How many really?

[Kate Simmons]

It's estimated the number of TG/CD folks is about 5-10% of the general population. While the site was having problems yesterday, I visited a few different ones which I do not normally. A few of the folks on them I knew, including a few I know from here. About 99% of them I did not know and never even heard of. I'm thinking the actual CD/TG population is more like 15-20% if not higher although with the increasing number of folks who join this site, it is probably really closer to reality than many of us think.:happy:

[linnea]

I think that you're right, Salandra, though I don't have any evidence to support my suspicions.

[Christina Louise]

I suspect that it's not the case. Staying on sites like this a lot just makes it seem that everyone is doing it. If you consider general sites such as MySpace, YouTube etc. as random selections of people, then what proportion of contributors there are CD/TG? Nothing like 20%.

[Marvina Martian]

I think that the number of people on these sites is large, but no where near what it could be. I'm sure that you only see a very small percentage of CD'ers out as most of them are still locked securely in the closet. I bet a total of 20% is not too far off....

[MsToriJones]

I suspect that there are many who don't dress nor would consider themselves CD BUT who love the feel of the silkies against their skin. They started making men's underthings from the same thing as women's underthings for a reason......men like them. I would think there are men who were potential CD but resisted because "it isn't normal" but do wear the men's silkies to compensate....but I would never say that to their face because they would try to defend their ways.

[ericalynncd]

I have noticed a big swing in popularity in CD/TG recently and think there are many people who have not come out yet. I belive our numbers are growing really fast.

[occdresser]

I am certain that there are more than anybody realizes, but most people or crossdressers are to ashamed or embarrased to tell someone - oh by the way I really enjoy wearing womens cloths. that comment would get you How far?

[Brenda1423]

If the more SOs were alright with it, I'm sure there would be a WHOLE lot more.

[Julogden]

I agree too. I suspect that there are a LOT of CD's who are so afraid that someone will learn their secret that they won't even hang around a site like this. 20-25%, minimum, of the male population sounds like a good figure to me, if you include all who even just wear a pair of panties from time to time.

Carol

[Lilith Moon]

I agree too. I suspect that there are a LOT of CD's who are so afraid that someone will learn their secret that they won't even hang around a site like this.
Carol

Yes, just look at the members/guests ratio for an example of how we are ultra cautious about revealing ourselves even here with assured anonymity.

[Jennifer Giovannetta]

I always wonder about how many do it. If 5% of men do it, then 5 out of 100 men do it. So, many of the men who I interact with during the course of my day may be CD's.
This thread reminds me of some training I had at work approximately 10 years ago. We were talking about what he called "Alternate Lifestyles". He stated that approximatly 1 in 10 (not sure if these are the numbers he actually used) people live an alternate lifestyle. So he then stated that "statistically speaking, two of the people in this room fall into this category.
I remember feeling a little embarrased, and I wondered if someone can see my reaction.
It would be hard to get an accurate number because we are so secretive about our "thing".
Also, some of the men who do have these feelings may never actually come to terms with these feelings. I think that the men who do have the urge to dress, never act on it, and surpress these feelings. They may compensate by engaging in masculine behaviors, and activities. Sometimes even violence and anger towards people like us.


Enough from Dr. Jennifer
Thank you

[Deborah Jane]

I crossdressed long before i came on the internet and suspect many others do too. When i was living with my [ex] wife i knew sites like this existed but would never come near one in case my she found out by checking the history. I wonder how many others are in the same situation! Also i spent long periods in "self denial" and wouldn,t even consider looking at a site like this in case it bought the urges back. All said there are probably a lot more of us than we realise who will never visit a website for c/ders for one reason or another.

[jims panties]

yes i think theres 25%easey my bro and i started at 12 or so with my mothers and the girls panties and wee still wear panties all the time and more wen wee can.theres so meny guys that play in there wifes and girl freinds stuff i wish wee could get more to add to likeing just panties if they like them you know theyyd wear and probley do wear more thats my thought on it.

[curiously_c]

I don't know if the rate would really be as high as 20%, depending on whats considered to be a crossdresser.

I only say this because you can find any niche of people online, and thats still a very small sample of the general population.

I'd be curious to start a frapper map of all the members here, and see if they are concentrated in any one spot. :D

[charlie-50]

I suspect that it's not the case. Staying on sites like this a lot just makes it seem that everyone is doing it. If you consider general sites such as MySpace, YouTube etc. as random selections of people, then what proportion of contributors there are CD/TG? Nothing like 20%.

Im thinkin chistina is a little closer to right here ...im on 4 sites my self...and i see some of the same girls there that i see on other sites...its eazy to punch the numbers up...my opinion 5-10 %max....but i sure wish there was more of us....it would also be nice if there was a good way to an acurate count...i really like to how many and where the most are....charlie....:hugs:

[Jocelyn Quivers]

I agree there are probably much higher numbers out there. My own experiences it took me about a year of lurking on this site before I finaly stopped coming out with reasons that joining meant I would out myself and the world would come to an end. There are probably a very large number of deeply closeted CD's that feel the same way and have yet to come out the closet.

BTW-It's nice to know I wasn't the only one having difficulties logging onto the site yesterday.

[Eugenie]

Sorry to come with some technical considerations on the attempt to quantify how many of us really...

One of the fundamental rules in statistical analysis is to define the population you are studying...

In our case, who are we counting? The number of CDs will vary several orders of magnitudes depending where one puts the limits to what defines a Crossdresser.

If one counts as CD only those men who dress regularly and have feminine clothes stored more or less openly at home or hidden somewhere we may be getting a much lower number than if we count as CDs all the men who put on a dress for Halloween…

I’m not saying here that we should define here the CD population members…

Ideally a survey should lead to a better understanding of the diversity of CDs, counting how many of us there are would be a by-product…

Yet, for political reasons, counting is important… But only if we have to develop some kind of advocacy…

:hugs:
Eugenie

[Raquel June]

No way could it be 20%. I doubt it's anywhere close to 10%. People like to say 10% of the population is gay, and I think that's wrong, too. Maybe 5%... And in my experience the CD community is smaller than the gay community. Unfounded speculation about how many people are in the closet is useless.


In our case, who are we counting? The number of CDs will vary several orders of magnitudes depending where one puts the limits to what defines a Crossdresser.

Exactly. You have to define a CD very specifically before you can even speculate on statistics like that.

I guess if everybody had the nerve (there are a lot of scared people out there) maybe 20-30% of the male population would wear girl clothes from time to time. Maybe even more.

If we broke down all gender stereotypes, people would just fall where they fell. Every guy would have a certain degree of "girly-ness," and nothing would be strange about that. It would no longer even be girly-ness. Certainly the vast majority of the male population would have certain girly things they did which they wouldn't have done before. Does that make all those men potential CDs? I really don't think so.

The world has gender stereotypes, and as crossdressers we are the ones who are driven to go against them. To me, it is that drive that makes us crossdressers, not the fact that we are comfortable with things which are feminine. So the fact that there are many who may or may not be in the closet to some degree is irrelevant, because nearly every male is in the closet about something feminine, whether it's about secretly not wanting to act tough all the time or secretly wanting to be pretty. If you honestly did want to act tough all the time, you would be a sociopath. If you don't have any desire to be a little pretty and feminine, you're probably a slob who doesn't take care of your body and looks terrible. So depending on how you look at it, you could say 98% of the male population are crossdressers and the other 2% are gross and/or psycho. But that's not a reasonable way to look at things.

[Kieroney]

Its still low, around ten percent, 20 or above sounds way to far fetched.

[Staci]

I think the number of 5% is probably close to right. Plus, I like to think I am a special and unique individual so I hope I'm not like 20 - 25% of the people out there.

[trannie T]

How many crossdressers do you see? How many crossdressers do you know? Even with only a small percentage of us out to any extent there would be at least a few out in the public eye.
I started a thread a while back asking how many knew other crossdressers aside from the internet or in local organizations, the response was hardly any. There was another thread asking about celebrity crossdressers, that list was basically composed of a few that had dressed for a movie role, Eddie Izzard, Ru Paul and J. Edgar Hoover.
If we composed anything like five or ten percent of society there would be many more creoodersser sightings. I seriously doubt that we are more than one or two percent of society. Even that is a lot it would mean there are more than a million crossdressers in the USA.

[Angie G]

It may well be more then 10% With so many deep in the closet. :hugs:
Angie

[shirley1]

my best mates a cder or so i reckon - he was only into wearin underwear as a teenager - but i told him about my cding a few months ago - he wasnt surprised told me he'd been there - he is now rushing into a marraige with a polish girl - i wonder how many guys are scared about cding to the point where they feel the answer is ' i need a women fast to try and cure myself of these desires ' yeh i think its more common than what we think but i'm not sure about the percentages !

[MarinaTwelve200]

It's estimated the number of TG/CD folks is about 5-10% of the general population. While the site was having problems yesterday, I visited a few different ones which I do not normally. A few of the folks on them I knew, including a few I know from here. About 99% of them I did not know and never even heard of. I'm thinking the actual CD/TG population is more like 15-20% if not higher although with the increasing number of folks who join this site, it is probably really closer to reality than many of us think.:happy:

Around 20% is likely right. "anomalies" in natural systems tend to hover around certian set percentages that show up in "bean curves" (standard deveations) and other natural occurances. One common percentage is 3.5%---eg. coresponds with things such as percentage of gay population, percentage of 'criminal' personilities (no connection), and other natural systems that are suposed to be "monolithic", but always have a small anomaly rate.
Another common percentage is 80 and 20 percent---EG. 20 percent of workers produce 80% of goods, or 80% of sales are made by 20% of salesmen. These same kind of numbers are found in many unrelated systems.

Spock on Star Trek simply used known percentage to calculate odds rather some sort of innate super math ability.

[Roberta Lynn]

How Many really?

More than we know and less than we think?? I don't know
I went to the B=All and SCC conferences this year and was amazed at how many people had never heard of this site.
I think that those of us on this and other internet sites are just the tip of the iceberg.

[teresa jeen]

the more people on the planet the more %s go up.

[Cindi Johnson]

I've never seen an estimate made by any professional which comes anywhere near 5%. Might be 1/2 of a percent, maybe 1%, for all types of TG's. Even the previously used estimate for gays, at 10% of the male population, has been ratcheted down in recent years to between 3% and 5%. And surely gays greatly outnumber us.

Ultimately it's probably impossible to get a good handle on these numbers because the stigma attached to TG's trumps honesty. But that said, I live in a large city, I go out dressed very often, yet rarely - very rarely - have I ever encountered another crossdresser. Anecdotal evidence isn't worth much, I know, but still..., it seems to me that we are very rare (and thus very precious).

I wish it weren't so.
Cindi Johnson

[shirley1]

maybe there are a lot of guys that would like to experience cding but maybe you have to have the right brainsex to go with it to actually do it - take it to the point most of us do - i feel strongly i have that natural female side to me its not just about the urges anymore - but i dont believe every guy who gets turned on by the thought or deed of wearing womens clothing has got that ability - so i dont think you can put a percentage on cding its so wide and people do it to varying lenghts and reasons - when i dress i become a female persona ie i act like a girl imagine i am a girl - it comes naturally to me - whats the percentage of men that do that !

[Melissa A.]

I read in a couple of different places that it's estimated that 1 in 3 men have at least tried on an article of women's clothing at one time. I can't say where, and have no idea of the reliability. And there could be a million reasons why one would do so. Experimentation, curiousity, or just fooling around. But if the thought is there in so many, even briefly, then maybe there's alot of real cds out there. Anyway, I have no idea what the percentage of the population could be. I do know that the internet has brought many, many of us out in the open, as we've discovered that we're far from alone. And we're probably the vast minority, as some of you have just said. The actual numbers matter alot less than the fact that we have the ability to break free from loneliness and shame, and be who we are. And slow, general acceptance from others is happening. Real slow! But it is happening. I hope all those still living in fear get the chance to be happy, and proud of who they are.

Hugs,

Melissa:happy:

[AmandaM]

Actually, I hear the number is more like 1-2% tops.

[trannie T]

If each one of us were to go out and ask 100 men, "Are you a crossdresser?" We could then pool our results and have an accurate estimate. Somebody else go first.

[mykhelee]

Concerning making men's clothes out of softer materials.

Men were the first to wear jewelry, high heels, corsets, hose, make up and perfume. It wasn't until the religious fervor of the middle ages swept across Europe that it became wrong for men to wear "soft" clothing. It was considered a sign of weakness by the clergy, weakness is a sin, you know the rest.

[Kate Simmons]

Interesting to see how many "degrees" there are to being a crossdresser or TG person and many of us cannot even "agree" on what constitutes what. Personally, I don't feel that we are all that "unique" as much as we think we are, especially those of us who openly acknowledge we do this. Mykhelee mentioned the clergy. I used to be an alter boy when I was younger. This used to give me some sense of relief by being able to "legally" wear "dresses"(robes, etc.) and jewelery to assist the Priest.Many a woman would be envious of the seasonal wardrobes of the clergy. Yet, a lot of them are men and dress this way in the name of faith and there are no "second thoughts" about it.

Also, in times past many Kings wore all of their finery, which included gowns, jewelery, makeup (Egyptians) and other items which are now be considered "feminine". Others would do likewise by copying them in their mode of dress, especially the wealthy. There is nothing new under the Sun really. We are just "re-inventing" it.;):happy:

[tricia_uktv]

I had heard that it was about 1 in 100. I suspect most males would probably like to try it once to see what it was like but that is hardly crossdressing. The internet has made a difference by I suspect more in getting more of us out than increasing our numbers. 1-2% seems about right to me

[bEEb]

10% of males MIGHT have "tried on" (or even worn) pantyhose....
I think the "1-2% tops" estimate is realistic
(the rest are bottoms) :D
We are scarce.
These groups that attempt to secretly ID themselves in public such as "pinky pals" and the "pink ribbon on the hotel room" door crowd are good examples....
They NEVER can find one another.:straightface:
Geesh! If it were 10% I would be happy to report having 4-5 girlfriends just from my personal pool of acquaintances.:p

[Carol A]

I agree that there are a lot more of us then we know, in fact with all the CDforums around I believe more and more men are coming out. Maybe one day it will be no big deal:heehee:

[MaidInCan]

Does it really matter what the % is? I think that the number classified under CDer's is growing as people became more educated about what cd' ng is about, that your not mentally ill because you are one, that CDers are normal hardworking people with the same aspirations as other people and as more CDer's come out of the closet and are open and honest with non-CDer's. As commented on before, acceptability at home will lead to acceptability outside. The world is changing rapidly and many of the old "Victorian" type viewpoints are vanishing. The world of the CDer can only get better.

[Emma England]

I am not sure of recent figures, but have read that approximately 1 billion people now have internet access.

This is the largest forum for cd's, yet there are only 10,000 members.

Why aren't the other 999,990,000 a member on here then?

[Bobby Anne]

For every crossdresser who becomes one....one leaves, dies or becomes a female. There is no way we will ever be more than 10% max of the entire population.

[joann07]

That would be cool if the kid in the movie "The 6th Sense" and a seventh sense and he would say "I see crossdressers, they're everywhere!". :)

Hugs!

[Raquel June]

I am not sure of recent figures, but have read that approximately 1 billion people now have internet access.

This is the largest forum for cd's, yet there are only 10,000 members.

Why aren't the other 999,990,000 a member on here then?

I don't get your math... 10,000 is 0.001% of a billion. What does your 999,990,000 figure mean?



For every crossdresser who becomes one....one leaves, dies or becomes a female. There is no way we will ever be more than 10% max of the entire population.

That doesn't make sense. How do you justify the statement that one leaves, dies or becomes female every time a new crossdresser is born? If the population is growing (which it is), then more crossdressers are born than leave/die/reassign, unless you are claiming that there is some factor that has caused a decline in number of crossdressers born.

Regardless, there's just no way it would ever be close to 10%. 10% is the high end of figures used to estimate the entire Gay/Lesbian/Transgender population. It's such a ridiculously high estimate of number of crossdressers.

Maybe if you included every guy who had ever at any point in his life gotten a thrill thinking of wearing panties, but I think it's silly to call a guy a crossdresser just because he's a bit of a pervert and gets excited by putting on a single femme item once in awhile when nobody's around.

[Emma England]

I don't get your math... 10,000 is 0.001% of a billion. What does your 999,990,000 figure mean?

You are right - 10,000 is 0.001% of a billion.
or 999,990,000 is 99.999% of a billion

If someone is a crossdresser, do you not think a lot of them would be interested in joining this forum?

It means that 99.999% of internet users are not a member on here. In other words, the vast majority of people in the world do not crossdress.

What is there not to understand?

[Raquel June]

What is there not to understand?

I get it. It's just the "why aren't the other..." statement instead of "why aren't any of the other..." seemed to imply you thought 100% of internet users should be crossdressers. I would've expected you to say something like, "If 10% are crossdressers, that's 100,000,000 internet users, so why aren't the other 99,990,000 on here?"

Not trying to be picky; I just didn't know if it was sarcasm or what.

[Emma England]

There seemed to be a misunderstanding between us.

No I wasn't being sarcastic.

If 10% of the internet's population logged in on here at the same time, I would be surprised that it would not crash.

What I read in previous replies was that crossdressing is growing.
I disagreed by pointing out the numbers of members here is insignificant.

Saying that "why aren't any of the other..." does make more sense. I just didn't express it adequetely.

[Dave3]

I am certain that there are more than anybody realizes, but most people or crossdressers are to ashamed or embarrased to tell someone - oh by the way I really enjoy wearing womens cloths. that comment would get you How far?

Hmm. I am drawn to the opinion that crossdressers are a 'bit like rabbits' - for every 1 you know about, there's at least 10 hidden in the burrows :)

A basic websearch FAILS to reveal any valid reference material regarding emergency room admissions. The comment "Some figures show that 5-10% of men are wearing so called women's underwear when they are brought into a hospital emergency room." can be found here: http://www.geocities.com/lewisinph/qa.html

Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find any definitive medical literature, or the source for such comments as "some figures show".

I do feel that whatever the true statistics are, they GROSSLY underestimate the true number of people who crossdress. How many of us have NOT worn something "feminine" in public out of general apprehension?

I know that for the majority of my life I was TOO S**T SCARED to EVER wear even panties (under drab) outside of the house.

If X% of men addmitted to a hospital emergency room are wearing some form of womens clothing, the number who do crossdress - at least in the privacy of their own home (and even then perhaps NOT very often) - is probably going to be at least 10x (perhaps much much more...). And let's face it, most of us crossdressers are highly skilled at NOT 'getting CAUGHT'. (Have you ever been to hospital? Were YOU wearing womens clothes at the time?)

How many really? - Probably far more than any statistics would suggest.

(But again, that's just a guess, and it's only my opinion).

[Dalece]

I don't know about % And the number Of Gurls we have here. I keep hearing about more CD that don't know of the forum. or in other words when I mention that I CD. It is Iknow this guy that Cd to. If it wasn't for the world being the way it is I believe more of us would be out and about. As Dave3 says rabbits in holes.

[Kate Simmons]

Actually, yes. I did go to the ER once en femme when I collapsed at the club one time. The only comment I really heard was:"How can he wear those breast forms? They must be hot." Other than that they were purely professional and more concerned about my health. The experience was quite interesting really, especially since I had to call my wife to pick me up at 3 AM.:happy:

[Mary Morgan]

I think the number of TG/CD that will even admit to it in any kind of public forum (internet) is a relatively small percentage of the TG/CD population. People are very concerned these days about their security, and I know as a young person working in a very public job, I was reluctant to be "out" at any level. I also hold the somewhat radical view that if the average male would submit to "trying it", he would find it exciting and hard to resist.

[Nicki B]

Only one thing is certain - we don't know and can't know. It's not a matter of statistics, but one of probabilities?

There are a large number of people who haven't discovered what they are yet, found the internet, or come out of the closet - from our own experiences of our own development, we are the tip of the iceberg?

Given the social pressure for any evidence (e.g. ER rooms) to remain hidden and if you define 'crossdressing' as any wear of clothing of the opposite sex, then it's highly likely that there's a lot of it about. We're just very good at hiding it...

[Sinthia]

I am having a great time laughing at these responses. From 1 per cent to as high as 20 or 25 per cent. I don't feel putting on an article meant for a woman once or twice in five years should count as a crossdresser, just someone who is curious. But someone who dons panties and dresses several, or more, times a year is in our boat with us. As for percentages put forth, remember that a lot of people world wide cannot go to any site like we can. So their numbers cannot be used in the equasion.
And don't forget the many that will not admit (myself for many years) that they crossdress. In my humble opinion, I think the number is in the realm of 5 to 10 per cent, but that is only my guess. Although I am not as much into it as many of you are, as I do not wear a wig or makeup, jewelry, etc., and will never pass even if I did, I still enjoy what I do and like readin the posts that are put here. It lets me know that I am not alone in my desire to cross dress, and that it is perfectly all right to do so. Hopefully, as time goes on, a bigger percentage will come out of the closet and join us openly.

[Raquel June]

Hmm. I am drawn to the opinion that crossdressers are a 'bit like rabbits' - for every 1 you know about, there's at least 10 hidden in the burrows :)

...

"Some figures show that 5-10% of men are wearing so called women's underwear when they are brought into a hospital emergency room."

...

I do feel that whatever the true statistics are, they GROSSLY underestimate the true number of people who crossdress.

You think that 5-10% GROSSLY understimates it???


i think there is lot more than 20%
can't really judge by forum numbers
i will use myself as example.
i been using internet since bbs days and long before we seen even things like 9600kbps modems that were considered speed beasts.

...

most people around here start in secret and i bet most out there have it as deep secret thing as well that they do not want exposed.

based on this i think there could be hell lot more pople than 20%, i wouldn't be surpised if 50% or 100% of man were doing it.

I remember using CompuServ with a 300bps modem on a Commodore 64 :)

OK, I was 8 years old... But I did use Prodigy on a 2400 baud modem a lot, and spent a lot of time downloading porn from BBSs on a 386 at 14.4kbps in my day.

ANYWAY...

You're just being silly with your numbers. Let's take some gross over-generalizations here...

1 billion people are on the internet. 10,000 people are on this forum.

(note that this is not actually correct; this forum has 9,597 members, and no doubt some people have multiple accounts, and not everybody on this forum is even a CD)

So 0.001% of the people on the internet are on this forum (although, as I said, this is an overestimate).

Half the crossdressers I know are on this forum, not because I told them about it but because they'd found it on their own. None of them are very active posters, but they do have accounts. So in my experience, this forum isn't a big secret. Let's pretend it is, though. In my expereince it's 50%, but I'll admit that's high, so let's pretend it's 500 times lower than that. Let's pretend that only 1 in 1000 crossdressers ever made an account here. That means 1% of the population is a CD.

(Note that the 1% figure would actually mean that only 1 in 6,600 crossdressers has an account here, because according to the above estimates, only 15% of the world population uses the Internet)

If you think 5-10% of the population is a CD, you have a very broad definition of CD. I think it's silly to call someone a CD just because they thought of trying on a pair of panties one time in their life, or because they got a thrill out of the way nylons felt against their skin one time. If that's all the dedication you need to be a CD, then that means everybody is a CD except for a couple weirdo homophobic or brain damaged or totally asexual people.

Seriously, if you think more than 10% of the world population is a crossdresser, that means that less than one in every 66,000 found this forum. So, let's say every person in the city of Chicago was a crossdresser (2.8 million), that would mean that less than 50 found the largest online community for their city. That is, you're being ridiculous in your assumptions or being totally unreasonable with the scope of your definition of crossdressing.

REGARDLESS...

Even if you do define crossdressers so broadly, the people you're defining as crossdressers do not define it as such. If you think 20%+ of the population is a CD, and you think every guy who's ever tried on a pair of panties for fun is a CD, that doesn't make any sense.

Let's see... Bob is an accountant. Bob is married. Bob has tried on a couple pairs of panties in his life. Hell, maybe he even masturbated in them constantly a few years ago. But Bob does not consider himself a crossdresser. Bob does not go by Roberta in any online forums. If Bob knew you thought of him as a "sister," Bob would call you a f*ggot and punch you in the face.

So I guess what I'm saying is that speculating is a little weird. Why did you find this forum? Because crossdressing was a part of your life and you sought it out. You wanted to find your sisters. We're glad you're here. But if you're saying only 1 in 10,000 crossdressers find this forum (which is what you're saying if you think 10% of the population is a CD)... well, then they probably weren't all that serious about it anyway, and I don't feel a great sense of sisterhood with those people.

[Janet Bern]

I read that the percentage of men that wear womans clothes of some type are 20% of the male population. I would venture to guess that more than 10%are regular CDs like us.
I also read that 80% of the CDs are hetero and would tend to belive that from the many I have talk to on the interenet. Havent met any in person yet but hope to meet a few someday.
Janet

[Cindi Johnson]

Judging from this thread, it's clear statistics is a weak point in American education. Raquel's (Amazon Princess) analysis is, however, superb.

Another way to look at it: the population of the USA is about 10% black. Many of you are saying that there are as many male crossdressers in this country as their are male AND female blacks. C'mon!! For most of us the urge to go out into the world is intense, and yet (as I pointed out earlier) you'll rarely encounter a sister during your travels through this life.

Maybe we're more in numbers than the 1/2% I suggested earlier, but we are nonetheless few. I wish it weren't so, just like I wish that many millions of bible-thumpers didn't hate us just for being ourselves, but what I wish does not make it so.

Cindi Johnson

[Jamee]

It's hard to say for sure. I live in a very conservitive area so if there
are any they are in the closet like myself. I would have to go out of the
area to go out in public. I'm sure that there are others around this area
who feel the same way.

[Samantha43]

Raquel937, you put a great amount of thought into what you wrote, and made some great points. I did a great amount of research many years ago when I was insecure and thought I was some kind of freak for wanting to dress like a female. It is a need I have had all of my life. All of the information I read, and it may be dated, stated that between 3% and 5% of the male population was believed to actively crossdress. My personal feelings are towards 5%. I feel many other men would probably persue it and enjoy it if society would allow it, but they are afraid of the repercussions. It took me a while to come to terms with my needs, and through the research I did, I have embraced crossdressing as a gift that I have. Nothing is more relaxing and more rewarding for me. I think as time passes, and society becomes more accepting, that 5% number will grow as more men realize they have the need and will actively persue it.

[lexiegirl619]

5-10% is a claculation determined from....where? the calculation is an estimate- unlike the popular opinion thus far- Never have I had a census taker ask me if I am "transgendered, trans-sexual, cd or how I see my gender identity"-= so where do they get this estimate from- "the number of some source "outted" individuals :hugs:

[Laura Jane]

You are right - 10,000 is 0.001% of a billion.
or 999,990,000 is 99.999% of a billion

If someone is a crossdresser, do you not think a lot of them would be interested in joining this forum?

It means that 99.999% of internet users are not a member on here. In other words, the vast majority of people in the world do not crossdress.

What is there not to understand?


Argh, but you have to factor out the non english speakers, say only 25% speak english (probably less can read and write in english!) to come to a percentage.

Lets assume that around half the internet users are men (certainly in the West, may be higher elsewhere) and I also assume we are judging M2F cders here as F2M are an even rarer breed.

So, assuming you meant a real Billion (a Thousand Million) that leaves 125 million and we have 10,000 members so 0.008%! But that would not be evenly spread, with a higher percentage in the more free and easy countries and less in poor and repressed places.

But judging by the agressive bidding on UK size 14-18 clothes on ebay, you would thing every tom dick and harry pulls on a nylons and lyrca!

[Kate Simmons]

I figured that the answers would be varied. Whatever the real percentage is, we seem to be multiplying like wabbits and coming out of the woodwork these days. Crazy CD's. Give 'em an inch and they take a mile. What's this world coming to anyway?:rolleyes:

[Sinthia]

Another way to look at it: the population of the USA is about 10% black. Many of you are saying that there are as many male crossdressers in this country as their are male AND female blacks. C'mon!! For most of us the urge to go out into the world is intense, and yet (as I pointed out earlier) you'll rarely encounter a sister during your travels through this life.



Cindi Johnson[/QUOTE]

Cindi . . . You can see when someone is black (except for Michael Jackson) but you cannot see my panties when I am going down the street. You also cannot see inside my home to see what I am wearing, so do not judge a CD by the clothes you can see him wear.

[windycissy]

No idea what the percentage is, but I'll bet that way over half the male population has secretly wondered what it must feel like to be a chick, and dress in her clothes...maybe what sets us apart is the courage to actually try it?

[Drucilla]

The US population is roughly 303,000,000 or about
150,000,000 males. If 10% crossdressed that would be
15,000,000 !!!!! Even if the percentage is less than 10% it's still a lot of us running around in the US---not to mention the rest of the world !!!

[Aeslyn]

I only know numbers in Canada, and 5 - 10% here would be 1.5 million to 3 million people of the whole population, so a little less than half that would be the estimated numbers of male CD's. That's still over a million people in this one country alone and we aren't even in the top ten for population size.
Based on this, I'd expect to see high numbers on sites like this. I mean... do you think I have anyone in my life that I can be myself with. I'm too damned chicken even though I live in one of North America's most excepting cities of alternative lifestyles and right in the heart of the Gay/Les/CD part of town. I have 8 CD's that I know of in my building alone. Yet online is the only place Aeslyn gets to play.
So, I don't think that the numbers you are seeing on these sites is representative of a true higher percentage of CD's in the population, not when North America alone is bound to have several million.
I do, however, fully agree that many more would dress if they thought it would be excepted. I am sure that 99% of people have had at least on experience where they have worn clothes of the opposite sex, either out of necessity or fun, and I am sure many of them have realized how much nicer girl's clothes are than mens.

[Raquel June]

I have 8 CD's that I know of in my building alone. Yet online is the only place Aeslyn gets to play.

Huh? Sounds like you have 8 places to play in your building alone. :)

How do you know that there are 8 CDs in your building?

[Aeslyn]

Huh? Sounds like you have 8 places to play in your building alone. :)

How do you know that there are 8 CDs in your building?

It's a building of about 88 people (all single residencies) but most of us are quite friendly with each other and there is a community feel to it, so I see a lot of residence often and there are 8 people I have seen dressed both ways.
As for me, I'm still to chicken, even with them since I know they are very open. I am worried that if I opened up to one of them someone would find out about me through them. But, I do think they are all very nice guys and girls... well, ok, one of the guys is an ass when he's drunk which is all the time, but as a girl she is very pleasant.

[JoAnnDallas]

One has to be careful about Statistics. It is common knowledge in the Scientific circles that Statistics can be have been flawed when not done correctly. Case in point One says a study shows only 1% of the public is a CDer. First what defines a CDer. Does going out dressed in clothing of the opposite sex be considered crossdressing? If so then the reality is CDing is more like 30-40% of the population. Why do I say this? Because I don't only count the MTF and the FTM, I also count the GG population. Women wearing male clothing in public is common place today. It is also a form of crossdressing, since they ARE wearing clothing of the opposite sex. Have you not seen ads for women called "MaleWear". Including these GG, statistics will then show that the percentage of CDer is a lot higher than you think.

Sorry just my scientific mind rambling again.

[TammyB]

I think the 10%+ occasionally quoted refers to the number of men who will admit to having worn womens clothing at some point either for kink reasons, or for a laugh or whatever, in an anonymous survey.

I dont think it reflects the number of self identified trans folk, which is more like 1% I'd guess.