Lets talk about Gender Euphoria
By Connor Reed
Many people have an idea of what gender dysphoria is and many conversations surrounding Trans+ people focus predominantly on the discomfort and distress that arises when we experience gender dysphoria.
However gender dysphoria is only one aspect of the trans experience. What often gets overlooked is experiences of gender euphoria.
So what is gender euphoria?
Gender euphoria can be defined by the positive and affirming feelings of joy, comfort, and satisfaction you experience when you see your body aligning with your internal perceptions of your gender.
Often arising from what feels like significant milestones in one’s own gender affirmation journey you might feel gender euphoria to various degrees from:
Getting that new hair cut
Wearing a binder, or a bra for the first time
After a gender affirming surgery
Buying and wearing clothes that reflect your gender
Getting your make-up or nails done
Having people use the correct name and pronouns while addressing you
Starting on hormones
… and so on.
While milestones may be the easiest to identify moments of gender euphoria, it’s not exclusive to these moments. In fact gender euphoria can show up in our day to day lives as periods of joy, happiness, love for ourselves, comfort, excitement, warmth, clarity through noise and mental fog, and a whole host of other positive experiences.
When thinking about my own gender euphoria as a transmasculine person, the moment that sticks out the most is when I first saw my chest post top surgery, but I also experience it in my day to day in the small joys of being able to dress in a way that reflects how I feel (whether that’s my silly button ups and jeans or when I dress up like a fancy vampire), when I look at my tattoos or body hair, and when I’m singing along to my favourite music. I can also reflect back on my experiences prior to medically transitioning and notice that the internal joy and excitement I experienced when someone used my true name and correct pronouns when addressing me was a form of gender euphoria that can mean a lot to reminisce on as someone privileged to be gendered corrected and referred to using my true name on a daily basis.
How can I explore gender euphoria?
When you start your own journey in discovering or recognising gender euphoria it might be helpful to keep a couple reflections in mind:
What is it about my appearance that makes me feel the most comfortable in my body? And what brings me joy? (This can range from parts of the body or even clothes, tattoos, make-up, etc)
What are the ways that others can communicate with me that makes me feel joy? What language do I resonate with when people address me that makes me feel happy and like they are addressing me authentically?
What ways do people treat me that bring me joy? (e.g. being included in men’s or women’s exclusive spaces)
What actions can I take that bring me joy? (e.g. do you have a hobby that makes you feel happy and connected with your gender?)
In exploring what euphoria looks like for you, you might even start noticing past experiences or moments from childhood that make a lot more sense when viewed through a gender euphoria lens.
Why is it important to talk about gender euphoria?
Life as a Trans+ person isn't solely centered around pain and dysphoria, just as any cisgendered individual has their ups and downs, gender diverse people’s lives hold a vast variety in our experiences. Despite this, narratives surrounding diverse gender identities continue to focus on the anxiety and suffering that surrounds dysphoric experience. It is also common to overlook your own experiences of euphoria due to the brain’s bias to hold onto negative memories over our experiences of joy.
When our stories are painted through a lens of negativity, it can become easy to see being gender diverse as something that inherently carries more negativity than joy or feel as though you may not experience “enough” dysphoria to feel secure in your trans identity. When this is far from true, trans+ lives don’t need to be defined by our dysphoria, and can commonly be defined through our euphoric experiences instead.
Gender euphoria isn’t queer exclusive
While it might sometimes be easier for trans+ people to notice when they experience gender euphoria, it’s important to note that cisgender people also experience moments of gender euphoria. Anyone who is capable of experiencing joy which originates from their self-perception of their gender can experience what gender euphoria is. As I mentioned, my tattoos as part of my identity bring me a sense of gender euphoria, and that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with being trans, rather a strong connection to how I perceive myself and relate myself to my gender.
References and additional resources:
https://www.minus18.org.au/articles/what-is-gender-euphoria-and-what-does-it-feel-like/
https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/gender-euphoria#takeaway
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/what-is-gender-euphoria/