how many?

[YBtheOutlaw]

i've been wondering lately, how many of people around us could be trans. now that i know quite a bit about trans issues, whenever i see somebody even slightly inclined towards the opposite gender i start wondering nonsense such as 'could that person be trans? would they be annoyed if i refer to them in their assignede gender's pronouns? will they fall into depression or commit suicide if they don't receive help in time? blah blah blah'

so has there been any proper research on what percentage of a population is generally occupied by trans people? how many go far enough to kill themselves? how many actually get the chance to live the life they prefer?

[Ms Grace]

It's hard to know... some cis people deliberately exhibit opposite gender traits but are still very happy and comfortable in their same gender. On the other hand many trans people, especially when struggling with their gender identity, often try extra hard to fit into the gender society has assigned to them and at times might appear more cis than cis people! (I'm surprised by the number of M2Fs I've met online who have joined the army at some stage for just the reason.) I sometimes find myself trying to second guess a person's "true gender" and really wish I wouldn't... better to accept them at face value unless they say otherwise. 

[Ltl89]

I'd guess a lot less than we imagine.  Since we are trans, it's easy to see "signs" and mistakenly assume they are also trans or at least gender dysphoric.  For that reason, I never really try to assume or guess another person is trans unless it is blatantly obvious.  Sure, you may encounter other trans people, it's just going to be a small minority.  That's my take on it. 

[A]

Don't worry about it. If someone is trans, either they're gonna make it so that you'll call them the gender they prefer, either the problem is theirs to handle and a professional will be much more appropriate than any worry of yours, either they might be trans but don't WANT you to call them their preferred gender yet, since they're not presenting as such for now. Some trans people don't pass, true, but if a trans woman wants to be called a woman, no matter how her actual body looks or how her voice sounds, if she's wearing a dress, chances are that she wants to be called she.

Really, things are much more straightforward than one might think. As long as you address people the gender they appear to be presenting as, not the gender they appear to be born as or the gender you think they might secretly be inside, you're gonna be fine.

[Emmaline]

You have to wonder don't you?

Since gender is on a continuum I guess its a 'how long is a piece of string' question.

I do wonder how many suicides are undiagnosed gender dysphoria though.  The '45% by age 20' figure I have seen a couple of times (though have not checked validity of sources) seems to me to be based on sketchy data at best.  How many do not know (I was 38 when I found out)- how many are hidden- how many are in denial and sadly how many lose the battle without anyone knowing?

But I agree about projecting ones own issues.  I see gender issues  all around me in the street that are probably not there. 

I... see... trans... people...

[YBtheOutlaw]

exactly! there was once this person in our school, 2 or 3 yrs older than me, who i perceived to be of 'my kind' which i didn't know by then to refer to as transguys. there were rumours that they came to school in a motorbike, and that they ran into a fight with some boys over a girl. they had bragged about the letters they receive from girls on valentines day with a friend of mine, they actually had related the story to my friend as something funny, but i took it as bragging.
however they live in an orphanage very close to our house and i often get to see them at the bus stand. one day i saw them in full feminine clothes, behaving so like a girl. they continued to be like this until they finished schooling. the only thing i could make out of the incident was that they had been 'caught' and persuaded somehow to live as a woman. i was terrified i'd have a similar fate if i made myself open, so i crawled deep into the closet. now they dress and walk the way they used to anyway. how many more could be there?

[Amelia]

I can relate to this as well.
Several times have I seen things that probably aren't really there.
I guess sometimes we just desire to be understood, so we want there to be others like us who we can relate to.

[suzifrommd]

From research I've read, seems to be somewhere between 1 in 300 to 1 in 500.

[Aina]

I understand you YB, I do it also, I wonder about a few people I've seen around my campus. Yet I would never say anything other then how the present themselves.

Lately I try not to wonder so much, not sure it is a very productive use of time hehe. 


EDIT: But oh how I wish I could become good friends with another transgender individual.

[Shaina]

But I agree about projecting ones own issues.  I see gender issues  all around me in the street that are probably not there. 

I... see... trans... people...

Oh that's funny But I agree with everything the other posters have said. There may be less than you think because you're looking for signs. There may be more than you think because other trans people trying not to show signs.

We may never know and I'd honestly never want there to be a census for fear of it falling into the hands of a crazy transphobic person...

[matthewzguitarz]

I have wondered this too, a lot actually. Really wish I a transgender person in my town so I could sort of be brave enough to tell my family that I think I am mtf(or actually it is more of that I know I am.. or I am just going crazy like my brother seems to think).

[spacerace]

so has there been any proper research on what percentage of a population is generally occupied by trans people? how many go far enough to kill themselves? how many actually get the chance to live the life they prefer?

UCLA study from 2011 says 700,000 in U.S.

http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/how-many-people-are-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender/

also this link has suicide rates broken down by demographic somewhere in the document I think. I haven't looked through in awhile, but at a glance I found this in it:

http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_full.pdf

"A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population"