Q: Why do the numbers of men who identify as transgender women vastly exceed the numbers of women who identify as transgender men?

Why do the numbers of men who identify as transgender women vastly exceed the numbers of women who identify as transgendered men?

You’re begging the question. You assume your premise (that the number of trans women vastly exceeds the number of trans men) is true, without it being proven or even a commonly held opinion.

What’s more, I am a transgender woman. I was never a man, so I am (was) not a man who identified as a transgender woman. I had a penis and an outwardly male body, but I was always a woman.

So, let’s rewrite your question a little bit: “How does the number of transgender women compare with the number of transgender men? If there is a significant difference in the numbers, what might explain that?”

At this time, we lack reliable numbers of the various demographic qualities of transgender people. The surveys and studies done so far have been too small or have been dependent upon voluntary reports of data, so we are left to guess at the real numbers.

Speaking anecdotally, I’ve met a few hundred trans people in my community, and I’ve found that the percentages tend to be as follows: about 30% trans men, about 30% trans women, about 40% non-binary.

I’ve heard from others with larger networks than mine that their experiences have been similar.

So yeah, the numbers seem to point to a relative balance between the binary genders, with a plurality of trans people being some form of non-binary.

Now, let’s touch upon an aspect of your original question — why does it seem like there are more trans women than trans men? There are multiple reasons why this is likely the case. 1a. it is more socially transgressive for a so-called “man” to give that up and “become a woman”. So when that happens, it tends to be more noteworthy — we tend to pay more attention. 1b. when “women” behave more masculinely, they are typically labeled as “tomboys”. For many women, they still consider themselves women, and tomboy isn’t necessarily a bad label. But for a trans man, they can often fly under the radar and take on masculine qualities, and just let people think of them as “tomboy” – it’s safer than telling others that they are transgender. 2. The media is tending to focus of trans women at this moment. When people think of transgender people, often the first name to come to mind (for better or worse) is Caitlyn Jenner – a trans woman. And when political issues arise (like bathroom bills), they primarily are concerned with restricting trans women – very little attention is paid to how these bills would affect trans men, not to mention non-binary people!

So to sum it up: there probably isn’t a large difference in the numbers of (binary) trans women and trans men, but non-binary people likely outnumber either of the binary genders. The reason you probably think there is a significant difference in the numbers is because more attention tends to go to trans women.