Meanings
nountransface (uncountable)
- uncountableThe practice of a cisgender person (especially one of the opposite gender) portraying a transgender person in media.
[…] the days of transface are numbered.
2018, The New York Times Editorial Staff, Sex and Sexuality, The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, →ISBN, page 792 more examples
A particularly troubling outcome of transface is the reinforcement of biodeterministic views of gender.
2019, Jamison Green, Rhea Ashley Hoskin, Cris Mayo, sj Miller, Navigating Trans and Complex Gender Identities, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 99Transface also has negative consequences for trans actors because it limits their employment opportunities.
2021, Abbie E. Goldberg, Genny Beemyn, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies, SAGE Publications, →ISBN
Origin
From trans + face (attested online since at least 2009), based on earlier blackface.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
transface. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transface
MLA
“transface.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transface. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “transface,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transface.
Source: transface on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.