Tall Transgender Women: Perception vs Reality

I've met a surprising number of transgender people who started out as men who are over 6 feet tall. Is this as common as it seems to me? Let's dive into the numbers and explore what might be influencing your perception.

My Personal Perception

The truth is, I don't know exactly how common this personal perception is for you. From my social circle, which is primarily composed of other transgender people, I can confidently say that there are more transgender women over 6 feet tall than cisgender women of the same height. However, this might be skewed by the fact that taller transgender women are often more visible as transgender individuals.

Confirmation Bias

It's important to consider confirmation bias when evaluating personal experiences. You might have a higher number of transgender acquaintances who are tall because you are more likely to perceive them as transgender. Unless every transgender person you meet introduces themselves as such, it's possible that you're encountering a similar number of transgender individuals of smaller builds who you might not have read as transgender.

Statistical Analysis

According to Internet searches, about 1 in 10 US women are 6 feet tall or taller. While it is possible that a few of these tall women are transgender, the rarity of transgender individuals means that this statistic closely approximates the number of cisgender women who are over 6 feet tall.

On the other hand, about 14.5% of US men are 6 feet tall or taller. While this statistic is similar, it doesn't neatly correlate to the average height of transgender women. Transgender adolescents often lack access to puberty blockers, and these blockers do not always reduce height. Therefore, it's plausible that there are tall transgender women who are more willing to come out and transition earlier due to greater dysphoria. Conversely, shorter transgender women might feel more confident about passing as women.

Conclusion

Given that most transgender women still go through a male-typical puberty, it's reasonable to assume that approximately 14.5% of transgender women may be over 6 feet tall. This would mean that a given transgender woman is about 14.5 times more likely to be over 6 feet tall than a cisgender woman.

However, it's important to note that the estimated proportion of transgender individuals in the general population is around 1%. This means that unless you are meeting transgender women at a meaningfully elevated rate compared to the rest of the population, you should expect about 1 cisgender woman in every 100 you meet to be 6 feet tall or more. In contrast, a transgender woman this tall would be about 1 in every 700.

Thus, the perception might be influenced by confirmation bias or a selection bias in your social circle. It's also possible that you simply don't know as many short transgender women as you think.