male-to-female

[ meyl-tuh-fee-meyl ]

adjective

1. Sometimes Offensive. noting or relating to a person who was assigned male at birth but whose gender identity or gender expression is female.

noun

1. Sometimes Offensive. a person who was assigned male at birth but whose gender identity or gender expression is female. : MTF, MtF trans woman.

Sensitive Note

Male-to-female was once the accepted terminology for women who were assigned male at birth. The term continues to be used in medical literature, and some transgender people do identify that way. Especially among younger transgender people, however, trans woman is now a more popular term for this demographic. For some people, the term male-to-female can be offensive for its implication that trans women were “originally” male, and have only now become female.

Word History and Origins

Origin of male-to-female¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Only a small percentage of male-to-female transgender people undergo what’s euphemistically called bottom surgery, meaning that USA Boxing’s revised eligibility criteria are likely to exclude the vast majority of such athletes from the women’s ring.

From Washington Times

Canadian amateur boxer Katia Bissonnette last month withdrew from a championship bout in Quebec after learning an hour before the contest that her opponent, Mya Walmsley, was a male-to-female transgender athlete, according to Reduxx.

From Washington Times

At 18, male-to-female transgender athletes would need to undergo surgery and present quarterly hormone-testing results to USA Boxing for a minimum of four years following the procedure.

From Washington Times

Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky All-American swimmer, compared the Ramapo star and Lia Thomas, the male-to-female transgender athlete who won a title at the 2022 Division I women’s swimming championships.

From Washington Times

“Male-to-female participants who have undergone male puberty will not be eligible to compete in the international women’s game,” the ICC said.

From Washington Times