46 Gender Dysphoria vs. Gender Euphoria

Keywords: Gender, Transgender, Identity, Stigma

Intro

The terms gender dysphoria or gender euphoria are starting to circulate more but the meanings may not appear that often. Today many new and unfamiliar terms may be popping up and it may be hard for some to keep track of them all but certain terms are important to remember as you or someone you love may be experiencing them and not yet understand. To talk about these terms can help remove the stigma that may surround them, particularly what surrounds the phrase “gender dysphoria”. The term gender dysphoria is something more talked about, especially in terms of how dangerous it can be. Gender euphoria is a positive counterpart and is lesser known to the general public. It is known that “the limited attention to gender euphoria in research means clinicians may also be unaware of the term or not understand what it means to their clients” (Beischel et al. 2022:276), but it is just as important to know as gender dysphoria.

Gender Dysphoria

Gender dysphoria can be defined as the distress arising from conflicts between a person’s gender identity or expression and their assigned gender/sex. When someone’s body or perceived gender does not match how they identify inside it can be extremely distressing. It is known that “dissatisfaction with one’s appearance and the drive to look different from one’s sex assigned at birth is central to gender dysphoria” (Peterson et al. 2017:480). Gender dysphoria can be triggered in many different situations as “when a community sample of trans and nonbinary individuals were asked to describe their gender dysphoria in a social context, participants described linguistic triggers, often in the form of misgendering or otherwise having their identity questioned, which caused an immediate increase to their experience of gender dysphoria” (Lindley and Galupo 2020:267). This immediate increase in gender dysphoria can be a huge weight on the person’s shoulders and can pile up to cause a mental breakdown for example, panic or anxiety attacks. It can be seen that “these external triggers can lead to a disruption in social functioning with gender dysphoria serving as an intermediary between the distal stressor (i.e. misgendering) and the outcome (i.e. mental health symptoms)” (Lindley and Galupo 2020:267). Gender dysphoria can be so confining to some that it will cause symptoms of mental health struggle.

The stigma associated with this psychological distress is one major factor contributing to the accumulating stress because transgender people, who are more prone to experience gender dysphoria, are a minority. The stigma that is associated with a minority identity usually provides additional chronic stress, which contributes to more negative health outcomes. According to the minority stress theory, sexual minorities, underrepresented gender identities, queer and other sexual identities (LGBTQ+), and other sexual minorities frequently deal with unique and persistent stressors that are connected to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The internal conflict going on in a person’s mind while experiencing gender dysphoria is made worse by stigma, discrimination, bullying from others, or denial from close family and friends. Although most transgender people have improved psychological well-being since transitioning, they still experience different forms of stigmatization in their day-to-day lives. Transitioning is a unique process through which transgender people transition from living in accordance with the sex to which they were born to living in accordance with their gender identification. A part of transitioning could be social transitions and/or medical transitions. Something to note is that a transgender person does not have to go through medically transitioning to be considered trans. Some transgender people “experienced that finding a job after the transition was difficult when they revealed their transgender identity” (Verbeek et al. 2020:226). Although the act of transitioning is not just one point in time like a switch to flick but rather the continual, diverse, and personal ways that people deal with societal and physical changes that affect their gender. Appearance also plays a big part in how likely someone will be stigmatized, for example how well a person “passes”. Passing, as it relates to gender, is the perception of someone as belonging to a different gender or sex than the one they were given at birth. It is said that “low voice pitch in trans women was reported as an important factor that increased the likelihood of experiencing enacted stigma. Some trans women … mentioned low voice pitch as contributing to experiences of post-transition misgendering” (Verbeek et al. 2020:226). Another factor of stigma is that people may fear those who are going through a hard time due to gender dysphoria being labelled as a “mental illness.” Although gender dysphoria is not a mental illness, some people may develop mental health conditions because of it. As a result of these experiences, some people keep “their transgender identity concealed, or showed signs of guilt or withdrawal, which may be a consequence of internalized stigma” (Verbeek et al. 2020:229) which is something that should not happen. Unfortunately, transitioning may have serious implications for the social lives of transgender people. Although it is not transitioning itself that causes issues but rather cisnormativity and transphobia. Cis-normativity is a belief that all or almost all people are cisgender. Although the amount of people who identify as transgender is relatively small, many trans persons and allies find it disrespectful to assume that everyone is cisgender unless otherwise stated. An assortment of unfavourable views, sentiments, or behaviours toward transgender people or transness in general are collectively referred to as transphobia. Fear, aversion, hostility, aggression, violence, or anger toward anyone who does not fit social gender norms are all examples of transphobia. Therefore, receiving social support is important during these times especially when it is from family and friends. Social support plays an important role in providing support and creates stronger resilience against the transphobia and discrimination that the individual may face. Receiving social support from fellow transgender individuals in self-help groups is also a way to find community during hard times.

However, there can be such things as gender-affirming interventions and affirming social experiences that can help alleviate gender dysphoria and improve mental health and well-being. It is known that “suffering from severe gender incongruence usually leads individuals to pursue hormone [replacement therapy] and [gender affirming surgeries]. The purpose of these [gender affirming medical interventions] is to alleviate the individual’s distress by reducing the discrepancy between the individuals’ [assigned sex at birth] and their experience” (Costa and Colizzi 2016:1954). After receiving hormone replacement therapy, a reduction in symptoms of anxiety among individuals has been reported. Over time “research reported higher emotional, social, and mental quality of life in hormone-treated FtM (female to male) adults, with hormone treatment duration associated with higher emotional quality of life” (Costa and Colizzi 2016:1962). Being able to access gender affirming medical care is such a helpful way for people who suffer from gender dysphoria on their road to overcoming it although it is not needed in some cases and should never be forced upon someone. “It is clear from the literature that experiencing gender dysphoria can feel like excruciating pain and can negatively impact functioning across multiple domains, but gender-affirming interventions and affirming social experiences help alleviate gender dysphoria and improve mental health and well-being” (Austin et al. 2022:1407). Being able to get the help you need is very important when dealing with gender dysphoria especially when it is at a severe level.

Gender Euphoria

Gender euphoria is a term that is generally used to refer to a range of positive feelings. These include but are not limited to: confidence, comfort, assuredness, satisfaction, and happiness. It can also be explained as the psychological state of bliss and comfort that happens when the individual’s gender expression is aligned with their identity. These are in response to the affirmation of one’s body or one’s gender identity and are something that should be celebrated. When people feel secure in their gender, it may be because of factors like clothing or binding that help them feel more at ease with their gender or in social circumstances when their pronouns and names are used correctly. The transgender community talk about gender euphoria and how experiencing it is different for everyone as it is personal and unique to each different person. People have “expressed that they experienced or imagine they will experience gender euphoria from a diverse set of experiences that we grouped as 1) external or physical, 2) internal or psychological, and 3) social” (Beischel et al. 2022:282). This means that gender euphoria comes from a variety of experiences that may happen to people.

When your physical appearance matches who you identify as inside it can be a big deal. This can reference “changes in their sexed bodies, such as genitals, face shape, and fat distributions, often facilitated by biomedical transition (i.e., hormones and surgery)” (Beischel et al. 2022:282) can help you feel more like yourself. Since it is generally assumed that men have shorter hair and women have longer hair, even seemingly straightforward activities like a haircut can induce a significant amount of gender euphoria in people. Therefore, the beginning stages of transitioning can include cutting or growing their hair as the first big step into being who they are. Gender affirmation is a process whereby an individual undertakes changes, both medically and socially, which serve to affirm their gender and reduce their gender dysphoria. Another part of gender euphoria is self-affirmation which can be facilitated by a mirror. For example, seeing on the outside what they experience on the inside. A gender-euphoric social experience can also come from wearing the clothes associated with one’s identified or felt gender/sex rather than their assigned birth sex. This can present validation due to external appearances matching their gender/sex which can result in “passing,” also known as being assumed to be their identified gender/sex. Another social context where gender euphoria can arise is when someone uses the person’s preferred pronouns without asking or having to be corrected first. Some nonbinary people have indicated that when people struggle to identify themselves in public as either women or men due to confusion, it was validating for them. In the social context, gender euphoria can be experienced with other people because of bathrooms, relationships, and sex. Gender euphoria, to those who experience it, is said to be incredible to feel and can result in a huge boost of confidence particularly in a social sense. As it’s said, “while joy or happiness encompasses much of the emotional tenor of gender euphoria, participants also described feelings of confidence, attractiveness, and affirmation” (Beischel et al. 2022:286). Gender euphoria can be conceptualized and experienced as powerfully positive. It can result in a significant improvement in a person’s life that is fundamentally and completely worth fighting for.

Conclusion

In life, some people experience not only just a push away from their assigned at birth gender/sex but also a pull toward gender/sexed aspects that feel more authentic and enjoyable to themselves. With this knowledge, we can advance our understanding of gender/sex minorities and help reduce stigma by recognizing that discomfort is not its only or main feature. These experiences also bring affirmation, satisfaction, and happiness. Over the course of the studies that have been done “findings counter the idea that gender dysphoria and gender euphoria are merely opposites, instead suggesting that a more complex and nuanced relationship may exist between experiences of gender dysphoria and gender euphoria” (Austin et al. 2022:1408). With the correct help and acknowledgement, dysphoria can turn into euphoria, but it is almost always a long road. There have been studies that “provide further evidence for the at-risk nature of transgender youth, emphasizing that mental health clinicians and physicians working with this demographic need to be aware of these challenges” (Peterson et al. 2017:480) which show just how important it is to be aware of these challenges to help those who are in need. There needs to be more studies done on gender euphoria/dysphoria to help those in need to a greater degree and help reduce stigma, especially in the social sense. If gender dysphoria especially is more widely known, it is sure that a great deal of stigma and pressure would be removed from those who suffer from it.

Bibliography

Austin, Ashley, Papciak, Ryan, and Lovins, Lindsay. 2022. “Gender euphoria: A grounded theory exploration of experiencing gender affirmation.” Psychology and Sexuality, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1-21. doi:10.1080/19419899.2022.2049632

Beischel, Will J., Gauvin, Stéphanie E. M., and van Anders, Sari M. 2022. ““A little shiny gender breakthrough”: Community understandings of gender euphoria.” International Journal of Transgender Health, 23(3), 1-21. doi:10.1080/26895269.2021.1915223

Costa, Rosalia, and Colizzi, Marco. 2016. “The effect of cross-sex hormonal treatment on gender dysphoria individuals’ mental health: A systematic review.” Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 1953-1966. doi:10.2147/NDT.S95310

Lindley, Louis, and Galupo, M. Paz. 2020. “Gender dysphoria and minority stress: Support for inclusion of gender dysphoria as a proximal stressor.” Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 7(3), 265-275. doi:10.1037/sgd0000439

Peterson, Claire M., Matthews, Abigail, Copps‐Smith, Emily, and Conard, Lee Ann. 2017. “Suicidality, Self‐Harm, and body dissatisfaction in transgender adolescents and emerging adults with gender dysphoria.” Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 47(4), 475-482. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12289

Verbeek, Maria J. A., Hommes, Mark A., Stutterheim, Sarah E., van Lankveld, Jacques J. D. M., and Bos, Arjan E. R. 2020. “Experiences with stigmatization among transgender individuals after transition: A qualitative study in the Netherlands.” International Journal of Transgender Health, 21(2), 220-233. doi:10.1080/26895269.2020.1750529