Is crossdressing inherited though your family tree?

Hi Gabriela,

I'm with you on this. Scientists have used identical twins often in trying to clarify the "nature versus nature" question. This research paper's abstract suggests that at least some identical twins don't even express the same gender - despite having exactly the same genes:

"Two pairs of monozygotic twins discordant for gender identity are described. The first set are 8-year-old males, one of whom enjoys doll play, cross-dressing, and taking the role of a female in fantasy games. His brother shows no feminine behavior, enjoys sports, and is more masculine in gestures and speech. The second set are 24-year-old females, one of whom wants to undergo sex-change surgery to male status. Her cotwin is a feminine woman desirous of marrying and bearing children. Differential childhood experiences are described for the cotwins. These highlight environmental influences, which may contribute to variances in masculinity and femininity, when genetic influences are held relatively constant."

No point providing a link, the full article is behind a pay wall, grr.

Marti xxx

Do you remember where you found that information? I would like to know more about that study

Sure, here it is:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24179079/

-as I said, you can't access the full paper without paying, There are links to related research, but again, only summaries

Marti xxx

Thanks, thats all I needed. Here is a link to the full report for free. Its in PDF format so you can read it off-line so you dont have to tie up your phone line.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51856870_Gender_Identity_Disorder_in_Twins_A_Review_of_the_Case_Report_Literature

Thanks very much Hippy, end of the evening for me, but I'll pm you later about it.

Marti xxx

I don't think so, I don't know of any others in my family extended or otherwise. Gay and Bisexual, yes, but crossdressers, none that I know of, and I never heard of any like the uncle "no one talked about". As for the generation(s) after me, I can't think of any CDer's either. I can't imagine I am the only one though.

Possibly!! Tho I was still only 7 or 8 yrs old, I still reckon I can recall my Dad coming out of the bedroom of our holiday house and prancing around the living room wearing a bra over his drab.

Nothing else mind, but the memory has never left me and I have to wonder what else may have gone on behind closed doors?...

What is also relevant is that several years later, when in my early teens and having been caught dressed by some relatives, he gave me the big stern taking to about how "boys don't do that sort of thing".

I voted could be possible ,on a couple of occasions while my parents were away or may have been out  , I found in my dad's draw in the dressing where he kept his handkerchiefs, a couple of suspender belts and stockings  ,what were they doing there ? they were the only items I ever found . Very Strange !!

Michelle xx

I selected i dont know as i cant conclusively determine one way or another either yes or no. But some in my family left a lot of possible clues and suggestions especially in my paternal grandfathers side. Of my two grandmothers one was an only child (her mother dying when she was a child) and my other grandmother was adopted so very (!) few possibilities to observe. My paternal grandfather was the only one of 3 to marry and have kids and my maternal grandfather had one brother who married but i never met any of that branch(and i certainly tried) so i have no idea. Not a large selection of relatives to look at.

But lets also be real, not many in the generations born before 1900 would ever openly admit to being anywhere on the LGBTQI+ spectrum....ever. And if any were , i sincerely doubt they would leave obvious clues - writings , clothes, partners willing to tell all . Back then you were expected if you were a standard looking model of a human, to marry and have kids...lots and lots of kids. So a paternal great grandfather had 8 kids 4 boys and 4 girls that lived into adulthood. They were Catholic. Two!!! only, married and had kids, one male and one female. The others remained resolutely single. No military, no religious profession, just single.  The one male had 3 kids 2 girls and a boy. one girl died young. the other girl graduated from a big time university in the midwest around 1900...and never married. i have pictures of her. .she was beautiful by 2000 standards. Never married.

Lets also be real here. Back then the terms in LBGTQI were hardly if ever used...except gay...for quys. And that word and all its disgusting alternatives were used to describe any male who didnt fit the accepted model of what a male was supposed to be. You liked other guys? Gay. You were effeminate? Gay. etc. etc.

Now, both my father and his father were very involved in theater.  Sure,lots of males are. So was I. This is just another clue. My father died when i was young , years later my mother confided that she suspected some of his close friends were gay. Except what did 'gay' mean in 1950? Just another clue.

I dont know,  just a number of clues. Now about that study. Was it reproduced independently?  Studies dont mean much if they arent shown to be reproducable. That is the scientific method that gave us cell phones and vaccines. Studies are nice but there have be more than one to suggest common  validity.

I voted i dont know as i certainly dont have enough clues to know for sure but im still caually searching and still reading. And still suspecting there is something more than just nurture.

I am of the opinion I was born this way, I started very young and despite numerous attempts at purging and trying to leave this thing behind it always comes back. A description I often use is, if you had blond hair but wanted black, you could dye it, no problem you have black hair, until it grows and the blond would show at the roots. so you would have to dye it again, and keep on doing that. And so it is with crossdressing, no matter how I tried it always came back, just like the blond hair, because (I believe) it's genetic. Like having blue eyes or being left handed, you don't get a choice in the matter. So going back to the original question, as I believe it is genetic, it must have been passed to me from my parents........ Now I don't know if I am the first 'genetic mutation' or if there is a history within my family. I suspect if I were to go back far enough and take in a wide enough sample of the family I would come across another crossdresser, but that may just be coincidence!

I voted I'm not sure, maybe back in the 50's and 60's they never talked about that sort of thing, it was possible all hushed up and kept out of sight, i do have a gay brother who served in the military, we didn't know about him until maybe the turn of the millennium he kept it secret too,

We all live and learn, they say you can't judge a book by it's cover x

Hugs Rozalyne x

Someone asked if there any statistical numbers on cd world wide. No, because of the secretive nature of cd no one has ever attempted to document the numbers. However, statistical analysts have done some probability numbers based on loose assumptions. Their estimate is that 5% of the world's male population cross dresses in some form, from underdressing, private or secret dressing to full out public dressing.

Now let's look at that numerically. Numbers are rounded for simplicity.

World population (rounded up): 8 billion (8,000,000,000) Male population (rounded up): 4 billion  (4,000,000,000) Five percent cross dressing: 200 million  (200,000,000).

Even if these numbers are over because of rounding or incorrect assumptions there are still huge numbers of cross dressers worldwide. Now you can see why the cd businesses exist. There are a lot of men that want to buy panties. WE ARE NOT ALONE!

To take the math a little further a similar, but unprovable, estimate is that 5% of cross dressers are gay, 2% are bi and 3% are tg. The criteria for these numbers are VERY fluid and inexact so there is little faith in them. However, if you suspend critical suspicions and take it at face value that means 10% are not hetero or 20 million (20,000,000). Leaving 180 million (180,000,000) heterosexual cross dressers.

How this fits in with genetics and nature vs nurture I do not know. I personally believe that genetics plays a part but nurture is also part of it. Did we inherit the behavior, was it an accidental gene malfunction or did mommy encourage it?

😮

Beth

There's no way for me to know, as I was adopted at birth.

I'm very different from my siblings, though.  My parents were fraught with anxiety over disclosing my adopted status, but when that day came, my response was, "Oh.  Now it all makes sense."

My dad and his brother were both crossdressers and kept it very low profile. My crossdressing stated in the fifty's and I also kept it A secret to everyone but the one i married. My nephew just came out as A crossdresser but only after his father passed on as he was an ex marine sergeant and a policeman and very intolerant. So can it be inherited? Maybe so.

I voted that is was possible. I would never know for sure, but I highly doubt it. Most men had toxic masculinity in my family tree.