What Does the Femboy Pride Flag Look Like?

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LGBTQIA+ culture expert NV Gay explains what the femboy flag represents

Co-authored by NV Gay and Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: February 3, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Femboy Flag & Meaning
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• Flag History
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• Femboy Meaning
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• Femboy History
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• FAQs
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• Video

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The term ‘femboy’ is on an upswing, garnering quite a bit of attention in pop culture. With the world learning about this old identity with a new label, it’s helpful to dive a little deeper. We’re here to introduce you to the femboy flag and its meaning, but we also talked to a LGBTQ+ culture expert, transgender and diversity specialist, and therapist to help us learn everything you need to know about ‘femboys’ themselves, like the label’s definition, history, and all your burning questions.

Femboy Flag

LGBTQIA+ culture expert NV Gay says a femboy is someone who identifies as male while embracing traditional femininity. The femboy flag was created in 2017 by a forum user. It features 7 horizontal stripes. The white stripes represent trans and non-binary people, the light blue center stripe represents masculinity, and the pink stripes represent femininity.

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Section 1 of 5:

The Femboy Flag & Its Meaning

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   The most common femboy flag is pink, white, and blue. A light blue horizontal stripe crosses the center, and it’s flanked by white, light pink, and darker pink stripes—7 stripes in all. Like other LGBTQ+ flags, such as the trans flag, the femboy flag uses colors traditionally associated with both masculinity and femininity.

   • The light blue stands for masculinity and is in the center because it forms the foundation of the identity, but it’s not the most prominent color, because it’s not the most important.
   • The different shades of pink represent femininity and gender fluidity or non-conformity, and they rest on the border of the flag because femininity is one of the first things people notice about femboys.
   • The white stripes represent for trans and non-binary femboys.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   NV Gay is an LGBTQ+ culture expert, activist and educator, as well as a photographer, digital artist, public speaker, and author of The Queer Allies Bible

   Inge Hansen, PsyD, is the Director of Well-Being at Stanford University and the Weiland Health Initiative. She particularly focuses on social justice and gender, sexual identity, and sexual diversity.

   Moshe Ratson, MFT, PCC is the Executive Director of spiral2grow Marriage & Family Therapy, a coaching and therapy clinic in New York City. He works with individuals, couples, families, business executives, and organizations.
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   Less popular femboy flags include the Mars and the Mod Hermy flag. The Hermy flag was created by a Deviantart user named Mod Hermy and uploaded to a Pride Flag account in 2018. It features gradients of green to represent shifting masculinity, and gradients of purple to represent shifting femininity. The Mars flag’s origin is less clear, but the flag features an upside-down mars symbol on pink and white bands to represent the interchange of masculine and feminine.

   • These flags aren’t as popular and are much less used. The Mars flag tends to be confused for the trans community, and the Hermy flag just never quite caught on.
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Section 2 of 5:

History of the Femboy Flag

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   The most common femboy flag was created in 2017. The flags were posted to the Amino app by the user Jay in the “Lesbians Unite” community. The user said that their friend created the flag, alongside a tomboy flag, and that they wanted to share a flag that represents the masculine, feminine, and gender non-conforming aspects of the femboy identity.

   • According to the user, the flag incorporates elements from other flags, like the trans flag, because of the similarity in identities, the “lipstick lesbian” flag, because of its link to femininity, and the bi and pan flags, which use color to represent gender.

Section 3 of 5:

What is a femboy?

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   A femboy is a male with stereotypically feminine characteristics. A femboy is simply a ‘feminine’ boy, or someone who identifies as male but does not necessarily identify with all the aspects of modern masculinity. Instead, this person likely looks to femininity for self-expression. Of course, this definition varies from person to person, and there are many ways to be a femboy, but that’s the general meaning accepted by many communities.

   • LGBTQ+ culture expert NV Gay explains, “Most of the time as human beings, we’re searching for a way to describe ourselves so that everybody else around us can understand us a little better. Femboy falls into this idea that, ‘I just like dressing up and looking pretty.’”
   • “It doesn’t mean 'I’m a girl,'” adds Gay. Rather, it means, “'I just like looking this way.' There’s nothing wrong with that, and I think that’s an amazing thing.”
   • Some say femboys are always young, while others say they can be any age. Some say they’re thin, while others say they can have any body type.
   • Wondering if you’re a femboy? Take our quick, fun, and confidential Am I a Femboy Quiz!
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Section 4 of 5:

History of Femboys

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   The term “Femboy” began as a slur in the 90s. Like many queer terms, “femboy” began as a slur for men who didn’t fit into traditional masculine roles or appearances, as a combination of “feminine” and “boy.” It was used this way for much of the 90s.

   • While the term is new, feminine men have existed throughout history and cultures. Men who blur the gender lines have been around forever, but the terms we use to describe them and how we think of them are always evolving.
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   “Femboy” was adopted and became popular as an identity in the 2010s. Eventually, as the internet rose in usage and popularity, users on forums like 4chan and Reddit began discussing the terms and using them to identify with, rather than as slurs. Users used the term and these social spaces to discuss what it means to be a femboy—not traditionally masculine, but also not necessarily transgender—and the term began to stick.
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   “Femboy” broke into the mainstream in the 2020s. As social media continued to evolve, the term “femboy” made its way from niche forums to more accessible communities like Twitter, Tumblr, and TikTok. When it did, the term became more trendy and generally positive, with users self-identifying with the term more openly, and discussing celebs they see as having “femboy aesthetics,” like Harry Styles.

   • Many users point to TikToker @thatsusboi as one of the main people to popularize the term, as this user spoke openly and enthusiastically about the femboy identity on their profile.
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Section 5 of 5:

Femboy FAQs

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   Are femboys trans? Not necessarily. Femboy is a different identity from trans. Femboys are typically boys who are feminine, while trans people are people whose gender expression is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. The difference is that femboys often identify as men, but express themselves with characteristics of other genders, while trans people identify as another gender than the one assigned at birth. Femboy is often a gender expression, while trans is often a gender identity.

   • Transgender and diversity specialist Inge Hansen says that “Gender identity is our internal experience and naming of gender, while our gender expression is how we present our gender through clothing, behavior, personal appearance, and other characteristics.”
   • If it sounds like there’s some overlap, it’s because there is! In fact, some trans people identify as femboys, and some femboys as trans people. Gender expression is fluid and shifting, not set in stone.
   • That said, some take issue with the idea that femboys are “trans lite,” or a stepping stone to a trans identity. While this sometimes happens, this is often not the case, and the two identities remain distinct.
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   Are femboys gay? Often, yes, but again, not necessarily. Many femboys are in fact gay, but you don’t need to be gay to be a femboy. The difference is one of gender identity versus sexuality. Femboys have a particular relationship to their gender and how that gender is expressed, but that doesn’t speak to their sexual preferences. Gay people, on the other hand, are gay by virtue of their sexual preferences.

   • Men can be feminine and straight. Straight men can wear dresses and makeup. It happens, and it’s chill.
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   Are femboys LGBTQ+? Many would say yes, but it’s a difficult question. The answer is… it’s complicated! Many femboys are themselves gay, bisexual, or trans, which makes those particular femboys LGBTQ+ by definition. But what about cis, straight men who express themselves with feminine attitudes and aesthetics? Opinions differ, but many would say that they belong to the “+” part of the acronym, if they want to. At any rate, they’re definitely welcome at the pride parade!
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   Is “femboy” a slur? Femboy began as a slur, yes, to mean a feminine man, like “sissy.” Over time, though, the word morphed and was reclaimed by the people it describes, and now it’s not often used as a slur. Still, be careful about how you use it! If you’re using it to be rude or to talk down to others, then you’re using it as a slur, and that’s not cool. If you’re using it to describe someone’s identity, and they’ve told you to use that word for them, then it’s all cool.

   • If you’re not sure how someone identifies, therapist Moshe Ratson, MFT, PCC says that “you can ask them what their gender identity is straightforwardly.” For example, “Can you tell me how you identify?” or “What are your pronouns?”
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