A Comprehensive Guide to Social, Legal and Medical FTM Transition Medically reviewed by Jennifer Richman on February 21, 2025. What is “Female to Male” (FTM) Transition? FTM transition stands for “female to male” transition. This term generally refers to the various legal, social, or medical steps that people who are assigned female at birth take to transition: to live in a way that is more aligned with their masculine gender identity. While some people feel “FTM” accurately describes their experience, it is largely considered to be an antiquated term. Meanwhile, “trans masculine” and “trans man” are more widely accepted. This is because many transmasculine people consider that they were never …