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Consider the following sentences.

  * > A: 女性に限らず、男性も化粧品を使うようになった。
>
> My translations:
>
> A'1: Using cosmetics is not limited to women but also has been started by
> men.
>
> A'2: Not only women but also men have started using cosmetics.

Who started first is ambiguous.

  * > B: コンビニは、若者に限らず、お年寄りにも利用者が多い。
>
> My translations:
>
> B'1: The end users of convenient stores are not only from young people but
> also **many** from old people.
>
> B'2: The end users of convenient stores are **many** not only from young
> people but also from old people.

Which group has more users is also ambiguous.

# Question

Do X and Y have the same state when using ~X にかぎらず Y?
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grammar
Do X and Y have the same state when using ~X にかぎらず Y?
According to this
[link](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/thsrs/17194/meaning/m0u/), it mentions that
this grammar point expresses that "Y is not limited by/to X" and that the
expression widens the viewpoint of Y. Therefore, in the first example,
"女性に限らず、男性も化粧品を使うようになった。", the use of cosmetics is not limited to women and
that the concept of using cosmetics is not limited to just women, but also men
--meaning that women used cosmetics first (and this is the common viewpoint
that the expression is trying to widen).

In the second case, I don't think that this particular expression encompasses
the meaning of "which has more" but just that there are **_also_** a lot of
older people that use convenience stores. Maybe if you want to express "there
are more X than Y" then refer to an expression like
[this](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/more+than).
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answer
> 「Aに[限]{かぎ}らずB」

When this expression is used, it is generally implied that A is more
significant than B. It uses "common sense" as the premise of the statement,
which is something humans always do in speaking to others.

To prove this, simply try swapping A for B in each of your sentences and see
how the new sentences "feel" to you.

> 「[男性]{だんせい}に[限]{かぎ}らず、[女性]{じょせい}も[化粧品]{けしょうひん}を[使]{つか}うようになった。」
>
> 「コンビニは、お[年寄]{としよ}りに[限]{かぎ}らず、[若者]{わかもの}にも[利用者]{りようしゃ}が[多]{おお}い。」

To me, a citizen of Japan, both sentences look to be talking about a
place/country so far away that I would not even know its name.
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answer