From Gender Dysphoria to Gender Euphoria
Many transgender people experience “gender dysphoria” - psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. It often begins in childhood, though some trans folks begin to experience it around puberty or even later in life.
Gender dysphoria can manifest as:
Discomfort with primary and secondary sex characteristics (like genitalia, breasts or lack thereof, body hair) and a strong desire to be rid of them because they don’t feel like they fit with one’s gender identity
A strong desire for the primary and/or secondary sex characteristics of another gender or to be and be treated as another gender
A strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of another gender
Through a social and/or medical transition process within a supportive community, trans folks can begin to experience more congruence between their gender identity and presentation and, through living more authentically (in whatever that looks like for them), can move away from gender dysphoria to gender euphoria.
Gender euphoria, in contrast to gender dysphoria, describes feeling “right” in your gender. When your gender presentation, how your gender is perceived, aligns with your sense of self. When you can look at the way your gender is presented and received and feel happiness or joy.
And while terms like gender dysphoria and euphoria are most often associated with and experienced within the trans community, you don’t have to be transgender to experience gender euphoria. When cisgender people wear gendered clothes, for example – a cis woman puts on a nice dress, a cis man wears his best suit – and get positive responses, they may experience gender euphoria.
So I invite you to ask yourself – what in your life brings you gender-related joy? And how can you explore your gender identity and foster gender euphoria for yourself? Experiment with different kinds of clothing, different hairstyles, pronouns, or even a different name (a pretty easy place to do this is when you order your morning coffee – that Starbucks barista won’t know the difference)! You might be surprised what you discover.
