Crossdressing Behavior
Start Age
Youngest Start Age: 1
Oldest Start Age: 54
Average Start Age: 9 years, 4 monthsThere were a total of 1,203 replies to this question, and 83.13% of all crossdressers began crossdressing by age 12 or younger. Only 2% started after the age of 21. The most common start ages were:
Start Age - Most Common(n=1,203) 8 12.72% 5 12.55% 10 12.47% 12 9.89% 6 7.90%
What's In A Name...
So what exactly do crossdressers, uhm, transvest..., uhm, WE prefered to be called? I thought that the obvious answer was woman, so I did not make that a choice:
Preferred Label (n=1,212) Crossdresser 42.66% Transgendered 18.07% Transvestite 10.89% Man 8.42% Bi-Gendered 6.11% Gender Enhanced Male 5.28% Gender Gifted 3.38% SheMale 3.22% Androgynous 1.98%
Meeting the Public
It's been said that the annonymity of the Web creates a tendency among crossdressers to exagerate their behavior, and to take credit for doing things that are never really done. I can't say, maybe it would be true in chat rooms and new groups, but at the same time I don't see why anyone would exagerate on an annoymous survey. So I'm going to look at these results as providing some idea of how many of us venture out of the house en femme.
Specifically, I asked "Do you go out in public while crossdressed?" I didn't get into details as to what the phrase "...go out in public..." meant. Some might take this to include driving around in their car only, or walking around their neighborhood late at night only. Others may not have felt that attending a support group meeting constituted "...going out in public..."
Nonetheless, of the 1,178 people who answered this question, virtually half (588) said yes and the other half (590) said no.
I also asked about how people approach crossdressing. What is interesting is that only 52% of theose surveyed crossdress to the point of presenting as a woman: clothes, makeup, wig and so on.
"Which phrase best describes how you crossdress?"
(n=1,214)I present as a woman 29.65% I strive to pass 22.65% I wear selected articles of women's clothing 17.22% I wear women's lingerie mostly 10.30% I wear women's outfits 9.97% I wear women's underwear under my male clothes 6.67% I dress androgynously 2.22% I only fantasize about crossdressing 1.32%
When asked if they felt they were "passable", 56.31% of the 1,188 people who answered the question did not feel they were passable, while 43.69% felt they were. I deliberatly did not define what that meant, leaving it up to each person to apply their own standard. However, among crossdressers who strive to appear as a woman (n=647), 3.4% felt they were passable.
So to what extent is being "passable" an issue when going out in public? Well, almost 1 in 5 ladies who do not feel they are "passable" still claim to leave the house. Good for you!
(n=1,151) Passable - Yes Passable - No Goes Out In Public - Yes 31.54% 18.68% Goes Out In Public - No 12.08% 37.71%
Another question asked people if they were satisfied with how they looked en femme. I didn't ask for explainations as to why or why not. Of the 1,198 replies, 56.59% said they were not satisfied and 43.41% said they were. However, when the question was limited to just those crossdressers who present as a woman and who try to pass (n=658), a much higher 51.2% are satisfied with theie femme image.
Being satisfied with how one looks en femme seems to have a big impact on whether or not a crossdresser will journey out of the house:
(n=1,1,63) "Overall, are you satisfied with the way you look en femme?" Do you go out in public while crossdressed? NO - 56.59%
(n=657)NO 57.23% YES 42.77% YES - 43.41%
n=506)NO 39.92% YES 60.08%
When asked "In your opinion, do you exhibit a different personality en femme than when you present as a man?", 73.7 % (n=1,205) said they felt they did.
The Elements of Style
We hear a lot about crossdressing being "just about the clothes", and crossdressing is often referred to as a "fetish", which it is not, in most cases. So I was curious as to what people shopped for.
Approximately one out five (18.2%) goes for the "take me now" look, while most others seem to look for a more presentable look.
Which phrase best describes the "look" you most often try to achieve when crossdressed?
(n=1186)Fashionable, stylish 20.32% Sexy bombshell 18.21% Casual 14.17% Tailored, professional 13.74% Soft, romantic 13.07% Mature 9.02% Young, trendy 8.35% Androgynous 1.69% Little Girl 1.43%
What kinds of looks seem to be working for people? Remember that 43.7% of those surveyed said they considered themselves "passable". Here's how they dress:
Clothing Style Considers herself to be passable Young, trendy (n=92) 58.70% Tailored, professional (n=159) 54.72% Fashionable, stylish (n=240) 49.58% Mature (n=105) 44.76% Sexy bombshell (n=212) 42.92% Soft, romantic (n=154) 35.06% Casual (n=164) 32.93% Androgynous (n=19) 21.05% Little Girl (n=17) 17.65%
Frequency
Actually, the group that responded seems to really be able to make some time to practice and to enjoy themselves. More than half crossdress several times a week or daily, and almost two-thirds at least once a week. Now, I hope you're sitting down for this next fact: 90.3% said they would like to crossdress more frequently than they do now. I kid you not.
How Often Do You Crossdress
(n=1,210)Several times a week 33.64% Daily 20.25% Several times a month 17.52% Once a week 11.90% A few times each year 8.68% Once a month 5.62% Not actively crossdressing 2.40%
Does satisfaction with crossdressing increase if we do it more? It doesn't seem to be the case:
How Often Do You Crossdress Overall, are you satisfied with the way you look en femme?
(n=1,209)Do you consider yourself passable?
(n=1,199)Yes No Yes No Daily 50.41% 49.59% 54.29% 45.71% Several times a week 41.85% 58.15% 43.14% 56.86% Once a week 39.16% 60.84% 37.14% 62.86% Several times a month 48.36% 51.64% 43.75% 56.25% Once a month 40.58% 59.42% 44.12% 55.88% A few times each year 35.24% 64.76% 33.33% 66.67% Not actively crossdressing 30.77% 69.23 40.00% 60.00% Overall 43.41% 56.59% 43.69 56.31%
And what is it we like to do when we get all dressed up...
Well, "have sex" would probably have been the most popular answer, so this is really what people consider their second favorite activity while crossdressed to be:
Among the following, which is your favorite activity while crossdressed?
(n=1,165)Stay Home 49.10% Take a Drive 16.14% Shopping 12.79% Club Hopping 9.79% Attend Meetings 3.52% Dancing 3.26% Dining 3.18% Movies/Theater 2.23%
Here We Go Again
Purging still seems to be a factor in some peoples lives. I didn't ask for the circumstances under which one purged, but one out of three have purged within the last two years.
Last Purge (n=1,157) Within the past 12 months 23.42% Within the past 24 months 9.59% With the past 5 years 14.17% More than 5 years ago 27.57% Never 20.57% I have never owned a wardrobe 4.67%
Hair Today....Gone Today
So what do crossdressers do about unwanted hair?
From what part(s) of your body do you remove hair?
(Check all that apply)
(n=1,290)Face 75.58% Legs 70.85% Underarms 57.60% Chest 52.48% Genitiles 43.33% Eyebrows 41.40% Hands 33.57% Arms 31.40% Back 21.78% When asked "Other than your face, do you remove body hair even when you are not planning on being crossdressed?", 62.2% said yes (n=1,209). A mere 6.1% (n=1,220) said they had electrolysis or laser hair removal performed on their face and even fewer, 4.6% (n=1,212) said they had electrolysis or laser hair removal performed on some other part of their body.
On the other hand, a surprising 21% (n=1,220) said they have taken or are taking some form of female hormones. Of those, 20.6% said the hormones were prescribed by a doctor.
In a related question, only 2.7% (n=1,171) said they had some kind of cosmetic surgery performed in order to look "more feminine".
Completing the Look
And what do crossdressers do about the hair that they do want...
How Many Wigs Do You Own? (n=1,222) None 37.07% One 22.34% Two 17.59% Three 10.23% Five or more 7.77% Four 4.99% More than 1 out of four crossdressers, 26.9% (n=1,120), say that where wigs are concerned, they've opted for a more natural look and use their own hair when they go out in public crossdressed. Another 31.9% (n=1,188) said that they have gone to a hair stylist to make their own hair look "more feminine".
Pierced Ears (n=1,211) None 68.54% Both 22.54% One 8.92% Among those who have one or both ears pierced, two-thirds, 67.6% (n=364), said that they pierced their ears to support their crossdressing.
Just slightly more than 1 out of four, 26.7% (n=1,219), felt their voice sounded female when necessary.
What's The Cost of All This
As you can see, crossdressing is not exactly driving the robust economy. Almost 80% of those surveyed said they spend less than $1,000 a year on womens clothing, wigs, makeup, shoes, accessories and so on. Yet most people felt the amount they were spending was affordable. Only 6% thought they were spending too much.
When asked "Do you think you spend more money on a female wardrobe and accessories than you do on a male wardrobe and accessorie" 52.1% said No (n=1,206) and 47.9% said Yes.
Amount Spent (n=1,206) $101 - $500 41.79% $501- $1000 19.73% Less than $100 17.25% $1,001 - $1,500 8.54% More than $2,000 5.72% $1,501 - $2,000 5.31% More than $5,000 1.66%
Amount Spent (n=1,201) Affordable 63.28% Too Little 30.81% Too Much 5.91%
Compared To What
It has been said, although I personally don't necessarily believe this, that one of the reasons wives and partners are so opposed to crossdressing is that they feel threatened by our "femininity". I've always felt that this point of view doesn't give women enough credit. Nonetheless, I asked the following two questions:
Yes
No
"In your opinion, are you a more physically attractive looking woman than your wife/SO?"
(n=852)25.59%
74.41%
"In your opinion, do you dress in a more "feminine" manner than your wife/SO?"
(n=845)65.44%
34.56%
Where does all this stuff come from?
The following table summarizes a series of questions about shopping behavior.
Yes No Do you shop for women's clothing as a male?
(n=1,212)88.9% 11.1% Do you shop for women's clothing while en femme?
(n=1,181)23.9% 76.1% Do you shop for cosmetics as a male?
(n=1,189)71.4% 28.6% Do you shop for cosmetics while en femme?
(n=1,160)23.1% 76.9% Do you shop for women's clothing and/or makeup on the Internet?
(n=1,190)47.8% 52.2% Do you have a credit card with a femme name on it?
(n=1,214)6.8% 93.2% Do you ever receive packages or mail at your home or a post office box with a femme name on it?
(n=1,218)38.0% 62.0%
If You Could Stop....
Finally, less than one in five, 18.9% (n=1,189) answered yes to the question "Have you ever seriously sought a cure for crossdressing?"
