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AFAB

'AFAB' is an abbreviation of the English 'Assigned Female at Birth' — registered as a girl at birth. The term comes from American activist usage and is mainly used to refer to a person without conflating current lived gender with birth sex.

What is meant by it?

AFAB refers to the fact that someone was seen and registered as a girl at birth. In almost all cases this coincides with biologically female sex (XX chromosomes, ovaries, female sex anatomy). The term is mainly used in trans and non-binary contexts, where lived gender may differ from the birth register.

Distinction and overlap

The counterpart is AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth). An AFAB person may now identify as a woman, transmasculine, non-binary or otherwise — the label says something about the past, not the present.

Social and practical context

AFAB persons encounter female-specific health issues in care that do not disappear with identity: menstruation, contraception, cervical cancer screening, pregnancy and menopause. In medical transition (such as testosterone and mastectomy) these matters remain relevant.

Critical perspectives

The term 'assigned' is ideologically loaded: it suggests that birth sex is a social assignment rather than a biological observation. Critics, including many women who emphasise the importance of sex-specific care and rights, prefer 'female' or 'girl' when biology is meant. The label 'AFAB' is also sometimes used in ways that obscure the specificity of being a woman — for example in discussions of sexual violence or pregnancy.