Sex-Based Oppression Exists Regardless of Gender Identity
Empirical data consistently show that transmen continue to experience patterns of disadvantage associated with being female-bodied and socially positioned as such. These include higher rates of poverty, violence (including sexual assault and intimate partner violence), self injury, homelessness, and under-representation in advocacy and policy decisions.
Sexual Assault
Transmen and transmasculine-identified individuals report higher rates of sexual violence than transfeminine individuals across several datasets. In one study, 362 (50%) of transmasculine respondents reported sexual assault, compared to 72 (37%) of transfeminine respondents. Data from the Trevor Project show a similar pattern: 49% of trans boys/men and 45% of non-binary respondents reported experiences of sexual violence, compared to 33% of trans girls/women. While these figures come from different samples, they point to a consistent difference in reported rates. Non-binary samples in these datasets are often weighted toward female-born respondents, which may shape these patterns.
Income and Poverty
A 2017 survey-based study found that the poverty rate among transmen is 33.7% compared to 29.6% among transwomen. While transmen tend to earn a higher income rate in lower-paying jobs than transwomen, transwomen tend to hold more positions in higher-income occupations. See TransPulse Survey.
Self Injury
Transboys/transmen reported the highest rate of self-injury (72%), followed by nonbinary young people who are natal females (68%), transgender girls and women (52%), and nonbinary young people who are natal males (48%). See the Trevor Project.
Eating Disorders
According to a Trevor Project report, 12% of the transmen and 11% of the natal female non-binary respondents had a diagnosis of an eating disorder compared to 6% of the transwomen and 7% of the natal male non-binary participants.
Violence
This study, published in 2024, reports that transmen are at higher risk of experiencing all forms of violence: physical violence (including physical abuse and threat or use of a weapon), sexual violence (verbal sexual harassment, homophobic or transphobic slurs, cyber and physically aggressive sexual harassment, and forced sex), and intimate partner violence (IPV; emotional, physical, or sexual violence). Past-year physical violence was reported by 43% of the transmen, compared to 24% of the transwomen and 14% of the nonbinary respondents. Past-year sexual violence was reported by 42% of the transmen and 56% of the nonbinary respondents (most non-binary identifying people are natal females) compared to 14% of the transwomen.
More coming soon...
Check back for more data about sex-based quality of life factors for transmen