All Boys Aren't Blue

Assigned Gender at Birth (AGAB) is based on a doctor’s inspection of an infant’s genitals after birth. As Johnson points out in the Introduction, assigned gender is often determined before the baby is born via ultrasounds.

AGAB is distinct from sexual anatomy or reproductive organs because AGAB is determined by genitals, which can be indeterminate. As Johnson’s birth shows, a person’s AGAB isn’t always easily known or decided upon. AGAB is primarily a set of expectations society places upon a person before they are born based on a presumed connection between certain genitals and certain social roles. As a result, AGAB is distinct from an infant’s sexual anatomy and the functions their genitals may or may not have as a person develops.

Femme is the French word for “woman,” although it has more nuance when used in English. Johnson defines “Black femmes” as “an umbrella term that captures Black trans women, Black queer men, nonbinary folk, [and] cishet Black women” (39). In essence, a Black femme is any Black person who is not a man and does not aim for masculinity. As an umbrella term, there are people within the groups Johnson names that may not be “femme” in the sense of “feminine.