How Trans Is Maine?

How many trans people are there in Maine? That's a tricky question...it depends what your definition of "trans" is. Just folks who have changed, or are planning to change, their gender? Too narrow. Anyone who demonstrates some gender variance somewhere in their lives? Too broad. How about: people whose pencils or cursors hover for a second when they are trying to select from what seems to them, on the census form or facebook profile page or whatever, a too restrictive choice between "female" and "male."

So, butch lesbians and drag queens no, but cross-dressers and genderqueer folk yes. (Those circles could be argued to overlap, but that's a topic for another day.)

It would stand to reason that the ratio in Maine would be the same as in other places, so why not just extrapolate from national or global numbers? Also tricky, because there's no consensus in the existing research. Estimates range from 1 in 30,000 males and 1 in 100,000 females seeking gender reassignment surgery (DSM-IV, 1994), to 1 in 500 people born trans, or even more (Olyslager and Conway, 2007). Keep in mind that many trans folks are either closeted or stealth (successfully transitioned and living quietly as their target gender) and so would not likely be counted.

I think the 1 in 500 number is much closer to right. I have no hard proof; just an abundance of anecdotal evidence. Consider:
 

• The regional trans conference First Event draws many hundreds of participants every year to a hotel in Peabody, MA.
• Trans support groups run by MaineTransNet right here in Portland routinely draw more than a dozen participants, with new faces almost every time.
• All of the electrologists I have consulted with so far (I'm up to four) about beard removal claim to have had previous MtF clients.
• My friend Branden, an active trans-activist, says he can easily think of twenty people in greater Portland who have transitioned or are planning to transition, and twenty more who would never transition but who identify as some form of trans.

It just seems like there are a lot of us around, you know?

The US Census 2008 estimate for the total population of Maine is just over 1.3 million, so 1 in 500 would be 2,600 trans people in the state. That seems reasonable. The DSM-IV numbers would give us only 20 Mainers involved with gender reassignment, which would mean Branden knows them all personally. He's a really sociable guy, but that's just not possible.

I came across one other really interesting number in my research. In a 2009 study, researchers attempting to count trans people in the U.K. note that "The current growth rate in the number of people who are presenting [as trans] is 15% per annum; hence the number is doubling every five years." What, is the trans virus spreading? No. What's going on is that the social environment is changing. Especially because of the explosion of the Internet, frightened, confused, and isolated trans people are for the first time able to find out that they are not alone.

I should know...I shudder to imagine what my 2008 trans revelation would have been like without the 'net. I would probably still be completely closeted, dressing furtively behind closed blinds, and I'd probably be seriously psychologically messed up. As it is I have found all the information, support, and affirmation I needed to quickly come to terms with my trans identity, find friends, and come out, and I feel fine.

Surely you bump into more than 500 people during an active day, so chances are if you're out and about you'll meet at least one trans person today. Go to a sold-out Sea Dogs game, there's me and fourteen others right there in the crowd. We're all around you. :-)

~Lisa Dee Bunker
Lisa blogs about her trans experience at www.genderbendy.com.