7 Tips on How to Look More Masculine for FTMs

As a trans man, presenting yourself as a man boosts your self-esteem and gives you the confidence to socialize and interact with people from different backgrounds. Your looks and self-presentation determine how people perceive and address you.

This article will provide seven tips on how to look more masculine. It will also provide clothing and fashion ideas, body language and posture, hair and grooming tips.

Clothing and Fashion

As an FTM individual, clothing and fashion are among the most important tips you need to focus on to appear more masculine.

Here are some ideas:

● Choosing the Right Fit

While selecting different men’s clothes, you should choose the ones with the right fit. Please do not go for the too-tight ones, as they make you uncomfortable. Also, ensure you find clothes that hide your chest, such as men’s button-down shirts.

Men’s blazers, coats, and well-fitted shirts enhance the shoulder shape and provide a rectangular body shape. Also, select straight-legged jeans, trousers, and men’s shorts that are tight enough to improve your appearance.

● Layering Techniques

One of the manners in which you can pretend to be more masculine is by mastering the art of layering. Several layers go a long way in adding thickness to your frame, hence minimizing the curvature. For instance, wear a good-fitting vest and T-shirt, then follow a shirt with buttons, sweaters and coats.

They do not have to suit perfectly and do not have to produce extra volume in the areas that you might want to lose a bit of. Strategic layering can make your shoulders and chest appear more prominent while decreasing the size of the waist and hips.

● Color and Pattern Choices

Your colors and patterns that you use also might give you a masculine view. For instance, black, navy, and charcoal make you thin and angular. Some of the shades can accentuate curves; hence, use them well.

Also, you should know that vertical stripes can make you look taller and thinner. Therefore, do not overdo it by choosing clothes with big and bright patterns that can draw attention to certain parts of the body.

Do not select large patterns that will dominate your frame; instead, choose subtle textures and patterns.

● Accessories

Some accessories, such as men’s jewelry, may make your outfit appear manly appealing. Depending on the shirt’s design and the kind of occasion, it is essential to incorporate watches, belts, and ties. These accessories can help you set up your outfit.

Therefore, you should consider sharp-edged accessories associated with male images. Good men’s shoes, a silver or black leather belt, or even an elegant gold wristwatch could make you look better.

Body Language and Posture

It would help if you analyzed your body language and posture to achieve a masculine look. These include:

● Standing Tall

Remember that your body language has a powerful influence on the people around you. Thus, to look powerful, stand with your shoulders back and chest forward.

It is important not to slouch or cross your arms—this will give you an impression of smallness and low self-esteem.

Also, stand with your legs spread wide apart, approximately at the width of your shoulders. Instead, adopt soft aggression or authentic assertiveness to stand tall and look more masculine.

● Movement and Gestures

Posture and even movements and gestures can also control your masculine appearance. Be mindful of how and where you place your feet and how you sit.

Try not to squint or move excessively because these are signs of a feminine attitude. It would help if you made slower, more composed gestures to show confidence.

Hair and Grooming

Another aspect that you need to know while achieving a masculine look is hair and grooming.

● Haircuts

Your haircut can go a long way in determining the kind of impression you give. You can decide to go for a short haircut since it’s primarily associated with men. Other fashionable masculine haircuts are buzz cuts, fades, and undercuts.

● Facial Hair

Another important masculinizing tool is facial hair. You may not be able to grow a beard or mustache, but makeup and hair growth products are available. Facial hair contours can also suit you if you do not have facial hair at all.

If you have facial hair, you should try out different styles and stick to the one that makes you look more masculine. A neat beard or stubble makes you look more manly.

● Skin Care

You must pay attention to the quality of your skin: clean, smooth, without pimples and traces of acne. A well-polished skin is attractive and boosts your confidence levels. It would help if you had a washing, moisturizing, and sun-protection regimen as part of your skincare regimen.

Makeup and Contouring

As an FTM, there are makeup and contouring techniques that will enable you to look more masculine, such as:

● Facial Contouring

You should know that contouring makeup can make your face more masculine. You may want your jawline, cheeks, cheek bones, and brow bone to pop, so you can apply dark and light to the side you want to help emphasize it.

Contoured lines should be sharp to make bones more prominent where the practice is possible. Mix the colors loosely for natural beauty and practice until you have grown used to the exercises. There are lots of tutorials that may help you hone this skill.

● Eyebrow shaping

Your eyebrow form defines the shape of your face. It may be advantageous to shape your eyebrows to be more distinct, giving you a masculine look.

Do not try to pluck the eyebrows over or make them very thin since this may appear like a lady. Instead, select straighter, thicker contours to have face construction from them.

● Reducing Feminine Features

You can have a masculine look by reducing feminine features using various methods and tactics such as:

Chest Presentation and Binding

As FTM individuals, you should be able to present your chest in a masculine form. You can use binders besides exercises to grow muscles around the chest area. These binders are warps that compress your breast tissues to give you a flat chest.

However, while doing so, you should be cautious not to hurt yourself by practicing safe binding. You can get the best binders from the Gc2b and BanaBuddy websites.

● Shirt Selection

What you wear on your upper front can also help you have a masculine chest. Shirts from structured fabrics make your chest less visible than skins that stick to your body.

If you wear button-up shirts and team the sweater with a jacket or vest, you tend to appear more masculine.

Voice and Speech

Work on your voice and speech to develop a voice that matches your gender identity and makes you more masculine.

● Voice Training

Voices are crucial in displaying your gender. Therefore, you can achieve a masculine voice through voice training with voice coaches or online tutorials. Warm-ups to strengthen the vocal cords and the practice of lowering your pitch are some of the exercises you will practice in voice training.

Remember, voice training requires consistency. Thus, you should practice your gender-aligned voice as often as possible to find your gender-aligned voice.

Another helpful way to improve your voice is to record yourself while speaking and listen to the improvement.

● Speech Patterns

Having a masculine voice as an FTM individual comes in the way you pitch your voice and how you speak. Be careful about the pace, voice volume and modulation.

Remember, male speech is clear and assertive and is characterized by the shorter or the absence of filler words and musical intonation.

You can also speak more slowly and clearly with more assurance and uniformity. These changes can help you develop a speaking pattern that fits a manly mode of presentation.

Mental and Emotional Wellbeing

While you strive to achieve a masculine look, also focus on your mental and emotional wellbeing, such as:

● Confidence Building

The way you express yourself is an aspect of your psychological well being. You need to build confidence from within if you have to achieve a masculine outlook.

Take advantage of this opportunity to self-analyze and consider your strengths and your advancement in the journey. Confidence is not how you appear to the world but feeling good about yourself.

● Seek support groups

Sharing with others who are like-minded or who have similar situations that people deem shameful erases the power that shame holds in you.

You could feel included and perhaps receive help from online trans male support networks such as trans guys. Stories of success may inspire you regarding these changes in the different areas.

Surround yourselves with people who will embrace your gender identification and support you in being yourself.

You may also consider possibilities of treatment or counseling for self-esteem or body image issues, especially if you have gender dysphoria.

Conclusion

While trying to achieve a masculine appearance, you should experiment and find out what works best for you. It would help if you always prioritized comfort and safety. Also, ensure you are confident and consistent to achieve the best results.

This article has provided seven tips on how to look more masculine, which you should practice, and how to achieve the look. Lastly, you should also remember that your mental and emotional well-being matters. Therefore, ensure you are in your best mental and emotional state.