Transmasculine

Transmasculine or transmasc is a term used to describe a transgender person who typically was assigned female at birth (AFAB) and identifies fully or partially as a masculine gender. It can be considered an umbrella term for people who are trans and identify with masculine gender identities more so than anything else.

Transmasculine people can also identify as other, non-masculine genders as well. For example, an androgyne person may identify as transmasculine, though typically one's masculine identities are more significant that one's non-masculine identities, or one wants to emphasize their masculine identity. Tranmasculine people are sometimes called FtM or F2M (female to male), however, this isn't quite accurate as not all transmasculine people are trans men.

Transmasculine people are typically AFAB, although they can be of any assigned gender at birth. However, AMAB trans people who identify with a masculine gender may prefer to identify as intramasculine or admasculine, as these are identities more specific to them.

Transmasculine is sometimes used, not as a gender identity, but as a way to describe anyone who is assigned female at birth and undergoes masculinization, either through surgery, hormones replacement therapy, or other methods. Under this definition women who take testosterone to attempt to appear more masculine would be considered transmasculine.

The feminine equivalent to transmasculine is transfeminine. The neutral equivalent is transneutral.

Examples

Some examples of genders that many transmasculine people may identify as include:

Binary transgender men
Non-binary men
Demiboys
Genderfluid people who identify as masculine more often than other genders.
Proxvirs
Solarians
Neptunians
Juparians
Any other non-binary person who is masculine-aligned or leans towards masculinity.

Transition

Many transmasculine people will try to present in a traditionally masculine way. This can include having short hair and wearing traditionally masculine clothes. Some will wear packers to give the feeling and appearance of having a penis. Many will wear binders to make their chest flat, however binding can be dangerous and can lead to deformation of the rib cage, especially if done incorrectly or for long periods of time.

Medical transition typically involves taking testosterone injections, or testosterone gel. Surgical elements can include a mastectomy to remove breasts (known as top surgery), and metoidioplasty and/or phalloplasty to create a penis (known as bottom surgery). It is also not uncommon for trans masc people to have a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries), or both.

A transmasculine person may do all, some, or none of these things. Some may not feel a need to transition and some may be unable to transition due to medical reasons.

Flag

The most common transmasculine flag was created by an unknown person on or before July 4, 2015.^[1] The flag has no confirmed meaning, but uses the same shades of pink and blue on the transgender flag.

A common alternate transmasculine flag was created by DeviantArt user Prideflags on June 14, 2016.^[2]^[3]

An alternate flag was created by an unknown reddit user on December 28,2019.^[4]

An alternate flag was create by Tumblr user queerautism on July 18, 2020.^[5] The flag used a sun to represent masculinity, warmth, hope, and life.

An alternate flag was created by Tumblr user frankenfaggot on or before November 8, 2020.^[6] The flag has no confirmed meaning but is based on the idea that the sun is masculine.

An alternate flag including red stripes was created by an unknown person sometime before April 21, 2021

An alternate flag was made by Twitter user Linden_heath on April 27, 2020. "Dark Magenta: solidarity and shared community with transfems, and all trans people. Pink: gnc femininity / reclamation Orange: masculinity / empowerment. White: wholeness / self-love, self- acceptance / having inherent worth and sacredness / transness. Green: nonbinary transmascs / expansiveness. Turquoise: intersex transmascs, transmascs who were amab, transmasc lesbians, transmasc system members, multigender transmascs, transmascs who hold complex and contradictory identities / our community's complexity, diversity, and authenticity. Blue: trans men / healing. Lavender: queerness / and solidarity with all marginalized people. The Rose: centering transmascs of color. The Lion: strength / visibility / deserving better / referring to the existence of transmasc lions."[1]