Ellie:
Glad to have you with us! I’m sure that you have noticed some familiar names on this site. I think that is, in part, a linkage to our past. For some, and I have no idea of how many, crossdressing can open doors such that ones true sensibilities shine through. However, I suspect that it isn’t a great percentage, but I don’t know of any hard data.
Also, note that every transgender person does not seek physical transition. Some of the reasons for this are:
- expense if not covered by health insurance
- 6+ weeks for recovery may not possible due to work or being a caregiver without backup
- External factors such as work environment, family environment or peer pressure
- Not a good risk for surgery for medical reasons.
- Not wishing to have invasive surgical procedures
There may be other reasons, but these are among the more common ones.
Contrary to the belief of the general populace, the number of trans people who have confirmation surgeries is relatively low. As I remember, a statistic that I saw a few years was only about 30%.
In my case, I have no intention of having any surgeries nor a course of HRT. I have never thought that I was born in the wrong body, but what I eventually realized was that I have always been this amalgam of genders. This shows up in various ways. I’m a retired mechanical engineer, yet my problem solving tends to be intuitive, followed by logic. For my peers it would be reversed. I have always had a sense of the esthetic and have always been sensitive to the emotions of others. I have no idea what is going on for people, but I know when something is “off” with a pretty high degree of accuracy. I’ve been a car person and a motorsports fan since childhood. I’ve even driven a few race cars in my time. However, it isn’t unusual for me to watch TV coverage of an F1 or IndyCar race while skimming Etsy, Poshmark or department store sites in search of silk blouses, heels, jewelry or other things. Some might think this behavior odd, but it is how things sit for me.
Anyway, many external to the community think that they “know”, but the reality is that they don’t know jacks++t.
