Transmasculine
Moving towards masculinity from a female assignment at birth.
Transmasculine, usually shortened to transmasc, describes someone assigned female at birth who moves toward masculinity. It is an umbrella, not a single identity.
It covers trans men, and it covers a great many people who are not men: demiboys, masculine-leaning nonbinary people, agender people who want a masculine read, and people who have not settled on a word and may never bother.
The value of the term is that it names a direction without demanding a destination. Someone can be certain about wanting a deeper voice, a flat chest and to be read as masculine, while being entirely uncertain about whether man is the right word. Transmasc holds that without forcing the second question.
All trans men are transmasculine. Not all transmasculine people are trans men, and this asymmetry is where most of the misunderstanding lives. Using transmasc as a polite synonym for trans man erases the people the word was built for.
It implies nothing medical. Some transmasc people take testosterone, some have top surgery, some do neither and never intend to. Others bind, or change nothing physical at all. The word describes a direction of identity, not a treatment plan.
Pronouns vary. He/him is most common, he/they is very common, and they/them alone is frequent among transmasc people who are not men. The masc in the word says nothing about which pronouns follow.
Transmasc is not a softer way of saying trans man
The words are used interchangeably often enough that it needs stating: transmasc is broader. It includes trans men, and it includes people who are firmly not men and who would be misgendered by the substitution. Reaching for transmasc when you mean trans man empties the term of its purpose.
The second confusion is with butch. Butch describes a masculine presentation, most often among lesbians, and is about how someone presents rather than what they are. A butch woman is not transmasculine, and a transmasc person is not necessarily butch. The two can coexist and neither implies the other.
Saying it well
Say this
- I am transmasc, though I am not a man.
- Transmasculine, he/they.
- Moving toward masculine, still working out the noun.
- Transmasc, and no I am not on T.
Not this
- So you are basically a trans man
- Are you on testosterone? (asked of a stranger)
- When are you getting top surgery?
- Using transmasc for someone who says trans man
Questions people actually ask
What does transmasc mean?
Transmasculine: someone assigned female at birth who moves toward masculinity. It is an umbrella covering trans men and many people who are not men.
Is transmasc the same as trans man?
No. All trans men are transmasc, but transmasc also covers demiboys, masculine nonbinary people and others who are not men.
Do transmasc people take testosterone?
Some do and some do not. The word describes a direction of identity, not a medical decision, and neither choice affects whether it applies.
Can a nonbinary person be transmasc?
Yes, and many transmasc people are nonbinary. That is a large part of why the word exists.
Is transmasc the same as butch?
No. Butch is a way of presenting, most often among lesbians. Transmasc is about identity and direction. Someone can be both, and neither implies the other.
Is transmasc the same as FTM?
Not quite. FTM, female to male, is an older shorthand for a trans man or his transition, and it frames him as having started as female. Transmasc describes a direction without conceding a starting point, and it also covers people who are not men.