What's the most successful person that's trooned out so far? What comes to my mind is Bruce Jenner with his Olympic gold or Dick Levine in his admiral skirt.
I remembered the Will Ferrell documentary where he drove around the country with his troon friend for who the hell knows what reason and it hit me: why is the unknown friend trooning out and not Will himself? It seems like the only people who go necromorph are mentally ill, void of purpose, or some kind of careerist on the comeup. Dick Levine, for instance, wouldn't have made HHS Secretary as just another bald fat guy.
The point being, this is a tacit admission that they all know it's gay theater. If you're an established actor in Hollywood, you don't troon. If you're an actress that needs to make a name for yourself, like Emma D'Arcy, then cut your hair off and pretend you don't know the difference between a guy and a girl. That's an especially sad case... she's really attractive in House of the Dragon.
I remember being exposed to World of Warcraft back in high school when I didn't have many direct friends, avoided sports, and simply got good grades and played single player games all day. I remember the feeling of finally being part of something with real people, as pathetic as it was in hindsight.
apply this feeling to troonery, and it's not hard to see why it's appealing to so many loners. by taking on the mantle, you're not only """solving""" all your mental health issues with one easy step, you are becoming a part of a movement! something greater! something important that you can talk to other people about!
and when it becomes apparent that that thing is hollow, the deeper they are the more depressed and unstable they become.
I think this is probably it. Lonliness is an epidemic and men are hit hardest of all, but you put on a dress and it’s instant acceptance.
Not to sound too Impossible1 about it but most women are treated better simply by existing, and trooning out is a way for the average man to feel just a little bit of kindness and acceptance even if it is forced.
I would argue women are simultaneously treated better and worse, simply because of the world of mean girls. They felate each other with praise until the gaggle decides a girl is not "with it", at which point they brutally bully.
it's a consequence of caring more about what people think of them than men do.
And the great part for MTFs is that they are all overwhelmingly autistic, meaning that they don't pick up on those subtle mean girl jabs and think they are getting constantly loved and praised by women who are trying to cut them down.
actual women hate troons. even the ones that don't are still visibly annoyed by them.
unless the troon is a kid, they love troon kids for some reason.