Everything I read says FTMs are more rare than MTFs, although every transsexual in real life I have met is FTM. I'm thinking this is because more FTMs are coming out. Most people didn't, and still don't know FTMs even exist/existed, so it could be that it's because we're becoming more visible, I suppose.

Also, on another note, most FTMs here know of the lesbian blogger that shall not be named. She goes on about how we're misogynist and we're really just butch lesbians mutilating our bodies or something or whatever. I don't really know. I don't know about you guys, but I never, when I identified as female, even looked like a butch lesbian.
Actually, what I wanted to say when bringing this up was this. Many FTMs start out as butch lesbians, and many MTFs start out as feminine gay men. Realize I'm generalizing, this isn't always the case. It's easier to identify as gay. So, pretty much, we were in hiding I guess you could say.
Transitioning doesn't make us misogynist or anything like that. We were never lesbians.
We were guys trying to live as butch lesbians.
Misogynist? Not at all. There's a huge difference between a butch lesbian and an FTM that I don't think people understand.
I think what I was trying to say through that was that more FTMs are figuring out that they're actually FTM after living as a butch lesbian. Basically, they were finding themselves, you know?

Just saying.

Anyway, I brought up the "are there more MTFs or FTMs" thing because I know an FTM who recently came out and I was all, "OH MY GOD I'M NOT ALONE". Then again, I think he was one of those people at my friend's birthday party that told me my hair was too long for me to be a boy (my hair grew out. ><) But I can over look that because I like not being the only transperson I know.

Though I feel intimidated around him. XD Honestly, other trans people intimidate me. I'm not sure why. Mainly transguys. I'm terrified of being like...considered less trans or something because he's more masculine than me, probably. I mean, I lean more towards being masculine, but I have feminine traits as well. And...I don't know. Transguys intimidate me. Not so sure about transgirls since I've never met one face-to-face.

(For all I know, he could be feminine and dress in drag - which I'm pretty sure he does, actually, when I was talking to him).


I'm just thinking here. This post was pretty much me just thinking. I'm really happy today. Today was an amazing day. Especially considering I was depressed as ->-bleeped-<- earlier this week and ended up cutting myself until I nearly fainted (and then I went a slept for a couple of hours. Probably not good. I could've died.)
Today, I haven't had the urge to cut at all, which is unusual, seeing as I normally have this burning desire to cut myself. I think I finally, fully accepted myself as trans and that's what makes me feel better. I came to the conclusion that I'm a guy and I don't give a ->-bleeped-<- what other people think or have to say about it.
Yeah, that's probably why I feel so good.
It'll feel great not to go on about depressing ->-bleeped-<- for an hour to my therapist tomorrow.

Okay, it's almost midnight and I have to wake up in five hours to go to school. Good night everybody. O:

I have heard that 1 in every 30 000 male-bodied people are MTF and 1 in every 100 000 female-bodied people are FTM.  However, when I looked into it further, they found these statistics from people seeking Sexual Reassignment Surgery [in the US].  Just from being on these boards you can tell that many more MTFs opt for genital surgeries than FTMs.  In fact, it's not very common for an FTM to seek bottom surgery (It seems to me, anyways).

And yes, I have heard such bloggers call transsexualism in female-bodied people "a fad".  It may be perceived as such for a number of reasons: (I'm not sure if any of these speculations are true)

1. The bloggers in question are more focused on FTM issues.
2a. FTMs are coming out at younger ages then MTFs because it has less social stigma.
2b. Younger people are more likely to communicate through social media such as Youtube, therefore having more of an internet presence.
3. As information on FTM Transsexualism becomes more publicly accessible, more FTMs are coming out and transitioning because they never knew it was possible before.
4. There are more people in the world, therefore more transsexuals.

So as for real numbers of FTM vs. MTF, I have no clue.

[Edit: In study out of Holland from the Amsterdam Gender Dysphoria Clinic, they looked at over 40 years of files and gave estimates of 1 in every 10 000 male assigned are MTF and 1 in every 30 000 female assigned are FTM.]

[Oh, another edit: Could it be that since we are FTM ourselves, we are more likely to be on the lookout for other FTMs? (So they seem more common to us?)]

I've heard the estimate is that .2-1% of the population is transgendered, but I don't know the split between MtFs and FtMs.  With the 1 in 100,000, do you know if that includes people who just get top surgery? 

Quick comment on the butch lesbian thing: I was really feminine through end of high school/start of college and never identified as lesbian or was actively part of the LGBT community.  I went from that through 'girly isn't really me' to 'girl isn't really me.'  I can see how many FtMs could come from an initial butch identity, but it bothers me that people can just dismiss us all as confused butch lesbians. 

Quote from: Lee on January 12, 2011, 11:59:35 PMWith the 1 in 100,000, do you know if that includes people who just get top surgery?

Wikipedia actually has a pretty good summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transsexualism#Prevalence

I can't tell whether they include top surgery or not.

I'm gay, so no butch lesbianism for me :'P. I was more "That really manly girl who your boyfriend secretly wants to date and sleep with because she gets him better than you" growing up xD. I'm not even that butch really. I mean, I'm definitely one of the manliest people you'll meet ;'D. I'm technically manlier than my boyfriend who's biologically male xD. I'm also at the same time a very typical gay guy :'P. I obsess over my hair, I watch football for the sexy men (and love of the sport of course :'P), I freaking love unicorns, I'm obsessed with cooking, I enjoy anal sex, I urinate glitter, ect. So yeah, I have no idea where I fit in the "confused lesbian" theory.

Regarding other trans people, I only know one other in person. I've only met them online. Oddly enough, they are all FtM xD. I know one tansguy dating a transgirl, but I've never met his girlfriend. The only person I know in person is my cross dressing boyfriend. Even then, I'm the only one who knows except for the people he lets me tell and one of his friends. He's a 230 pound football player and Mexican, he's sadly very ashamed of it and it doesn't help that the only one of his friends who knows gave him ->-bleeped-<- for it when he told her. Oddly enough, my friends accept him more and even love him for it. So yeah, not much of a support system for me xD. Still, better than back in Vegas. Don't let people fool you, Nevada is a very conservative state. Part of the reason I moved out here to Los Angeles was to feel safer coming out (and my boyfriend :'D). Gave up my gun rights for it too ;_;!

Females have more latitude to express themselves in clothing and behaviour than men. It is true, that females are pushed into roles. But they can wear trousers and such. They can behave from sensitive girly to dominant, insensitive burtes, yet still be generally part of mainstreme society.

Males are more inhibited. Generally, they must wear male type clothing, and certainly behave as males.

Now we know, from these pages, that many people live in varying levels of transision, entirely without permission. These will not be counted in statistics.

I'm sure few here will deny that the pressures not to transision on all of us are pretty great. Those that spend their lives resisting won't be counted.

It could be that many gfemales simply opt for limited self expresion rather than risk the enormous social and financial penalities of transision. Again, not counted.

While, transgender, seems to be thankfully rare, I have always suspected that it is a lot more common than is assumed.

Like Darth_Taco, I'm gay, so I never identified as a lesbian in any way I found that the guys who were into me were so because I 'wasn't like the other girls' at all, which always makes me wonder if what a guy's really looking for in a girl is a guy

Everyone around me knew I was into guys because I would loudly proclaim it, unlike the girls around me who were like 'Oh, he's very nice isn't he?' in hushed voices I'd be the one going 'Dayum! I'd tap that!' But despite that I did still get called a lesbian by people, and was just like, 'Uhhh...wtf?'.

Appart from my drooling over guys, I'm very straight acting. I suspect people who don't know me will only realise I'm gay when I ask them if they agree that a guy is hot, so as far as stereotyping goes, I don't really fit the mold

As for the thing about statistics, I really can't say that I believe them. We as a misunderstood/stigmatised minority can spend years, if not our whole lives in hiding. The only way they're going to get these statistics is from us telling them, and I'm sure that there are a lot more closseted trans people out there than outed ones, the same for gay/lesbian people too.

My experience is that of knowing more MTF's than FTM's and overall seeing more MTF's out when I journey into boystown or even out into suburbia.  I can usually tell an FTM but not always, so perhaps I'm missing a few.  I can't always tell MTF's either until they wink at me.  I suppose it is a "we are both trans we rule" wink but it caught me off guard first time it happened.  It's happened a couple of times since then as well.  Why are you all winking at me?    

My support group that I go to is 95% MTF as well.  I know a few FTM's just from being friendly and open with people.  So I maintain that there are more MTF's then FTM's especially if you consider the full transgender spectrum. 

I tried out the butch lesbian or at least the lesbian lifestyle for a while without a label.  I like girls very much even though I don't understand them.  I went to a few get togethers with lesbian groups but it just didn't feel right for me.  I'm never giving up guys and bisexuals are looked down upon so I wasn't to sad about breaking that off.  I feel much more comfortable in a male role and truth be told I'd rather date a straight girl than a lesbian or bisexual girl. 

I'm way too much of a prissy, sissy guy to ever be considered a butch anything.

I'm attracted to guys so I never identified as a lesbian. I guess I can be a bit femme at times, but I am not 'butch' or 'macho' either. And, that person who shall not be named, says I am just a confused straight woman. She thinks that ->-bleeped-<- doesn't exist and that we're all mentally ill...



There was a study done in 2001 on the prevalence of transsexualism in the US based on MTF surgeries. "In this investigative report we calculate an approximate value of the lower bound of the prevalence of male-to-female (MtF) transsexualism in the United States, based on estimates of the numbers of sex reassignment surgeries performed on U.S. residents during the past four decades. We find that the prevalence of SRS is at least on the order of 1:2500, and may be twice that value. We thus find that the intrinsic prevalence of MtF transsexualism must be on the order of ~1:500 and may be even larger than that. We show that these results are consistent with studies of TS prevalence emerging in recent studies in other countries. Our results stand is sharp contrast to the value of prevalence (1:30,000) so oft-quoted by "expert authorities" in the U.S. psychiatric community to whom the media turns for such information."

This result is actually more than twice that of the value calculated above ( 1:2500), because the (annual) incidence of SRS has risen over the past decades while the (annual) incidence of male births has remained fairly stable. This value is therefore somewhat closer to the intrinsic prevalence than earlier incremental values decades ago, because of more widespread knowledge of and access to treatments and a reduction in the stigmatization of transsexual people in recent years. This incrementally-determined value of recent SRS prevalence strongly supports a value of intrinsic TS prevalence of 1:500, and suggests that it is perhaps as high as 1:250.

http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/TSprevalence.html#Article

I know those are only MTF numbers, but I think there are more of us (FTMs) than what is currently reported.