What Does the Term "Femboy" Mean?

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Learn all about this gender-bending aesthetic

Co-authored by Devin McSween

Last Updated: May 22, 2025 Fact Checked

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What does femboy mean?

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History

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Is femboy an LGBTQ+ expression?

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Femboy Memes & TikToks

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Related Terms

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Video

Femboys have taken the internet by storm over the last few years, and now that term seems to be everywhere. If you’re confused about what exactly it means, don’t worry! We’ve created this article to walk you through the ever-changing gender landscape of the internet and this trendy subculture. Keep reading for the rich history of femboys, plus where they are now.

Femboy Meaning

Femboys are young men who dress, act, and present femininely. They aren’t necessarily transgender or gay—being a femboy is first and foremost an aesthetic choice. Some people may find the term offensive, so be wary of context if you decide to use it yourself.

Section 1 of 5:

What does femboy mean?

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A femboy is a young man who exhibits traditionally feminine traits. “Femboy” is a portmanteau of “femme,” which is short for feminine, and boy.^{[1]
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Research source} It refers to guys who like to look and/or act conventionally feminine. For instance:
- Femboys often wear feminine clothes, like dresses, skirts, and thigh-high socks, accessories, like nail polish and jewelry, and long hairstyles.
- Femboys often express behaviors and mannerisms that are seen as more feminine, like being emotionally expressive and nurturing, crossing their legs, and playing with their hair.
- “Femboy” is sometimes written as “femboi.”
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Femboy is a gender expression, not a sexual orientation or identity. Being a femboy isn’t related to someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity—it’s simply a way of expressing oneself that is achieved through adopting feminine clothing styles and mannerisms.^{[2]
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Research source} Many femboys are straight men, although some non-binary people also use the term.
- In some spheres, “femboy” is associated with transmisogyny (misogyny that specifically affects trans women). Although the term does not describe trans women, some people may feel that it does. Be mindful of who you use it around and what kind of person you are describing.
- The femboy aesthetic is popular in anime and the furry community. Some examples of femboys are Nagisa from Assassination Classroom, Najimi from Komi Can’t Communicate, Kuranosuke from Princess Jellyfish, Hime from Himegoto, and Angel Dust from Hazbin Hotel.

Section 2 of 5:

Femboy History

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Originally, femboy was a derogatory term for effeminate men, similar to “sissy.” The insult came out of a culture that denies men (and masculinity) the space to be soft, cute, or generally effeminate.^{[3]
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In the early oughts, a Yahoo! Group called “Boi Fancy” sprang up as a place for feminine men and gender non-conforming individuals alike to talk about glam, gender, androgyny, and their lives.^{[4]
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Research source} The subreddit r/feminineboys was created in 2012 and remains a popular space for femboys to interact.
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Now, femboy is considered a “hybrid masculinity.” As the internet opens up spaces for different gender expressions and identities, there has been a wave of “hybrid masculinities—” masculine expressions that draw from marginalized male and female groups.^{[5]
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- These forms of masculinity are mostly adopted by men, who feel the masculinity historically available to them does not express who they are.^{[6]
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  - Racial minority, working class, and immigrant men are often codified with “regressive” masculine identities, due to the freedom of expression given to the upper social classes that is not extended to the majority of people. Men from more marginalized identities may find the most power and safety by following traditional Western masculinity.^{[7]
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Section 3 of 5:

Is femboy an LGBTQ+ expression?

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Being a femboy isn’t the same thing as being transgender. Being a femboy doesn’t necessarily make a statement about your gender or sexuality—heterosexual men can be femboys, as well as trans, gay, and nonbinary people.^{[8]
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Research source} “Trans woman” and “femboy” are not interchangeable terms.
- Some people argue that you must be male, trans, or otherwise, to be a femboy, but others claim that any gender can be a femboy.
- The creation of the femboy porn category in 2013 popularized the term in mainstream media and sexualized the aesthetic. Many queer and alternative identities that are considered “deviant” become hypersexualized in the mainstream which may be part of why trans women, who are also widely fetishized, were associated with the term.^{[9]
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  - The sexualization and fetishization of femboys online may be in response to the difficulties some people can have with seeing alternative gender presentations as “normal.” It may be easier for people with strong opinions on what gender “is” to see femboy as a sexuality, instead of its kind of masculinity.
“Boi”, a term which has historically referred to young, effeminate gay men, transmasculine and nonbinary youths, and tomboys, marks “femboi” as a more explicitly queer identity.^{[10]
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Research source} As femboys have become more popular online, so has this alternative spelling.

Section 4 of 5:

Femboy Memes & TikToks

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Many of the most followed male TikTokers use feminine aesthetics. Out of 43 of the most followed men on TikTok, almost all of them wore some sort of makeup, nail polish, jewelry, or other traditionally feminine accessories.^{[11]
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Research source} This is likely because popularity on TikTok is heavily influenced by appearance.
- Popular femboys on TikTok aren’t necessarily trying to pave the way for expanded gender expression. Instead, they’re capitalizing on an app that highlights attractive creators.
The #FemboyFriday began in April of 2014 and has become a staple on social media sites like Twitter (now X) and TikTok. Posters use the hashtag with photos and videos of themselves dressed in thigh-highs, skirts, and maid outfits.^{[12]
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One of the most viral femboy memes is femboy Hooters, which came from @Comfy_Times’s October 2019 tweet: “Hooters but [it's] staffed entirely by femboys.”^{[13]
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Research source} This tweet created the “femboy hooters” trend, where people made skits and videos of the concept.
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Protestors were labeled as femboys during the 2021 coup in Myanmar. After the elected prime minister, Suu Kyi, was forced out of office by the Myanmar armed forces, protests broke out, including those centering trans people and drag queens. Photographs from the protests went viral in some spheres, and protestors were inaccurately called “femboys.”^{[14]
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- Gay men cross-dressing, wearing makeup, and generally acting more effeminate are more common in Myanmar than it is in the West, so it’s likely some people could be considered “femboys” at the protests. However, the central factor was that the protestors were in the LGBTQ community, which femboys aren’t necessarily a part of.^{[15]
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- While Suu Kyi’s government never officially promised to expand rights for the LGBTQ community (homosexual sex is still criminalized in Myanmar), queer individuals have always been at the forefront of political change and activism—this situation is no exception.^{[16]
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Section 5 of 5:

Related Terms

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Roseboy Some people only see femboy as a slur against trans women (which it officially is not), and therefore decide to use other terms to describe effeminate young men. “Roseboy” is one of the most popular terms, but it carries negative connotations. It is derived from something explicitly sexual in nature, so some people find it offensive.^{[17]
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- This term is tricky to use since many of the people who find it offensive are femboys themselves.
People sometimes confuse “ladyboys” and “femboys.” Ladyboy is a term used to describe trans women, especially in Thailand and neighboring countries.^{[18]
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Research source} Just like with “trans,” ladyboy and femboy are not interchangeable.
Sissy, like femboy, describes a soft, effeminate man or boy who interests himself in more traditionally feminine than masculine things. Like femboy, the term was originally an insult.^{[19]
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Research source} The term has also picked up a pretty hefty sexual connotation, and it's categorized as pornography.
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Trap Trap is a highly offensive term in the trans community, but is sometimes used by femboys to describe men who cross-dress so well that they pass as women. “Trap” implies that the person who is dressing like a woman is doing it to purposefully trick people. “Trap” has also been used to describe trans women (for the same reason), which is what makes it so offensive.
- In manga and anime, “trap” can be considered a character archetype—in some media, characters are trying to trick people. However, the concept itself stems from transphobia, so many people don’t accept that there is an inoffensive way to use this term.