Transgender seems to be the new black–at least transgender women. Caitlyn Jenner graces the cover of Vanity Fair, Jeffrey Tambor picks up award after award for his portrayal of a dad who makes the switch on Transparent and Lana Wachowski is finally gaining respect for her bright-haired transition. And now ABC Family, Disney’s more “progressive” family oriented channel, is set to launch the reality series Becoming Us, about a family where the father “Charlie” transitioned into “Carly.” I can see the cynical studio execs now: “Transgender is the hot ticket! Get me a treatment about a transgender woman STAT!”

But where are the TV shows and cover stories about transgender men? Kind of makes you wonder, is the transgender movement sexist?

Laverne Cox, the highly acclaimed transgender actress on ‘Orange is the New Black.’

Why aren’t we hearing nearly as much about women who identify as men? Are there fewer of them? Are they not as sexy? Are they not as vocal? Not as obvious? Is it more acceptable and less shocking for women to want to become men than for men to want to become women? Or perhaps men identifying as women is even more titilating?  Seriously, I’m asking. Why all the fuss about transgender women, but hardly a peep about transgender men?

Nigella Lawson looks both sexy yet feminine in a man’s tuxedo.

Women have been living as men for centuries, of course. But quite often in the past it was either for safety’s sake or to compete in a man’s world. They didn’t necessarily identify as men, however. We hear a lot more about it being a sort of masquerade. And it’s perfectly acceptable for a woman to wear a man’s suit and tie or tuxedo, while a man in a little black dress or an evening gown raises eyebrows. So perhaps transgender women are just more sensational than transgender men? If so, their new found popularity says a lot more about our affinity for being shocked, fascinated and titillated than it does about our affinity for tolerance, acceptance and understanding.

When the topic of transgender arises, many people’s minds immediately go below the belt. Is it somehow more intriguing to consider removing something than adding something? To be blunt, is it more fascinating to think about removing a penis and adding breasts, than to think about removing breasts and adding a penis? Maybe female to male operations and hormone therapy just doesn’t happen as much? You tell me.

Shows like Priscilla Queen Of The Desert have become iconic. Is there no ‘kingly’ counterpart?

Society has long been entertained by men impersonating women, but not so much women impersonating men. Drag shows have been popular for centuries, and in the early days of theater, women weren’t even allowed on stage, so men dressed as female characters without batting an eye. Think Shakespeare in Love. In the show Transparent we see a camp, based on a real life place, where men retreat to live as women for a week or two. I wonder why communities where women live as men are not as prominent?

I looked up “transgender characters in film and television” on Wikipedia, and found that characters involving men switching to women outnumber women switching to men more than 15 to one. There seem to be far more instances of “Dude looks like a lady,” than “Lady looks like dude,” and come to think about it, there are more songs about transgender women too. Remember the haunting “Lola?”

Chaz Bono’s handsome headshot

I’m not holding my breath for Chaz Bono to appear on the cover of GQ any time soon, or for any of the very attractive transgender men to gain even a fraction of the notoriety that Jenner or Laverne Cox of Orange is the New Black have achieved. Nor am I calling for equal rights among transgender males and females. After all, media prominence is hardly a right.

I’ve always thought being a girl was a lot more fun, fancy and emotionally fulfilling, than being a boy, but I was born this way and have always happily identified as female, so I guess my opinion doesn’t count.   I’m merely posing the question why the media–in fact the entire zeitgeist–seems to be embracing one but not the other. Your thoughts?

Is the Transgender Movement Sexist?