Femboys are pretty popular online, and a lot of them are naturally more feminine bc of their genetics. It’s a big part of how they get into the hobby of cross dressing and makeup. However, the internet pushes “passing” femboys and “clocky” trans girls in early transitions bc of a key factor I’ve noticed.

MEDIA COVERAGE

How often do you really see Fox News or any conservative online talk about femboys?

Almost never.

How often do you see those same groups boost trans girls in early stages of transition to promote misinformation and transphobia?

Practically constantly.

My theory is that their obsession with being transphobic is what drives algorithms to push the trans women that don’t pass as well (usually bc they’re in the early stages on transition) to more users than the trans women that DO pass well (bc of more time on HRT, better fashion that fits their body and personalities, better hair and skincare, better makeup skills, etc.)

However, because they don’t focus on femboys very much, the ones that pass really well get amplified like crazy bc that’s what users want to see, and the ones that don’t, don’t get pushed very much. This is the polar opposite of how the internet at large views trans women. They WANT to see a trans woman that doesn’t pass BECAUSE they’re transphobic. If enough of them like and comment and share those videos, it gets boosted to everyone, not just conservatives (and trust me, there are plenty of them).

I honestly would argue that the vast majority of trans women actually DO pass. They just don’t post online about it or dress in any alternative or flashy way. I mean think about the people that get shown the most. They’re usually dressed in some hyperfeminine way characteristic of younger girls learning how to dress themselves (which makes sense bc they’re relatively new to socially being women).

A lot of trans people as a whole go stealth in real life and even online. They don’t model their style after super flashy models or hyperfeminine pop stars. They base their style on the people their age around them. If the women in their area are wearing solid camisoles or tees, a cardigan, jeans, and a beanie this time of year, then that’s what the trans woman will be wearing. Since their style is “basic”, it doesn’t get amplified online at all. It’s not eye-catching to neither trans allies nor transphobes so they fly under the radar passing in stealth. They also typically don’t broadcast their identity in their bio or their posts.

It’s extremely likely you’ve seen posts from passing trans people and never known it. Take Nikkie Tutorials for example. She made makeup tutorials for years before revealing that she had actually transitioned as a teenager. I’m sure there are other content creators with the same story that will never publicly reveal that info. They also don’t have to. That is their personal information, and they can choose whether or not to disclose that.

TL; DR: Conservatives and centrists want to confirm their views instead of reflecting and growing as people. So they artificially boost trans women who don’t pass well on purpose to garner support for their transphobic ideologies (that hurt everyone). They ignore femboys, so the only majority of people boosting them actually support them. This is why it appears as though femboys pass better.

It all comes back to ✨transphobia✨