Femboys are gracing us with their dazzling skirts, flowing dresses, cute tops, and nail polish. We take a look at the history and influence of TikTok’s sweetest trend.
What is a femboy? If you still haven’t downloaded TikTok yet, you may be unaware of the delightful community of real Femboys sweeping the platform. A popular term for cisgender or non-binary users breaking traditional norms of masculinity, Femboys, and femboy videos are bringing a non-conformist, self-confident attitude to the surface and people are loving it.
However, the roots of this Femboy TikTok trend run a lot deeper than the average TikToker may be aware of.
History of the femboy
Before we jump into the viral vids, and memes such as femboy hooters, it’s worth looking at where the term began. In the late ’90s, ‘femboy’ was a word used to belittle men who didn’t fit into traditional standards of masculinity. In the 21st century, however, the term has been reclaimed as a positive means of self-identification. Beginning on the ever-grinding cogs of Reddit and ending up on TikTok, a community using the term to subvert the norms of gender have quickly grown into a viral sensation.
The hashtag #femboyfriday has over 250 million views on TikTok and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
@thatsusboihappy ##femboyfriday :) ##foryou ##alt ##fashion ##femboy ##ootd♬ Cochise ㅤ Hatchback – yeah
TikTok user @thatsusboi has been largely credited with bringing the fem boys to the attention of TikTok’s 800 million users.
Seth’s gender-bending style was an overnight success, with his killer videos racking up over a million views. In an interview with VICE, the seventeen-year-old stated, “the term [femboy] gave me a community.”
Meanwhile, in the music world…
While femboys continued to populate online spaces, redefining masculinity to great avail, one particular celebrity was making very similar waves. His name? Harry fucking Styles. And it must be said, combating toxic masculinity as a femboy in skirt has never looked quite this good.
In between dropping stunning music videos such as Treat People With Kindness, Harry has been posing for the likes of Vogue Magazine in the classic cute femboy outfit and advocating for free self-expression and upsetting squares in the process.
In discussion with the magazine, the former 1D singer gave some intriguing insight into femboy clothes: “I think with music it’s so important to evolve – and that extends to clothes and videos and all that stuff. That’s why you look back at David Bowie with Ziggy Stardust, or the Beatles are their different eras – that fearlessness is super inspiring.”
As he mentions, Harry isn’t the first celebrity to rep the femboy style either; think Jaden Smith, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, to name a few.
Femboy criticism
Unfortunately, freedom of gender expression is still looked down on by many small-minded people in society. This outdated rhetoric prevents many people from feeling safe to live as themselves, something which TikTok user Jaydden discussed with VICE. “Over time, my videos reached the wrong side of TikTok, and I received thousands of hateful and homophobic comments,” Jaydden explained.
“It made me feel horrible for just being me and expressing myself.“ To minimise the sort of bigotry Jaydden experienced, the best thing we can do is call out unwarranted behaviour. As Young Thug says: “When it comes to swag, there’s no gender involved.”
Our 10 Favourite TikTok Femboys
We hope this article gave you a better understanding of what does femboy mean. To show our support for the movement, we’ve scoured TikTok for some, especially memorable Famboy. Below are some of the more popular users:
- @johnsupnik
- @ricardomfv
- @cokesbath
- @heybaokhanhh
- @imnotrozi
- @plumsoju
- @flawlesskevin
- @.jvdd
- @moysilk
- @thatsusboi
Check out their vids and TikTok accounts below!
#10 – @johnsupnik (John Supnik)
@johnsupnikpt. 2 ##femboys ##femboyfriday ##fyp ##foryou ##nyc ##LookalikeEdit♬ original sound – brooke ;)
Likeable personality, great style, fun cinematography. No complaints here for femboy no. 10.
#9 – @ricardomfv (Ricard0)
@ricardomfvAl menos los he usado para fotos en IG😝💕. ¿Les gustaría que hiciera parte 2? ##parati ##femboyfriday ##stunningchallenge ##fyp♬ Stunnin’ (feat. Harm Franklin) – Curtis Waters
Ricardo makes a spot on the list for rocking such a wide range of femboy outfits, all with killer flair. Watch out, Harry Styles.
#8 – @cokesbath
@cokesbathwe so proud of him! ##femboy ##femboyfriday ##fyp♬ original sound – .
Cokesbath is a real team player, compiling vids of different femboys together to show support and help grow the community.
#7 – @heybaokhanhh
@heybaokhanhhTata tata ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##asian ##femboys ##femboyfriday ##femboysarevalid♬ suono originale – LaMaryrose
@heybaokhanhh consistently showcases some stellar femboy outfits on TikTok, as well as creating plenty of comedy sketches for your endless scrolling needs.
#6 – @imnotrozi (rozi)
@imnotrozithe truth about ##femboyfriday ##fyp ##foryou ##lgbt ##bi ##enby♬ original sound – rozi
Rozi took a break from being an icon of the #femboyfriday movement to call out the narrow-minded dudes trying to turn the movement into a joke. That alone is worthy of a mention.
#5 – @plumsoju (Jiayang)
@plumsojuI’m trying my best, what else do you need? ##alt ##boysinskirts ##boysindresses ##boysinskirts ##maidoutfit ##asian ##cropttop ##femboyfriday ##altgirlfriend♬ original sound – Jiayang
Jiayang’s viral TikTok achieved two things at once. 1. Provided a hilarious take on the crop top and skirt wearing trends. 2. Assisted in normalising said trends.
#4 – @flawlesskevin (Kevin Ninh)
@flawlesskevinDefinitely vibing with the Kuro fit 😍 DC: Red Velvet #haikyuu #mystyle #kuro #weeb♬ YRN (tik tok) – Tyler April
One fateful day, a women’s section top accidentally made its way into Kevin’s shopping basket. He bought it anyway and hasn’t looked back – big props.
#3 – @.jvdd (Judd Anderson)
@.jvddfeeling like it’s friday #fyp #jvdd #lilpeep vc:@griffinspremium♬ mud on my gucci – griffin mark
The charismatic Judd Anderson was inspired to wear whatever he wanted by Nirvana frontman and feminist Kurt Cobain, who sported dresses and skirts at live shows.
#2 – @moysilk
@moysilkIM READY 4 MY FIRST DAY AT FEMBOY HOOTERS…CLOTHES HAVE NO GENDER 😝#MakeSomeoneSmile #prettyboy #boysinskirts #femboyhooters♬ original sound – MOY SILK
@moysilk is a key player in the femboy movement as well as being a pretty talented designer and artist. Shop his closet on GRAILED @MOYSILK
#1 – @thatsusboi (Seth)
@thatsusboi#femboyfriday♬ original sound – billy
Seth popularised the #femboyfriday movement and still uploads quality femboy material frequently, making him the obvious no. 1 pick and the ultimate tik tok femboy.
Up next: Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens whinge over Harry Styles’ Vogue cover, feel the wrath of his fanbase
