Trans men aren’t just following traditional routes to masculinity — they’re redefining them while forging new paths forward.
July 16, 2025 (lgbtqnation.com)
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There’s no one way to become a man. If anything, the so-called online “manosphere” and current political culture of toxic masculinity have left many men and boys feeling angry, unfulfilled, and yearning for a stronger, more benevolent type of masculinity that feels more authentic and inclusive of different kinds of power.
Transgender men are giving us that. Assigned a different gender at birth, trans men are often socialized into girlhood and pressured into denying their masculine inclinations. While the seemingly contradictory or toxic rules and rituals of cis masculinity may feel like a daily hardship, the transition can also be a rapturous reclamation of the brotherhood they’ve long sought, mixed with a joyous queer-ing of what it means to be a man.
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The July-August Issue of LGBTQ Nation explores what trans men teach us about masculinity. The stories, mostly written by trans men themselves, elevate trans male voices above the current conservative crusade that is crazed with policing trans women.
One of the men will discuss how his mind and behavior gradually moved from a female point of view to a male one, even while his body still reflected feminine aspects. Another will discuss how he happily retains different aspects of his femininity, even while becoming a visible public advocate for trans men.
We’ll hear from one writer about how the queer community’s understanding and acceptance of trans men has changed over his 30 years of activism, and two groundbreaking trans male athletes will share the challenges they’ve faced while excelling in competitive sports.
Another trans man will discuss how he joined the military to assert his manhood (and the problems and possibilities that created), and others will discuss why trans men are so often excluded both from male spaces and the larger political discourse around transgender rights.
In these ways, trans men aren’t just following traditional routes to masculinity – they’re redefining them, forging new paths for the current and future generations of men, both trans and cis.
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Daniel Villarreal is a longtime, award-winning journalist and editor who has written for NBC News, Newsweek, Vox, Slate, Vice News, The Seattle Stranger, The Dallas Voice and numerous other LGBTQ+ publications. He has spoken at SXSW, Creating Change, Netroots Nation, GaymerX, and is a graduate of GLAAD’s Voices of Color program and of the Poynter Institute’s 2024 Power of Diverse Voices seminar. He is also the founder of QueerBomb Dallas, an annual non-corporate Pride event; CinéWilde, the nation’s longest running monthly LGBTQ film series. He is available for interviews and educational talks.