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Trans men

Trans men are transgender or transsexual people who were assigned female at birth (or, in some cases of intersexuality, later after birth) and who feel that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves. They often have a male gender identity and/or present themselves as men and desire to live in a male gender role. (Others feel more androgynous and/or genderqueer, but such people are not generally referred to as Trans men. They are, however, on the FTM spectrum and may identify as some flavour of FTM.) Some take testosterone to masculinise their bodies, and/or have mastectomy, hysterectomy, metoidioplasty, phalloplasty, urethraplasty, scrotoplasty, vaginectomy, and/or other surgeries performed, while some Trans men do not make any physical changes to their bodies.

Trans men can come from the whole of the female-to-male side of the transgender spectrum, from female-to-male transsexual persons to drag kings (female cross-dressers or transvestites are rarely used designations) who consider themselves Transgender.

Many trans men, however, do not use this particular word to describe themselves. Some prefer to be called simply men, either because their gender change is complete, or because they feel that they have always been men. Others do not consider their gender identity to be the same as that of cisgender men, do not wish to live in a traditional male gender role or have other, individual reasons to prefer a different self-identification. American Boyz, an FTM support organisation in Maryland, previously listed on their website the following self-descriptions for some FTM-spectrum-identified people:

“FTM/F2M (Female-To-Male), Butch, Trans man, Transmasculine, FTV (Female TransVestite), Gender Outlaw, Genderqueer, Transsexual, Drag King, New Man, Boychick, She-Bear, Shapeshifter, Transfag, Tomboy, Passing Woman, Two-Spirit, Amazon, Tranny Boy, Intersex, Female Guy, Tranz, Boss Grrl, Bearded Female, Transgenderist, Sir, Kurami, Hermaphrodite, Questioning”.

Please note that many of these previously listed designations are considered offensive or illegitimate to those Trans men who identify with another self-description, and should not be used unless specifically requested.

The sexual orientations of Trans men are obviously varied. Trans men are as likely to be gay, bisexual/pansexual/omnisexual/queer, or straight as cisgender men.

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