What it means to be FTM

Here, I outline what I mean when I describe myself as someone diagnosed with Late Onset Gender Identity Disorder. My experience cannot be generalized to everyone, especially not those with Early Onset (Homosexual) Transsexualism. 

For me, “FTM” doesn’t mean “Female-to-Male.” It means “Female-to-Masculine”, as in “Masculine Female”. No matter how severe my dysphoria is, no amount of hormones or surgery will make me into a biological male. Instead, they allow me to approximate the appearance of a male, to alleviate Gender Dysphoria. I become male-like, but my sex remains female.

Feminists define “woman” as an “adult female human.” While this is literally correct, it is also a very female way of looking at the world. If you ask the average man “What is a man?”, he will not answer “an adult male human.” By that measure, most adult male humans are still boys. Men define the word “man” by a code of values and responsibilities that separates the “boys” from the “men”. Once you define the word “man” as something other than “adult male human”, it now becomes possible for members of the female sex to meet the requirements of a “man”. How is this dilemma best reconciled? 

As I am a Late Onset FTM, we can set aside the rare cases of true intersexuality and early onset transsexuals, who could argue that they have “brain-restricted intersexuality”. Excluding these debatable cases, everyone else can be unambiguously categorized as “male” or “female”. Being male can therefore be a prerequisite to being considered a “man”, on top of the values and responsibilities that are expected of men. “FTM” or “transman” can serve as the title for those of the female sex who fulfill the social duties of a man, without being a biological male. 

When I describe myself as “FTM”, it does not mean that I am biologically male. It simply expresses my intent to pursue a social role, as an “honorary man.”