Go into any comment section on any transgender content, and I'll place bets you'll find someone decry that transgender people are mentally ill somewhere in there. It defines transgender not as something to be proud of, but to be fought against, or hide.Īnd this view fosters not only internalized transphobia, but transphobia from others. It frames being transgender as something painful, shameful, and to be resented. Yet, we cannot let dysphoria be the only path, the price of entry, into our community. Dysphoria is the only way they to relate to being transgender. To many, being transgender has brought them nothing but pain. So what of those who identify as part of our community without any euphoria or dysphoria those who simply identify as man or a woman without any suffering or anguish, such as those who identify as trans because they see gender as oppressive or political.Īs I stated before, this very concept seems insulting to so many transgender people who do suffer dysphoria because they haven't gone through the "rite of passage" that is the anguish that many suffer when learning one is transgender.
Yet, it could be argued that gender euphoria is just a flip side, or a differing form, of dysphoria, as well as that anyone who ever experienced dysphoria has met the "requirements" of being transgender. And I doubt anyone would question my transness, regardless of if they are trying to praise, condemn, or simply acknowledge who I am. I'm still welcome in trans spaces, communities, and conversations. I am still transgender, not just because I still don't identify with the gender I was assigned at birth, but also because I simply still feel a part of the transgender community. So, without that continual anxiety, can I still be considered transgender? Have I perhaps lost points on the transgender scale? Is my transgender identity somehow less valid? However, I have no problem with not passing. Or as content as anyone can be when they look at themselves in a mirror.īut does this lack of dysphoria mean that am I somehow less transgender now? I mean, certainly, the fact that I don't 100 percent "pass" as a woman means I'm viewed by others as transgender. Indeed, through a particular mix of surgery, therapy, and hormones, I'm finally able to look at my own reflection not with fear, but with actual contentment. Today, when I look at my body, I feel none of that old distress. Indeed, this distinction between gender dysphoria becomes more clear even with people who have suffered gender dysphoria. Or they could love using gender neutral pronouns, but not really feeling hurt if someone calls them "he" or "she." A transgender person could feel joy at wearing a dress, yet have no distress at wearing "boys" clothing. For example, many people experience gender euphoria, which is a joy at feeling one's gender identity, expression, or behavior affirmed. While surgery, therapy, and hormones can end up curing or alleviating the mental illness that is gender dysphoria, one commonality between all forms of dysphoria is that those who suffer it desperately wish they didn't.Ĭertainly, from a medical perspective, the answer should be a resounding "no." According to the American Psychiatric Associations, transgender "is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth." And there are many ways to learn that one's gender identity or gender expression does match with your assigned gender. Or it can be a mixture of the two, as it was for me. Dysphoria can also come from social factors, such as not feeling comfortable wearing "women's" clothing or being referred to by gendered pronouns. Gender dysphoria can come from the body, where one may feel distress over a part of their anatomy, such as their genitals, chest, or hair. This feeling is known as gender dysphoria, or the distress or discomfort at realizing that one's gender identity given to them at birth does not match with the gender identity they feel most comfortable with. A relationship with one's anatomy defined by distress and anxiety. To many, the transgender experience is simply that a person whose mind is at war with their own body.
Even today, ask any random person what it means to be transgender and they'll probably slip some form "trapped in the wrong body" mention in there. "A woman trapped in a man's body." Open any book on transgender issues written before 2010 and you'll probably see that exact sentence (or its inverse) pop out at you somewhere.
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