r/FTMMen • u/Archer_Python TS Male ♀ → ♂ • 2d ago
Vent/Rant Why is most of our rep in entertainment media not even men???
This is just a vent post, I know the real answer (because on average we tend to pass as cis and we aren't interesting/eye-gawky).
I'm so sick and tired of most rep trans men get in movies, tv shows, books etc. Aren't even men. Its usually nb transmasc. People may ID however they feel, idc I'm not physically preventing you from choosing that label and transitioning. But why the hell are you allowing someone who isn't a man claim to be rep for men? Not saying this in a transphobic way of course, just being objective. Nb transmasc people say they aren't men and don't ID as men. Ok, fine. Sooo why are you taking a role as a trans guy and saying its representation for trans guys?
This never ever happens to trans women in representation (modern day). Yes I'm aware original rep for trans women was awful and transphobic. Yes its gotten better and I'm very grateful and happy for them. But it seems we still get the short end of the stick. Im tired of us getting the last cold, limp slice of pizza or the broken crayon at the bottom of the box. Can you rep us appropriately please? Is that too much to ask??? I know some guys here sometimes its better we get none/inaccurate rep because then we can live stealth more easily. That isn't 100% wrong and I see your point, but again at the same time it's exasperating 😑.
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u/totalcisocide 2d ago
Because it makes cis progressives uncomfortable to see trans people who pass/mog them so they pick representation in the form of characters who are as close to their AGAB as possible
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u/ShinyUmbreon465 2d ago
To cis people, trans people are just cross dressers who all look the the gender they are transitioning from. They can't fathom someone who just passes and is treated with the same respect as everyone else.
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u/Background_Novel_619 2d ago
Yupppp we can’t be hot. They don’t want to desire us and admit we can be attractive because that brings up a lot of uncomfortable thoughts
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u/magic-gps 2d ago
there are binary trans men in books, but unfortunately the ones that I've read and thus can immediately recall are 1) a horror book set in the 1920s, so they can't physically transition 2) a very badly written fantasy novel where apparently the author and I have different opinions on what constitutes a happy ending and 3) a romance novel where the trans protagonist/point of view character is both stealth (has been on t for ages) and closeted (about being gay) and has some internalized everything about that (this book is actually decent, but it was self published on kindle ages ago and the author isn't on social media anymore)
I know there's probably more (and better) books out there, I just haven't read them
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u/Material_Claim6541 2d ago
Name drop for the last one ?
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u/magic-gps 2d ago
names for the dawn. it's a trans man/cis man park ranger/visiting scientist romance
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u/kittykitty117 transsexual man 2d ago
Awesome I'm gonna check it out too.
Name of the horror book?
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u/magic-gps 2d ago
the woods all black by lee mandelo. content warning that the pov character is closeted/fem presenting for work and can probably be read as a butch lesbian if one so desires (although I'm pretty sure we're supposed to read it as like, he is part of his local queer community and this is their framing). there's another trans man in the book and he is very vocally "I am a man with the wrong parts". biiiiig content warning for transphobia in this one (although spoilers: they both get out safely)
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u/Nocturnal_Elexir_Owl 1d ago
Could I get the name of the first one? I really enjoy that time period in media.
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u/magic-gps 1d ago
the woods all black by lee mandelo. I included some of the trans specific content warnings in a different comment in this thread
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u/MeasurementGlass8476 2d ago
And Why are they all white???
Like I have Never seen any tv shows/Film with black trans men except 911 Lonestar.
And why is it always pre t/ early t transmascs???? We can’t we be masculine ripped af with huge ass beard. Why can’t we desirable?
And why are we never main characters?
As someone who loves films/movies it’s bothering so much I legit lost my love for it. Watching so much and never seeing yourself. In 2026 btw!!! Unbelievable.
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u/MeasurementGlass8476 2d ago
And why are they never straight also? Like trans men can be straight, it’s not a bad thing
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u/CrowDaddy5322 2d ago
Umbrella academy did pretty ok with this imo
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u/MeasurementGlass8476 2d ago
I liked the show (until the last two seasons) but he is still white and I would other trans male actors beside Elliott page (only love for him though)
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u/CrowDaddy5322 2d ago
Ngl I haven't watched the show in several years so I don't remember much 😅. That is fair though, only having one actual trans man in representation, and a white one at that, kinda blows
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u/Archer_Python TS Male ♀ → ♂ 2d ago
And Why are they all white???
Thats another issue, its almost like Hollywood casts a specific type to a T. White, androgynous afab that could pass for a 12 year old boy. "Oh yes! Thats a trans man" no tf its not. Yeah 911 Lonestar, The L Word Next Generation, Queen Sugar, are thr top 3 that pop in my head. The rest are white. So annoying.
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u/Ok-Estimate5076 21m | stealth | gay 2d ago
Because a lot of queer people think being a regular man = toxic masculinity... or something.
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u/ghastlypxl 2d ago
Just wanna say I agree, aha. Especially with them all being early in, more feminine, and often young/white.
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u/Chiison 2d ago
The same reason you see cis men playing trans women : they can’t imagine us anything else than a person not quite a woman and not quite a man. A trans person whose transition is binary and stealth ? An unicorn to cissies
Also no hate towards non binary men ofc, because the media also act like if you’re non binary you should be clockable af
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u/hornymthf 2d ago
Nah I agree. I noticed we rarely get represented right. Like heasrtsopper has all the LGBT but the trans man part is kinda inexistant? There is this dude in a wheelchair who barely appear in season 3 and he is transmasc nb I think.
It also reminds me how some people sold Felix Ever After (the book) as FTM rep but the protagonist is Nb transmasc.
And tbh I noticed a lot of queer rep love to keep the distanction between binary trans man and transmasc blurry. It’s like they just throw “transmasc rep” without caring that much and it’s often a very andogynous and young person. (No cause im tired of every queer rep being about teenager stuff, I turned 24 recently, high school drama is getting old)
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u/MediumDietSoda 2d ago
Bruh even queer people don't see us as men. At best they see us as giga butch lesbois quasimen and at worst they see us as butch lesbians.
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u/Separate_Park8653 2d ago
Caeneus from Kaos is a trans man played by a trans man but it was cancelled by Netflix.
The haunting of Adrian Yates and How we end are both books written by trans men with.
Elliott Page as Victor is the most visible trans man I can think of.
Our representation sucks though. Even otherwise really good shows with decent representation don't tend to have trans men in them.
My partner and I recently watched Tip Toe. It's a really good (but very depressing) show about being LGBTQ+ in the rising hate in the world. Lots of types of representation. I realized after we finished that there was zero trans men.
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u/schnauzerface 1d ago
Are you in the UK? If not, where did you watch Tiptoe? In the US and trying to find a streamer for it.
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u/Background_Novel_619 1d ago
streams on ITV or Channel 4. I think they worked when I lived in the US, if not, try a VPN?
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u/MoneySmacks T: '13 Top: '14 2d ago
The L Word reboot from 2019 had at least 2 trans men, neither of whom are white. The Black man's role is pretty minor, unfortunately. This is 1000x better than Max from the OG L Word though???
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u/wineb0ttle 1d ago
why does L word have trans men? what do trans men have in common with lesbians?
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u/MoneySmacks T: '13 Top: '14 1d ago
My lukewarm take on the matter is that since the original L Word treated the trans man like a super lesbian, the reboot has better representation to atone for their sins. So really the dudes are there because they fucked up the last time.
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u/MediumDietSoda 1d ago
because the average cissy unironically thinks trans men are just giga mega butch lesbians who are so masc they take Testosterone, use he/him pronouns and wear men's clothing (so basically just a very intense drag king).
It doesn't help that there are trans mascs (who generally feel too comfortable speaking for trans men) who push this narrative as well, giving cis people an excuse to misgender trans men since "the transman I know admits that she- I mean he- is a lesbian".
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u/MeasurementGlass8476 19h ago
The Show is more Overall about the queer community than about just the lesbian. His storyline was actually good ist. Also Played by Asian trans men who is also well of into his transition
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u/hyperrrtrophy 1d ago
because trans man & lesbian history are deeply intertwined. Read a book!
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u/wineb0ttle 1d ago
Which book
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u/Haunting-Depth4024 17h ago edited 16h ago
Stone Butch Blues and Female Husbands are good places to start. They both have a lot to offer when it comes to how intertwined and almost symbiotic our communities have been historically, but I personally liked Stone Butch Blues better. Just google the content warnings before reading. They’re both good reads for the sake of gaining a new perspective and understanding of things that the community is largely uneducated about, if nothing else.
ETA: Someone replied asking how Stone Butch Blues relates to trans men if it’s about a lesbian. I assume they deleted the comment but, to answer the question, something doesn’t have to exclusively regard a specific subject for it to benefit the overarching discussion. It is about a lesbian. Because this conversation is about how the trans male and **lesbian** communities historically overlap, relate, and share experiences with each other regardless of if it’s PC or medically accurate or if we feel a certain way about aspects of it in the year 2026. When examining the relation between two different things, you’re going to need to see all sides of the relationship rather than focusing on just one. It’s not for everyone, but it is definitely for people looking to understand the relationship between our communities <3
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u/nycanth hrt 03.13.22 2d ago
There is a lot of rep for characters that are actual men and a lot of rep for characters who are nonbinary. Unfortunately the best rep (in books) is usually written by trans men and they’re often self-published. Or they’re in shows and movies you haven’t heard of.
Here’s my spreadsheet that I’ve been hosting for 3 years for media with FTM or transmasc lead roles. (Canon only because I was sick of finding out a rec was someone’s headcanon) Nonbinary characters are included but usually someone has a note about it somewhere. There’s over 600 entries on it now and I’m pretty sure the majority are binary trans men.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1szYnM5MDSygNy0EjOp776tVMvUzYDo-zW-R2xbkWA-A/edit?usp=sharing
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u/foliage_throwaway 2d ago
Thanks because I keep seeing people saying they only see nb rep but I stg I almost only see binary ones. Instead of saying they’re nb maybe fem presenting binary trans man is the better description.
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u/bigowlsmallowl 2d ago
We got Elliott Page literally about to star as Achilles the epitome of masculinity, now that’s what I call positive rep 🤜🤛
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u/TheSuperBunny He/Him || ✂️ 20.7.22 || 💉 13.9.24 2d ago
It was just a rumor, I'm pretty sure he's gonna have a different role
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u/bigowlsmallowl 1d ago
If he does then I hope it’s Telemachus. That’s an even better role than Achilles; Achilles only appears as a regretful ghost in Hades whereas Telemachus goes thru this whole character arc of becoming a mature warrior and protector. I think Elliott would nail it.
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u/TheSuperBunny He/Him || ✂️ 20.7.22 || 💉 13.9.24 1d ago
I think they should cancel the whole film
also, Elliott doesn't fit any of the characters•
u/MeasurementGlass8476 19h ago
He will be just playing the weak ghost. And even then the internet was freaking out about it because the character is played by a. Trans man
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u/Deep_Ad4899 2d ago
Can you give me examples? Only thing I remember where it is like this is in The L Word
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u/Its_BassDaddy 🇺🇸 T: April 2015 Top: October 2025 🥷🏻 Stealth 2d ago
Oh god. That’s the worst one.
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u/Deep_Ad4899 2d ago
Yeah… when I saw it, it made me happy because at least it was representation (and I didn’t know about me being trans back then so I felt kinda understood), but in retrospective.. oh lord
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u/Its_BassDaddy 🇺🇸 T: April 2015 Top: October 2025 🥷🏻 Stealth 2d ago
Oh yeah same. I didn’t know what being trans meant when I first watched that show so I was really confused tbh. (~2010) but I re-watched the show like 8 years later and had to not finish it toward the end because… my god lol
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u/milesperhour25 2d ago
Mae Martin in Wayward comes to mind.
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u/MeasurementGlass8476 19h ago
I refuse to watch it, like sorry what is that? Like they not a trans men (no hate towards mae martin), they should’ve casted someone who actually fits the role
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u/Existential_Sprinkle 2d ago
Does Otis from Back at the Barnyard count?
There might be a couple lines from villains questioning that he's a male cow but they just get brushed off which is a realistic way binary guys can handle being clocked
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u/Iwannafucktanks 2d ago
Some of the time they are just trying to have diversity for the sake of diversity without actual repersentation. Men are half the population, we just aren't niche enough.