female-to-male

American  

[fee-meyl-tuh-meyl] / ˈfi meɪl təˈmeɪl /

adjective

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

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noun

1. Sometimes Offensive. a person who was assigned female at birth but whose gender identity or gender expression is male. FTM, FtM

Sensitive Note

Female-to-male was once the accepted terminology for men who were assigned female 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 man is now a more popular term for this demographic. For some people, the term female-to-male can be offensive for its implication that trans men were “originally” female, and have only now become male.

Etymology

Origin of female-to-male

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and scleroderma are examples of autoimmune disorders marked by lopsided female-to-male ratios.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2024

Former Harvard swimmer Schuyler Bailar, a female-to-male transgender athlete and activist, accused the protesters Thursday of “textbook bullying.”

From Washington Times • Mar. 20, 2022

Zines like Lou Sullivan’s Information for the female-to-male crossdresser and transsexual circulated in queer social networks in the ‘80s. There were online message boards in the ‘90s.

From The Verge • May 19, 2021

During his peak years, Biber was doing up to four gender confirmation surgeries a week, for both male-to-female and female-to-male patients.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2019

I came across a transgender female-to-male community online.

From Washington Post