Gender & Sexuality dictionary
femboy
or femboi [ fem-boi ]
What does femboy mean?
A femboy is a slang term for a young, usually cisgender male who displays traditionally feminine characteristics. While the term can be used as an insult, some in the LGBTQ community use the term positively to name forms of gender expression.
Where does femboy come from?
The word femboy emerges by at least the 1990s. It begins as a derogatory term for a man who didn’t adhere to traditional standards of masculinity. Fem is a slang shortening of feminine, often with a pejorative tone, and boy refers to a young man, here used in a belittling manner. Together, femboy doubles down on the insults. Comparable insults include sissy or wimp.
Especially in internet culture, femboy emerged as a positive term in circles where femininity was prized, appealing to a range of individuals who might be attracted to a mix of feminine and masculine traits. Online in the 1990s, people began discussing sexual fantasies about femboys. The erotic femboy prompted a genre of internet pornography, with PornHub introducing femboy as a searchable category on its site in 2013. Search interest in the term has dramatically increased ever since.
Around the same time, femboy also came to be adopted as a self-descriptor for guys who tend toward presenting feminine for non-sexual purposes. These persons adopt femininity as a form of everyday gender expression, donning a conventionally feminine aesthetic by wearing makeup or feminine clothing, for example. Though effeminate guys are often stereotyped as gay, being a femboy isn’t necessarily tied to any sexual orientation.
Femboi emerged as a variant of femboy and potentially draws from the meaning of boi as it exists in the LGBTQ community. Here, boi usually refers to younger, so-called “softer” individuals in the LGBTQ community who adopt masculinity in some shape or form, such as young trans men or young “butch” lesbians.
Examples of femboy
Who uses femboy?
As noted, femboy is used a slang in speech and writing in a range of settings. It can insult men perceived as too effeminate. It can label a genre of pornography featuring slender, curvy, often cross-dressing men. It can also be a self-identifying form of gender expression in the LGBTQ community. Be mindful of context and audience when using or interpreting femboy.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of femboy like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of femboy that will help our users expand their word mastery.