(Thinking out loud) why so many of us?

[sandra-leigh]

Then the internet. The 80's saw more "coming out" but they were still the subculture that was associated with sexual things and that is what you commonly saw (especially with the 15 minute download of the *******).

The Internet was the 1990's. Seriously -- HTTP was demonstrated in fall 1991. The 1980's was dial-up BBS's.

Gays had to do this for years. Many even had a "beard" which was a female they married (or dated) so that they could go out. They kept it on the down low. Then Stonewall (as a major turning point but there were others) and they said "Enough!" They took the TG community under their wing and carried us for 30 years but we didn't do anything to advance the cause.

Stonewall was triggered by the police coming in to arrest crossdressers!

I think it is an oversimplification to say that we didn't do anything to advance the cause in the last 30 years. Those gender equality laws did not come about because the GLB thought it would be a nice xmas present for us. The upcoming DSM changes are not going quietly unremarked.

[KellyJameson]

Perhaps the extreme forms of femininity and masculinity are built from our animal natures of sex and survival through aggression but being human is not only about our animal nature but our human spirit that seeks more than just mere survival and reproduction but meaning and purpose.

The greater the distance from living in a state of automatic survival reflex to a being that transcends the death instinct and experiences connectivity to all things ( Love ) the less they live as pure female or male. We live with two minds, one animal and one spirit, both capable of doing good or causing harm.

You see the tension in the world between dualism and nondualism, the female and male in separate bodies or both within one body regardless of biology. Our minds (spirit) want to break free from the constraints and limitations imposed on us by the physical realities of the world we live in.

Being on the LGBT spectrum may be about spiritual evolution which is accelerating at an alarming rate evidenced by the nature of violence along matters of religion throughout the world due to rising tensions caused by dualism/nondualism

Plus I really like how I look in a skirt and heels. Have a Wonderful New year !

[Mikaela]

I think you need to challenge that assumption that this is genetic. We 'want' it to be so we have something beyond our control to point to and say "it is my nature".

And trying to correlate data over a period of time in which data gathering was not being done is like proving that the loss of pirates is causing global warming.

[Marleena]

Mikaela I wish it was that easy to explain away. There has been some scientific research to that end. Here is just one link, there are many more studies done out there. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7689007.stm

and here: http://www.transgenderlondon.com/What%20Causes%20It.htm

I wish I could explain away my GID. It's not fetish or for erotic reasons for me.

[Mikaela]

I never said it wasn't biological or that you were manifesting a fetish. But biology and genetics are not mutually inclusive. Your article even says that this isn't a gene that causes transsexualism (although the title seems otherwise), it is a gene that reduces testosterone action and there's a high correlation in transsexuals. Correlation is not causation (it could be, but not guaranteed)

[Marleena]

I never said it wasn't biological or that you were manifesting a fetish. But biology and genetics are not mutually inclusive. Your article even says that this isn't a gene that causes transsexualism (although the title seems otherwise), it is a gene that reduces testosterone action and there's a high correlation in transsexuals. Correlation is not causation (it could be, but not guaranteed)

Somebody will figure it out some day. I just know what it isn't in my own instance.

[kimdl93]

I'd go with assumption that the proportions are similar now as in the past.

[jillleanne]

There are various studies about identfying just that. How accurate are they? Subjective I'm sure. As evolution continues, I suspect like all species, we will adapt according to enviromental needs. If a breed needs more young to sustain the breed, more females will be born. If too many of one species exist, less females will be born and so too it goes with the species' predators. It's all linked. It is estimated recently approximately 3% of the US population is gender enhanced, or, tg. No one knows for sure primarily because of the proverbial closet so many stay in all their lives. I would not want to be the one who has to try to come up with some sort of accuracy as to the increase/decrease of tg people as a whole.

[Meg East]

My guess is there are less latent cd out there, more of us are participating in the online community.

[Karren H]

It's really a subversive alien virus spread through the internet that turns men into submissive women... When they launch their attack we'll be defenseless because they know we won't fight back if there's a chance we'll get a run in our nylons of chip a nail!! Lol. Little do the realize how much damage a large handbag or a stiletto heel can do!

[Marleena]

It's really a subversive alien virus spread through the internet that turns men into submissive women... When they launch their attack we'll be defenseless because they know we won't fight back if there's a chance we'll get a run in our nylons of chip a nail!! Lol. Little do the realize how much damage a large handbag or a stiletto heel can do!

Lol...not mention what we'll do once that probe comes out, they'll get their eyes clawed out with my fake nails! They have no idea who they're dealing with!

[Foxglove]

It's really a subversive alien virus spread through the internet that turns men into submissive women... When they launch their attack we'll be defenseless because they know we won't fight back if there's a chance we'll get a run in our nylons of chip a nail!! Lol. Little do the realize how much damage a large handbag or a stiletto heel can do!

Not to mention a hockey stick or a puck in the teeth.

It would be very difficult to say whether our numbers are increasing, simply because it's so hard to gather data. But we are here now, we've always been around, we'll always be around. We are invincible (he said, shaking his fist at the heavens)!

[Marleena]

Okay, so we finally have an answer! I think all of us girls should get together and go to Area 51 and tie the aliens to poles. Then Karren can can take slapshots at them! That'll show the little buggers!

[Marilyn Beck]

I'm sure nobody has the answer but this crosses my mind quite often. We read being TG is a genetic and biological condition. It's also documented to be centuries old. Are we growing in number or is just that there is more awareness due to the internet and other media?

As I understand it, the question addresses the number or percentage of people who identify as "being TG" and not necessarily the number or percentage who engage in the behavior of crossdressing.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to dress and be treated as a female, which I think makes me TG. However, during most of my 55 years I did not actually crossdress or disclose my TG condition to anyone. Only in the last few years have I come out to my wife, acquired women's clothes and crossdressed on a regular basis. I think there are many others on this forum that have a similar history. In my case (and I believe for many others), the internet has been a huge factor in my recent crossdressing activity. Not only has the internet enabled me to privately gather information that has increased my awareness and personal acceptance of crossdressing, it has enabled me to discreetly acquire clothing and accessories by shopping online. Another factor that has led to my increased crossdressing is aging. Due to my daughters growing up and moving away, coupled with my recent (semi) retirement, I now have much more private time to crossdress. I think there are many other "baby boomers" on this forum that similarly have increased opportunities to crossdress.

In summary, I believe there has been a substantial increase in crossdressing behavior in recent years caused by the internet (which has increased awareness, acceptance and shopping opportunities) and demographics (more empty nest baby boomers with free time). But I am not aware of any evidence indicating that the number or percentage of people who identify as TG has increased.

[Marleena]

Good points Marilyn! I think the numbers are much higher than we know, too. Many people stay hidden out of fear and rejection.

[Karren H]

Okay, so we finally have an answer! I think all of us girls should get together and go to Area 51 and tie the aliens to poles. Then Karren can can take slapshots at them! That'll show the little buggers!

And dress them up like female aliens!!

[BillieJoEllen]

The internet definitely opened up a wealth of information for us. I had been dressing for 11 years before seeing my first publication concerning CDing. It was pretty much kept a BIG SECRET from most everyone else and it was against the law when I was growing up. Pretty much everyone that did hear of anyone CDing put those people down and very much derided them. Times have changed. I've mixed feelings about that because I loved the varieties of clothes that I grew up with as compared to today but on the other hand I would have liked the freedom and access to knowledge that we now enjoy today.

[Foxglove]

And dress them up like female aliens!!

E.T., the Sequel: Petticoat Discipline. Buy it on DVD!

[Miranda-E]

The Internet was the 1990's. Seriously -- HTTP was demonstrated in fall 1991. The 1980's was dial-up BBS's.

the Web was 1990's but the web was NOT the begining internet. usenet, shell accounts, e-mail, VT-100 E's, unix, door gateways, search engines, all alive and well long before the 1990s

[Acastina]

It's really a subversive alien virus spread through the internet that turns men into submissive women... When they launch their attack we'll be defenseless because they know we won't fight back if there's a chance we'll get a run in our nylons of chip a nail!! Lol. Little do the realize how much damage a large handbag or a stiletto heel can do!

The New York Times has Gail Collins; CD.com has Karren Hutton. Obviously, CD.com got to choose first. Karren, was Rodney Dangerfield your uncle?

On topic: I felt compelled to start learning about CD in the late 60s and really got into it a decade later, applying the skills of a graduate degree to my intense need to know more. My take would be that the percentages are probably fairly stable, but societal acceptance and reinforcement varies greatly in different eras and cultures.

This follows from my belief that the theories of prenatal brain development anomalies (due to mis-timed or mis-dosed hormonal infusions from Mom) are probably as predictive as left-handedness (which I think is a great analogy) or red hair in terms of incidence over time in any given population. It may be "genetic" that one's mom has defectively produced the chemicals necessary for decisive sex differentiation, but the imperfect, ambiguous differentiation that is us is not in itself genetic; it's developmental.

The fact that there are Biblical references and rules, plus all the Joan of Arcs and Chevalier D'Eons scattered through history, shows us that this is nothing new. How we're able to respond to it, is different now.

In other words, the phenomena occur regularly, but visibility varies. With the big help of the Internet, we're probably living in some of the best of times for folks like us, at least in Western cultures not overly influenced by fundamentalist religious fervor, which always seems to go after the behavioral strays as pawns in the enforcement of conformity.