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What Does It Mean to Be Transmasculine?

Strictly defined, FTM is short for female to male and refers to men who were assigned female at birth (AFAB) . As with all transgender people, transgender men may decide to pursue social and/or medical transition in order to live in accordance with their male gender identity . However, not all transgender people who were assigned female at birth identify as male or use the term FTM . Many transgender people feel that they do not fit neatly into the categories of man or woman and therefore identify as a gender that falls in between or beyond the binary. Just like binary transgender people, nonbinary trans people may decide to pursue social and/or medical transition to achieve a sense of congruence among their gender identity, their physical characteristics, and the social roles they occupy. In recent years, transmasculine has become a popular umbrella term to describe transgender men as well as nonbinary people who were assigned female at birth and do not feel that they fit into the category of female. Many AFAB transgender

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