to wonder why there are more transwomen as adults, but not so many boys doing ballet?

[allthgoodusernamesaretaken]

Genuine question, no intention to cause offence, but I wonder if anyone can explain this

I have the impression that more men transition to women than women transition to men.

However, when I look at friends' children, it seems there are lots of girls playing football (traditionally a male interest), but not many boys doing ballet (traditionally a female interest)

If I'm correct, why would it be that more girls are doing hobbies which were traditionally enjoyed by boys, and yet as adults, you get more men transitioning to women than the other way around?

More girls do traditional boys activities as it’s more socially acceptable.

Interesting question.

I also think it is because it is socially acceptable for an unknown reasons.

Surely preference or interest in traditional female hobbies doesnt increase the likelihood in men transitioning into women? Totally irrelevent I would imagine.

Lack of boys doing ballet I would put down to a) ballet being an incredibly difficult discipline b) boys being more likely to be ridiculed for doing ballet than girls for playing football c) football is more commonly viewed and enjoyed than ballet

I dont see how you could possibly link the two im afraid! But just my oppinion

Um, okay, where to start....

• You've made the strange link between engaging in typically gendered activities and one's innate gender identity. People don't transition purely because they like things associated with the opposite sex, that would be bonkers! 99.9999% of people aren't bonkers (made up stat).

• There are roughly the same number of male to female transgender people and female to male.

• Us living in a male orientated world and all, typical "male" activities are more highly values than typically "female" activities, in general. People are drawn to partake in more valued activities (football is more important in society than ballet, for example), and that has nothing at all to do with trans.

That's 3 for starters. The original question is a bit confused in my opinion.

Ballet is a lot harder than football, physically and intellectually, and pays less, so I’m not surprised.

There are now 4 boys out of my son's small reception year group doing ballet, this has happened because myself and one of the other mums has a particularly active boy who we wanted to channel into physical movements. Once it was "safe" to have a boy going to ballet others joined.

More girls do traditional boys activities as it’s more socially acceptable

I think that's correct. Whether we like it or not, I think parents encourage daughters to engage in what was previously considered boys activities than they encourage their sons to engage in 'girls' activities.

When I was younger I did a lot of activities which were seen as "male" I guess.

I was the first girl at my primary school to refuse to do netball or country dancing and say I wanted to play football. Teacher had to ask the head if it was allowed! This was in the 70s.

As a teen I played football, kick boxed, raced motorbikes. Then when older took up rock climbing, ice climbing, surfing. Yes other women do this stuff but it is male predominated.

I've never once felt like a man or that I wanted to reassign my gender.

It's not true that most trans people are transwomen. It used to be, but it isn't now:

www.google.co.uk/amp/amp.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/09/13/trans_youth_clinics_are_seeing_more_trans_boys_than_before_why.html

Also ballet classes cost a lot more than football.

Its much more socially acceptable to be a short haired girl who wears 'boys clothes' and does 'boys stuff' than it is to be a long haired boy who wears 'girls clothes' and does 'girls stuff.'
I actually think its much harder being a little boy than it is being a little girl.

"People don't transition purely because they like things associated with the opposite sex"

Don't they? So why do they transition?

"I actually think its much harder being a little boy than it is being a little girl."

Doesn't last long though.

That's because one is more socially acceptable than the other. Look at the thread the other day about a DH going off his rocker at the thought of his DS doing ballet classes like his sister.

Imagine that the kid really wants to do ballet, and he has his dad constantly giving him the message that he can't because it's for girls and real boys wouldn't be seen dead doing ballet, that there's something wrong with him.

One day the poor kid puts two and two together: "I want to do ballet" + "ballet is for girls" = "I must be a girl".

At the moment there are more teen girls wanting to become boys than vice versa. No surprises why. It would be nice if we could all identify our way out of the trials of being a teenage girl in a world where teenage girls are consistently sexualized.

My DS has recently swapped gymnastics for a martial art because he didn't enjoy the majority female environment. In the beginners class, there is a handful of boys, and they tend to fizzle out and exacerbate the bias making retention of boys harder. In the intermediate group, he was one of two boys.

Traditionally male sports are higher profile so more attractive to a female audience. We accept that girls can be tomboys without inferring too deeply into their sexuality/ gender, yet despite male gymnasts and dancers being fantastic athletes, society doesn't value the strengths of males, particularly younger children, doing such activities.

But surely if these adult transwomen were born female in a boys body, they'd have been fine with doing ballet as boys? As they are actually girls.

So do all girls like ballet now? Or isn't it just the case that not many people are all that keen on ballet these days, but loads of people like football?

Ballet is traditionally male and female.
Which ballet has no male roles?

There are plenty of reasons why kids aren't in certain activities and far more of it has to do with the parents than the kids. Just because a child is in an activity doesn't mean they want to do be and there is far more someone than the activities they do. If a child doesn't know it's an acceptable option - or an option at all - they aren't going to ask for it and even if they do, the parents have control.

Some people were put into ballet and other forms of dance by our parents in an attempt to make us more feminine. It happened to me and it happened to many others I know. Dance, particularly ballet, has a long history of being used to socialize young girls whereas socializing guys with dance (rather than trying to make them prodigies or professionals) tended to happen at a far later age to help them appeal to young women rather than as part of being men.

I know a few boys who do ballet. I know far more boys who wear dresses and bright pink and paint their nails glittery colours given half a chance. It doesn't make them trans but if you're going to link someone playing a particular sport as a kid to them wanting to transition then all the other things that are so often gendered need to be included as well and given space I think young boys will do just as much 'girly' stuff as the other way around.

And yeah, for a long time, males were more likely to come forward for formal diagnosis and transition; however, generally males need far more medical help to appear female than the other way around where it is easier to do with the right clothes though a lot of what was going on medically in previous decades for females who wanted to present as males (taking T, breast removal) was more done behind closed doors without diagnosis and therefore was studied less. As already linked, those numbers have changed a lot.

Because when girls want to play with spider-man toys we all say "aww bless shes fighting convention, you go girl" and its all cute. If boys want to play with Barbies then they're called weird and gay.

Also I think if a woman wants to look like a man there is less she has to do about it, just dont wear makeup, groom less, wear masculine clothing and have a mans haircut. If men want to be women they have to change an awful lot about themselves in order to be that way but unfortunately, often still look more "obvious" than a women being a man.

Not sure it's got anything to do with trans things (a subject I know absolutely zero about). Maybe it's simply because boys' stuff is generally more fun?

Fyi OP football (soccer) is widely seen as a teenage girls sport in America 🤷🏼‍♀️ so your question isn't even valid.

Oh and probably because no one wants to do ballet... because it's painful, cruel, oh... and a bit shit!

Because parents are paying for and allowing the dc to do the activities? I know on mumsnet everyone is always like oh I’d let my boy do ballet, In the real world most wouldn’t!

More boys probably ask to play football than go to ballet becuase like it or not that’s just the way it is

What about girls that change to trans men did they all play football and climb trees?