“A little shiny gender breakthrough”: Community understandings of gender euphoria
2021/05/03 by Will J. Beischel, Stéphanie E. M. Gauvin, Sari M. van Anders · 1 voice · 169 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Anxiety #Developmental psychology #Dysphoria #Euphoriant #Feeling #Gender Roles and Identity Studies #Gender Studies in Language #Gender dysphoria #Gender studies #Human sexuality #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Psychiatry #Psychoanalysis #Psychology #Social psychology #Sociology #Transgender
paper · open access · doi:10.1080/26895269.2021.1915223
published in International Journal of Transgender Health 23(3), 274-294 (Taylor & Francis)
openalex publication_date 2021/05/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract
Background: , which originates in psychiatry, the term "gender euphoria" has been mobilized by some LGBTQ people to describe the powerfully positive emotions that can come from one's gender/sex. As such, researchers and clinicians may benefit from conceptual clarity as to what gender euphoria is and what kinds of experiences might result in gender euphoria. Aim: We aimed to better understand how trans community members and others conceptualize the term "gender euphoria," including its relationship to gender dysphoria, as well as the contexts and behaviors that elicit gender euphoria. Method: = 47) of diverse sexualities and gender/sexes (including transgender, cisgender, and/or nonbinary participants) who had heard of or used the term "gender euphoria." Participants answered open-ended questions about where they had heard the term being used, how they would define gender euphoria and gender dysphoria, the relation between these terms, and their gender euphoric experiences. Results: Analyses resulted in five themes: (1) gender euphoria describes a joyful feeling of rightness in one's gender/sex, (2) gender euphoric experiences can be external, internal, and/or social, (3) "gender euphoria" originated in and circulates in online and in-person gender/sex minority communities, (4) dysphoria describes a negative feeling of conflict between gender/sexed aspects of one's self, and (5) the relationship between euphoria and dysphoria is complex. Discussion: These results can inform qualitative and quantitative research, gender affirmative clinical practice, political fights for transgender rights, and understandings of gendered experiences for people of all identities.
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