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A trans man, transman, trans guy, FTM is a transsexual or transgender man: a person who was identified as female at birth, but who feels that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves and consequently identifies as male. The initialism "FTM", sometimes FtM, F2M, or F→M, is short for "female-to-male", and identifies the general direction of transition and not a conscripted "start" to "finish" process. Some trans men reject being seen as FTM, arguing that they have always been male and are only making this identity visible to other people, MTM, short for "male-to-male", represents this idea.
The term "trans man" is used as a short form for either identity (transsexual man and transgender man), and sometimes transsexuality is seen as a type of transgenderism. Trans men may identify as transsexual, as transgender, neither, or both.
"Transgender man" is an umbrella term that may include anybody who was assigned the female sex at birth, but identifies as male. For instance, some drag kings,cross dressers, androgynous, bigendered, and genderqueer people might identify as trans men.
Transsexual men usually seek medical interventions, such as hormones and surgery, to make their bodies as congruent as possible with their gender presentation. They usually live or wish to live full time as members of the gender opposite to the gender they were assigned at birth. Sometimes the term "new man" is used to identify a post-operative transsexual man.
For different trans men, transition might involve some or all of the following steps:
Originally, the term "trans men" referred specifically to female-to-male transsexuals who underwent HRT and/or surgery. In recent years, the definition of "transition" has broadened to include theories of psychological development or complementary methods of self-acceptance.
Most trans men prefer to live part-time or full-time as male. Being socially accepted as male (sometimes known as passing) may be challenging for trans men who have not undergone HRT and/or surgery. Some trans men may choose to present as female in certain social situations (e.g. at work). After physical transition, trans men usually live full-time as male.
Although there is still disagreement as to how gender dysphoria begins and who should qualify for hormonal and surgical intervention, there is agreement amongst psychologists that gender dysphoria should be the subject of clinical attention separate from other disorders and that the gender identity of these people is profound, deep seated, and non-delusional. With respect to transsexual men who choose to seek sex reassignment surgery (SRS), outcome studies indicate that when three conditions are met: a proper differential diagnosis, a significantly long trial period of living in the gender of choice, and a satisfactory surgical result, there is only a small incidence of post-operative regret. Indeed, in a review of the outcome literature Pfafflin (1992) reports that less than 1% of the female-to-male transsexuals who had undergone sex reassignment had any regrets. Not all transsexual men wish to undergo SRS, nor is surgery necessary for trans men to identify as male.
The sexual orientation of trans men is usually expressed with respect to male identity. Therefore a trans man who prefers female partners is considered heterosexual. The FTM community has coined the phrase transfag to describe a trans man who desires other men, whether they be cisgendered males or other trans men. Some people may consider the term "transfag" offensive, as it may be taken as an derogatory term against MTF trans women, but generally most gay trans men are comfortable with this label of self-identification.