Femboy (/ˈfɛmbɔɪ/ ⓘ) is aslang term that refers tomen,[a] usuallycisgender, who express themselves withtraditionally feminine behaviours, or—especially in the variant spellingfemboi—to youngtrans men orbutch lesbians.[1] As an Internet aesthetic, this may be through the use of jewelry,wearing feminine clothing and makeup, or expressingfeminine behavioural qualities.Femboy can be used as both a sexual and non-sexual term; it does not denote a specificsexual orientation orgender role.
The term originated in the 1990s. It has since been popularised through internet forums and social media, starting on4chan and expanding to other sites such asReddit andTikTok, wherehashtag trends such as "#femboyfriday" have received attention in the media. Ingender studies, the term has also been used as an identifier for individuals on thetransgender spectrum; inporn studies, the term has been seen as an identifier for asubmissive role in intercourse and as exhibiting elements ofsexual fantasy.
According toDictionary.com, the termfemboy originated at least in the 1990s. It is acompound noun from the wordsfem (anabbreviation offeminine andfemme) andboy.[1][2] However, one early usage can be found in the 1981 release of theAbbreviations Dictionary by editor and photographer Ralph De Sola.[3] The variantfemboi uses the LGBTQ termboi.[1] By 2000, the termboi[4] had come to denote "a young, attractive gay man". The term "boi" has also been used, independently of any meaning related to sexuality, as an alternate spelling for boy.[5]
Collins English Dictionary definesfemboy as "a male whose appearance and behavioural traits are regarded as conventionally feminine".[6] According toDictionary.com, the variantfemboi may refer to youngtrans men orbutch lesbians.[1] Originally, the term was used as apejorative against non-masculine men but has since beenreappropriated,[7] although it may still be used as a slur againsttrans women.[8]Femboy is a term ofgender expression and does not define thesexual orientation orgender identity of an individual.[8]
Along with terms likesissy,femboy is not used in a purelypornographic sense—it may be used to refer to a male involved in non-sexualcross-dressing ortransvestic fetishism.[9] The labelfemboy is used on platforms such asTumblr to signify agay sex role similar to that of a female in Western culture; it is related to terms such asboywife andpussyboy in its usage to denote "self-identifiedeffeminateandrophilic males who exclusively seek to bepenetrated bydominant,masculine men".[10] Richard Vytniorgu argues that this sort of label "enables these bloggers to join together their sex-object choice and sex role in a form of subjectivity that others can identify with" and sees individuals using these labels as sharing a "bottom identity" with non-Western homosexuals.[10] Femboys have beenfetishised, and femboy groups have been seen to be exclusionary in who they allow to participate, formingin-groups and out-groups.[11]
A 2022 analysis of the most followed male creators onTikTok identified the presence ofeffeminate attributes, such as the use ofhair dye and jewelry. The paper found that the platform's top creators were "quitehomogeneous; [...] almost exclusivelywhite, toned, and young, with perfect or near perfectfacial symmetry and considerable bodilyadornment", stating that the male creators used the term as a replacement to the labels ofeffeminate andgay.[12] A femboy may engage incross-dressing[9]—garments associated with the femboy aesthetic includeskirts,dresses, andthigh highs.[7][13] Jules Joanne Gleeson claims4chan femboys are "often but not always assisted byHRT." Many femboys idealise a feminine form with aflat chest, leading some to use medicines used ingender-affirming hormone therapy in combination with substances purported to stunt breast growth. The element of youth in femboy culture has raised questions on how long one can remain a femboy.[14]
Formale-to-female transgender people, being a femboy can be a way of avoiding the medical difficulties of transitioning. Gleeson also proposes the existence of the femboy as a method to escape both internal and externaltransphobia, alongside "the unique stigma" experienced by transgender women. She sees the femboy as a "self-made effeminate phenomenon" opposing traditional medical practice surrounding gender transition and as an example of "the erratic state of contemporary gender relations".[14]
Femboy is similar to the termshemale in that they both refer to individuals exhibitingmasculine andfeminine behaviorssimultaneously; they express femininity in a delicate manner without the presence of thesexualised female body, such as largebreasts. In the academic journalPorn Studies, Emerald Vaught sees femboys as encompassing both effeminatecisgender men and, despite this lack of corporeal femininity,bottomingtrans women. In pornography, she sees the femboy as sharing the idea of a "youthful appearance" withtwinks and as "represent[ing] an element of sexual fantasy" of transgender femininity.[9]
After the term was appropriated on theInternet, femboy communities began to form. Around 2018, the termfemboy was found almost exclusively on4chan, especially on the /lgbt/ forum. It later became popular on platforms such asReddit andTikTok.[7][14] Reddit has hosted both sexual and non-sexual femboy content. The community r/feminineboys was started in 2012 and had 303,000 members by May 2025; the site also contains pornographic communities like r/FemBoys.[11][15] TikTok has been called asafe space in allowing freedom of gender expression.[16] The femboy aesthetic has been compared with figures inpopular culture such asHarry Styles;[12]viral trends such as "#FemboyFriday" and memes such as "FemboyHooters" have helped to popularise the aesthetic.[7][15] An unofficial femboypride flag exists, which uses seven horizontal stripes with the colours pink, light pink, white, and light blue. These represent the feminine aesthetic, feminine behaviour, non-binary identities, and masculinity.[17]
According to Aye Lei Tun, femboy culture was present inMyanmar'sSpring Revolution, protesting against the rulingmilitary junta imposed after the2021 coup d'état. In the protests, femboy outfits were used to gain exposure, with gender-nonconforming outfits being worn by non-femboy protestors. Tun sees the introduction of femboy culture, which was previously unfamiliar to Myanmar, as a tactic to lead towards a "social and cultural ideological revolution".[18] A 2021 publication by theISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute described femboy activity against the junta as causing "subversion of its assertion of rule", drawing comparison toopposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War and theanti-war "make love, not war" slogan.[19]
The femboy aesthetic has been described byVice News as "breaking traditional norms of masculinity", demonstrating that "oppressive gender norms are slowly breaking down".[7][16] OnTikTok, the aesthetic has enjoyed popularity, although creators of femboy-style posts have receivedhomophobic threats andviolent threats.[16]
Critics have seen femboys as perpetuating male dominance and disregarding existing discourse on gender identity.[12][20] An article by Marissa Lee inMission criticised straight femboys for "claim[ing] responsibility for breaking such boundaries" and "do[ing] next to nothing for the conversation surrounding gender fluidity. If anything, [the existence of femboys] emphasises the all-encompassing maleness."[20] An article inSocial Media + Society has said the "femboy aesthetic" of the most popular content creators on TikTok "map[s] onto and reinforce extant patterns ofgender inequality", and does little to challengeheteronormative views of masculinity:[12]
When and if men cross gender boundaries [...], they do so while alluding to masculinities'hegemonic qualities, pairing their behaviours with lyrics and physical gestures that sexualize women and re-assert men's virility, bravado, and strength as a form of heterosexualrecuperation.
Thealt-right andanti-gender movement have deemed the emergence of femboys a result of theLGBTQ chemicals conspiracy theory, alongside "the existence of gender-morphing frogs"; figures such asGuillaume Faye have called the "effeminization" of society an example ofWesternsocietal decay.[21]
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