FTM

'FTM' stands for 'female-to-male' and describes a person assigned female at birth who has undergone or is undergoing a transition in a male direction. The abbreviation originates from English-language medical literature and has been commonly used for decades in gender clinics and self-advocacy organizations.

What does it mean?

FTM generally refers to a complete social and/or medical transition from female to male: pronouns, clothing, social role and — in the case of medical transition — testosterone, mastectomy and sometimes phalloplasty or metoidioplasty.

Distinction and overlap

FTM and transmasculine overlap, but are not identical. FTM implies a complete transition to male; transmasculine is more recent, broader and includes non-binary AFAB pathways. 'Transgender man' is common in public language; FTM is sometimes perceived as 'clinical'.

Social and practical context

The abbreviation FTM appears in medical records, research and forms. For FTM individuals, medical pathways involve the usual considerations regarding side effects of hormones, fertility and the nature of surgical procedures.

Critical perspectives

At the British gender clinic GIDS, the number of referrals began to rise exponentially from 2014, mainly young people registered female at birth who were referred in their early teens (source). The Cass Review lists as possible explanations, among others, greater social acceptance, changing ideas about gender and sexuality, an expression of broader mental health problems and the influence of peers and media; which explanation is correct has not been established (source). Referrals often go together with additional issues, such as autism, eating disorders and depression. A fair differential assessment is especially important for this group because the medical steps involved, particularly phalloplasty, have lifelong consequences. The complications of this procedure are documented with sources at transwijzer.nl; for women and girls who are questioning, transkompas.nl offers a separate pathway.