Estimate of U.S. Transgender Population Doubles to 1.4 Million Adults

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Comments

The numbers will grow

Angharad's picture

because it seems almost as if anything not absolutely male or female now becomes transgender.

Angharad

Isn't that what transgender is?

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

We've long said that gender is a continuum with masculine at one end and feminine at the other. While probably no one actually sits at either end, most people reside very near one end or the other close to their physical sex. The rest of us live somewhere in between while a few are very close to the end opposite their physical sex.

Myself, I'm near the middle, only slightly closer to the feminine end, yet I feel I'm transgender. I'm more comfortable expressing my feminine traits then the masculine ones. As a result, I prefer women's clothes over men's. So much so I've nearly divested my wardrobe of male clothing, choosing the masculine cut women's clothes for those times I need to appear masculine. (Church, work, family doings, etc.)

Please don't tell me that because I don't desire SRS I'm not trans...

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann

I wouldn't dream of telling you

Angharad's picture

any such thing. At the same time being 30 years post transition and 25 post op I don't like being included in any term but female.

Angharad

Understand

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

I understand that. In your position I'm sure that I'd feel the same. After all you went to a lot of trouble to get where you are. You being in this community is a plus for the rest of us.

For me, I'll be happy to simply be considered feminine.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann

I always thought that a

I always thought that a transgender person would pretty much identify as the gender they feel like.

A MtF would identify as a woman and vice versa would identify as a man.

If the abovementioned number is not just including transgender people who identify as the gender they feel/ like they are/know they are supposed to be, it is likely that the rise is thanks to all the made up Tumblr 'genders' and the rise of the social justice warrior hipsters.

In which case they are probably pretending to gain attention because to the Tumblr types, being normal is .

The above is not really a comment specifically about your comment, but about the wider issue.

The Encouraging Things About This...

... includes:

1) that it appears fewer people are afraid to admit it, even to themselves.
2) that there is greater public knowledge about the condition and its manifestations.
3) that there is a growing Public Health and policy interest in understanding the needs of this population.
4) it's not quite the stigma or prurient interest it used to be.

I agree (but ....

For those who do undergo transition - then what's the problem - they are their new selves;
For those who want SRS (especially if in RLT) then they too should be viewed as they wish;
For those who present as feminine with no wish to go to SRS - then they should be viewed as they wish;
For those who like to dress up sometimes - I am unsure of their transgender status - but when dressed surely they deserve to be viewed as they present.
And (I think) the numbers rise from the SRS-completed - to the SRS-interested to the feminine to the cross-dresser.
And I have no genuine idea what the numbers are.
And I suspect the pro- and the anti- both exaggerate somewhat.
I like my dresses and skirts and frills - even if I can't wear them often.
best wishes
Alys P