>>7504<(2/2)
<But why is this the case? And let’s be charitable and forget about the average gay man thing.
>Why are trans women so often not feminine and not into feminine hobbies?
3b. I’d say the simplest answer is that they may be very much feminine and into traditionally feminine hobbies – in fact, near everyone is into interests overrepresented by one sex or another (read 3e) – but that it’s discounted on account of the fact that the people in question are not ones you personally find particularly attractive or phenotypically feminine. But let’s set this aside for now.
3c. Appearance and behaviour is phenotypic, and plays a strong role in forming social groups. In selecting for friendship, people will generally seek out those who are similar in appearance, demeanour, and interest, and attractiveness. One’s closest social circles are most likely to include or be exclusively members of one’s natal sex for most people.
3d. Both of the major social sexes have a prudential concern not to let outsiders into their gendered social circles unless they meet the conditions to be an outlier. As such, homosexual men are sometimes accepted into close female social circles because they share some phenotypic qualities. A trans woman who is passing, effeminate, and heterosexual would naturally fit into such a group. A trans woman who is passing, effeminate, and homosexual might most likely also be accepted into such a group, whereas her less phneotypically effeminate counterpart might not be.
3e. Vocational interests and hobbies are often distinguished by expressivity and instrumentality. The former is related to sociality and people, the latter to goal attainment and things. Women are expectedly overrepresented in the former, men in the latter. It’s debated whether this is by account of intrinsic differences of sex, and I expect that not to be the case. It’s noted that cis womens’ interests in traditionally feminine hobbies are negatively correlated to time spent with her female peers at a young age, and that her interest in traditionally masculine hobbies increases when spending time with a cohort of peers of both sexes. (McHale et al. Development of Gendered Interests)
3f. Because androphiles are more likely to be effeminate in childhood, and because effeminacy is a phenotypic quality that is ruthlessly policed out of male social circles, I expect that they are more likely to be adopted into female social groups earlier in life. The same must also hold true for effeminate gynephiles, and anecdotally, some trans women I personally know come to mind.
3g. Because women have a greater tendency to be drawn to interests related to sociality, it means that natally male transplants in their close social circles may be more often incorporated into group activities, and more likely to have their effeminacy enforced. This would hold true for both androphiles and gynephiles.
3h. Trans women who are denied access to these social groups on account of their phenotypic qualities will have gained less of a knack of social convention and they are left, in their stead, to be drawn to more instrumental vocations and hobbies. Moreover, a specific kind of behaviour would not be enforced by their female peers because no such peers would exist to enforce it.