Mountain Biking - Noob Qs: reason Fox fork not parallel to head tube?

At first I thought it got bashed in, though I've never really crashed. The blades on my Fox F-100R is noticeably raked in; my first impression was that it had a negative offset until I realized the drop-outs were positioned forward of center. I looked online and it seems this backwards rake is the trend. Anyone know the reason behind this design?

Also, what does the 32mm designation on suspension forks refer to?

Thanks all.

At first I thought it got bashed in, though I've never really crashed. The blades on my Fox F-100R is noticeably raked in; my first impression was that it had a negative offset until I realized the drop-outs were positioned forward of center. I looked online and it seems this backwards rake is the trend. Anyone know the reason behind this design?
Also, what does the 32mm designation on suspension forks refer to?

Thanks all.

stanchion diameter

Steer tube and stanchions on an F-100R look completely parallel to me:

http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/img/X/520182.jpg

. . . and seems to have a normal amount of crown offset. Leading axle designs slightly decrease trail (necessary but not in excessive amounts) - - moving the tire's contact patch a bit closer to the steering axis.

Hey thanks d. I may have barrel-vision, because it still looks that way to me. But I'll take your word for it.

So... uhm... which one is the stanchion?

Hey thanks d. I may have barrel-vision, because it still looks that way to me. But I'll take your word for it.

So... uhm... which one is the stanchion?

The gold part(s).