using a pseudonym. However, if this is any gauge, just look on the websites of any major retailer or manufacturer of women?s underwear, panties in particular. There are more than just a few men who have left reviews of Vanity Fair, Bali, VS, Shadowline and even JC Penney panties.

[Natalie5004]

Here is a funny story.

I was about 24 years old. I was in a bar. A young woman walked past me wearing a dress. I said to I thought was myself, " I would look better in that dress than she does."

Well another young woman that I knew slightly, I knew her brothers, (Small Town thing), she was standing nearby, said, "Yes you would."

I guess I let some of the cat out of the bag.

[TamT]

Whichever the percentage is, it makes people think which are the guys that crossdress from the group at work. If we are 50, 4% means that two of us crossdress. I'm one... who is the other? :heehee:

[1Ladyjade]

Jasmine. I think it's more prevalent than we think. My wife works at a thrift store. Before I came out to her she said didn't notice how many CDs were actually shopping in the store. But after that she says she sees a CD or trans person almost every day. She will try to help them by showing them a picture of me.

[Allee]

I agree I have been crossdressing for years, I just haven?t had any Luck with finding a CD to actually talk too.🤷*♂️kinda sucks

[Helen_Highwater]

When you stop to think about all the online sales outlets there are now selling silicone forms, hips and bum padding then if folks didn't buy it there'd be no market for it so they wouldn't exist. True some of it is aimed at the female market as well but there are a significant number of sites aimed solely at our community. Hence it's fair I feel to extrapolate that there's more of us than perhaps you'd at first think. If there wasn't momey to be made then they'd go out of business.

Next you have to consider how we as a community break down. There are those who are either full time or very regular outandabouters. Then there's the likes of me. Happy to go out but limited to a few days each year. Then there's the discrete night time walks or drive members and finally those who for whatever reason choose to stay indoors.

So if we're not very visible in the wider world perhaps it's because we're like top of the range car. There out there but how often do you see one. And if you do how much attention do you give it?

Looking at vids on YouTube you'll see a good many CD'ers who present wonderfully such that even we might not read them. Do we know how many times we've walked passed a "less than perfect CD'er" if I can put it that way but like all those around us in their own little bubble world we just aren't paying sufficient attention to notice them?

And while the world has become more accepting, Stonewall has done a wonderful job of bringing being Gay into mainstream consciousness such that very few bat an eye at knowing someone is Gay, CD'ing hasn't quite yet shook off the stigma of the film and TV effeminate comedy caricature it once had and that keeps many in the shadows and so distorts the figures.

I guess it'll be along time before we really know.

[JulieC]

Allee, welcome to the forum! You just found a bunch of CDs to talk to :) Ok, not in person, but this forum acts as a support group for a lot of us.

[Raven Skyy]

Well I guess I look at it this way. Can 1-5% of the male population keep all the Crossdressing industry profitable? HMMM how much do each of us spend on a monthly basis. I shop for specialty items at Crossdressing venues when it comes to clothes shoes and accessories, I always shop regular stores or online. But how many breast forms and female prosthetic panties have to be sold to make them so readily available. You can get tucking tape on Amazon and most anything else you want. If there wasn't a demand that made it profitable It wouldn't be there.
I'd bet the percentage is closer to 25% of men are feminized for one reason or another.

[Georgina]

I hope so.

[Aroara Xanthemae]

My wife and I kind of make it a game to spot the cross dressers out there and it turns out that the ones who do it openly are usually easy to spot and some are well that is impressive cannot really tell but there are many out and I am seeing more and more.
I?m glad I?m not alone

[il.dso]

A question I've wondered about for decades, especially during the 60s-80s, pre internet.
I'm closeted, connecting w other cds through this website.
Obviously way more than I ever imagined.
Incredible that there are cd conventions!
Still, I rarely, if ever, see cd or fully transitioned people.
I'm sure that I wouldn't recognize them all, but I have seen remarkably few, and I've been to many cities in the USA.
I have tremendous and admiration respect for anyone who ventures out and is who they are, living the life they want to live and wearing the clothes they want to wear!

[Claire M]

BI (Before Internet) I was pretty sure there was like 10 CDs on the planet .... then I found this site. Thanks for clearing THAT up ladies!!

[CarlaWestin]

Back in the day, I smiled when people told me I was crazy for riding motorcycles, now motorcycle riders are everywhere. Nothing wrong with being just a little bit out of the norm, the rest will catch up in their own way and time.

As I was reading through, I kept thinking of the female pioneer, Katherine Hepburn who shocked the world by wearing, of all shocking things, pants.
Go out in public places such as Walmart or the grocery store and just look at the small percentage of women that aren't wearing pants or shorts.
Compared to a hundred years ago, most females crossdress on a daily basis. Not in a transitional sense but the topic was crossdress.