The Transgender Dictionary
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Gender Euphoria

Table of Contents

Introduction

Gender euphoria is happiness. It is affirmation. It is feeling secure as oneself. It is the simple ease of being seen as who you are. Of being comfortable in your own body. But what is it really, and why does the term keep popping up throughout this dictionary?

Sometimes, it can be hard to identify gender euphoria if you've never experienced it. Most people are raised with the assumption that they are whatever gender they were assigned at birth. Even if that agab was incorrect, it is familiar. To some, the discomfort is so familiar, that they don't realize anything is wrong. They think that everyone feels as miserable as they do relating to their gender. Especially for those who have never come across the concept of being transgender, they may think that ever boy secretly wants to be a girl, and every girl secretly wants to be a boy.

It is always a good idea to explore your gender at some point in your life. There is no right or wrong way to explore your gender. Seek out things that you think would make yourself feel more comfortable. If what makes you feel the most comfortable is what was expected of you when you were born, then good! Stick with that. If not, read on.

Note that gender dysphoria is the opposite of gender euphoria. For more information on various terms and concepts that you may not be familiar with, consult the alphabet menu buttons at the top of this page, or click on underlined words to be brought to a page or definition regarding the relevant topic.

General Information

Gender euphoria refers to when someone feels happiness, affirmation, and self-confidence regarding their own gender. Being treated as, and seen as how you feel internally can cause gender euphoria. Looking in the mirror and recognizing the person looking back at you can be another source of gender euphoria. Having others use your pronouns, titles, and name the way you want them to be used can cause gender euphoria.

Even when there is a discomfort there, it doesn't always feel as soul-crushing as others may make it out to be.

That doesn't make you or them any less or more trans.

All that matters is finding what ever makes you more comfortable. You are the only one who will ever be living your life, and it is important to live it however you see fit.

Do not restrict yourself for the comfort of others. If you are not yet who you want to be, figure out who you are, and become that.

Everyone, transgender or cisgender, has their own unique relationship with gender. Their own combination of traits that makes them feel the most comfortable. For the time you are alive, it is important to find out whatever it is will make you happy as yourself.

How to Discover Gender Euphoria

The following can be done in no particular order. Everyone's experiences and transitions are different. These are some general recommendations for anyone who is unsure of where to start, but has the idea of starting.
Not all of these steps have to be done. If you know that you are already comfortable with an aspect of yourself, there is no need to change it. If you've thought about changing something, and feel that you would feel more comfortable not changing it, then keep it how it is.

The first step is finding what pronouns or name that you prefer. What you would like to be called? If you find that a certain set of pronouns or a particular name makes you feel happier when others are talking about you, consider asking to be called those things.

The next step is presentation.

Try a hairstyle that you think you would prefer (it grows back anyways). Look into a more masculine or feminine style that appeals to you. Or something else entirely.
Try putting on makeup to make yourself look more masculine or feminine (it washes off anyways).

Try out clothes or accessories you think would make you feel more comfortable (you can always return them). Try out gender-affirming clothing or accessories such as binders, breast forms, packers, or gaffs.

The next step is voice training. See the way that your voice sounds. Would it make you happier if it was different?

The next step is hormones. Estrogen. Testosterone.
These two hormones flow through everyone's body, though obviously you have more of one than the other.

Look at the changes each one causes. The changes that have occured to you.
Would you be happier if you had more of the one for which you currently have less?

Would experiencing those other changes make you feel more satisfied as who you are?

The next step is surgery.

Would it make you feel more comfortable in your body if you didn't have breasts? Not just when you wore a binder, but all the time?
Would if make you feel more comfortable in your body if you had them? Bigger than what hormones alone gave you? More permanant than inserts?

What other parts of your body would you prefer if you had surgery?

Your body is your vessel. You are the one inhabiting it. Customize it however would make you the most happy with yourself.

General Questions

What About Gender Dysphoria?

While gender dysphoria is often used to define the transgender experience, not everyone experiences it.

Plus, even if you do experience something miserable, its not as though you can't experience the opposite.