Editing Gender dysphoria (section)

== Gender euphoria ==
{{primary sources section|find=gender euphoria|find2=history of the term|date=June 2022}}
[[File:Portrait of Virginia Prince.jpg|thumb|258x258px|In 1990, [[Virginia Prince]] ended an article wishing her readers "gender euphoria."]]

''Gender euphoria'' (GE) is a term for the satisfaction, enjoyment, or relief felt by people when they feel their gender expression matches their personal [[gender identity]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tebbe |first1=Elliot A. |last2=Budge |first2=Stephanie L. |date=2022-09-26 |title=Factors that drive mental health disparities and promote well-being in transgender and nonbinary people |journal=Nature Reviews Psychology |language=en |volume=1 |issue=12 |pages=694–707 |doi=10.1038/s44159-022-00109-0 |issn=2731-0574 |pmc=9513020 |pmid=36187743}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9">{{cite journal |last=Benestad |first=E. E. P. |date=October 2010 |title=From gender dysphoria to gender euphoria: An assisted journey |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sexol.2010.09.003 |journal=[[Sexologies]] |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=225–231 |doi=10.1016/j.sexol.2010.09.003 |issn=1158-1360 |access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Austin |first1=Ashley |last2=Papciak |first2=Ryan |last3=Lovins |first3=Lindsay |date=December 5, 2022 |title=Gender euphoria: a grounded theory exploration of experiencing gender affirmation |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19419899.2022.2049632 |journal=[[Psychology & Sexuality]] |language=en |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=1406–1426 |doi=10.1080/19419899.2022.2049632 |s2cid=247281003 |issn=1941-9899}}</ref> ''[[Psych Central]]''{{'s}} definition is "deep joy when your internal gender identity matches your gender expression."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web | vauthors = Collins D |date=2022-05-12 |title=Sex vs. Gender: What's the Difference and Why Does it Matter? |url=https://psychcentral.com/health/sex-vs-gender |access-date=2022-06-01 |language=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003724/https://psychcentral.com/health/sex-vs-gender |url-status=live | work = PsychCentral }}</ref> It is proposed that feelings of gender euphoria require societal acceptance of gender expression.<ref name=":9" /> In academics and the medical field, a consensus has not yet been reached on a precise definition of the term, as it has been mainly used within a social context.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bradford NJ, Rider GN, Spencer KG | title = Hair removal and psychological well-being in transfeminine adults: associations with gender dysphoria and gender euphoria | journal = The Journal of Dermatological Treatment | volume = 32 | issue = 6 | pages = 635–642 | date = September 2021 | pmid = 31668100 | doi = 10.1080/09546634.2019.1687823 | s2cid = 204975343 }}</ref><ref name=":10">{{cite journal | vauthors = Beischel WJ, Gauvin SE, van Anders SM | title = "A little shiny gender breakthrough": Community understandings of gender euphoria | journal = International Journal of Transgender Health | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 274–294 | date = 2021-05-03 | pmid = 35799953 | pmc = 9255216 | doi = 10.1080/26895269.2021.1915223 }}</ref> The first attempt to rigorously define gender euphoria through an online survey took place in 2021, conducted by Will Beischel, Stéphanie Gauvin, and Sari van Anders.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11">{{cite journal |last1=Kai |first1=Jacobsen |last2=Devor |first2=Aaron |date=2022 |title=Moving From Gender Dysphoria to Gender Euphoria: Trans Experiences of Positive Gender-Related Emotions |journal=Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies |volume=1 |issue=1–2 |pages=119–143 |url=https://bulletin.appliedtransstudies.org/article/1/1-2/6/ |doi=10.57814/GGFG-4J14 |issn=2769-2124}}</ref> ''Transgender congruence'' is also used to ascribe transgender individuals feeling genuine, authentic, and comfortable with their gender identity and external appearance.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Huit |first1=T. Zachary |last2=Ralston |first2=Allura L. |last3=Haws |first3=J. Kyle |last4=Holt |first4=Natalie R. |last5=Hope |first5=Debra A. |last6=Puckett |first6=Jae A. |last7=Mocarski |first7=Richard A. |last8=Woodruff |first8=Nathan |date=2021-11-04 |title=Psychometric Evaluation of the Transgender Congruence Scale |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00659-7 |url-status=live |journal=[[Sexuality Research and Social Policy]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=491–504 |language=en |doi=10.1007/s13178-021-00659-7 |issn=1553-6610 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609011111/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-021-00659-7 |archive-date=2022-06-09 |access-date=2022-05-06 |s2cid=243792173}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kozee |first1=Holly B. |last2=Tylka |first2=Tracy L. |last3=Bauerband |first3=L. Andrew |date=June 2012 |title=Measuring Transgender Individuals' Comfort With Gender Identity and Appearance: Development and Validation of the Transgender Congruence Scale |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361684312442161 |url-status=live |journal=[[Psychology of Women Quarterly]] |language=en |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=179–196 |doi=10.1177/0361684312442161 |issn=0361-6843 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223000255/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361684312442161 |archive-date=2021-12-23 |access-date=2022-05-06 |s2cid=10564167}}</ref>

The term ''gender euphoria'' has been used by the transgender community since at least the mid-1970s.<ref name=":11" /> Originally, it referred to the feeling of joy arising from fulfilling a mix of [[gender role]]s, which was different from the concept of gender dysphoria, which is used to describe individuals who wished to medically transition to a different sex.<ref name=":11" /> In the 1980s, the term was published in trans contexts, coming up in interviews with trans people.<ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Aman R |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iwrqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Maledicta |date=1986 |publisher=Maledicta Press |isbn=978-0-916500-29-0 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003726/https://books.google.com/books?id=iwrqAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Aman R |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=J2n5iLgdClkC&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Lillian Mermin Feinsilver Festschrift |date=1988 |publisher=Maledicta Press |isbn=978-0-916500-29-0 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003729/https://books.google.com/books?id=J2n5iLgdClkC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhLaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Transsexualism: A Collection of Articles, Editorials, and Letters on the Subject of Male-to-female and Female-to-male Transsexualism Edited from the TV-TS Tapestry Journal, Issues 39-52 |date=1988 |publisher=International Foundation for Gender Education |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003725/https://books.google.com/books?id=nhLaAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref> For example, in a 1988 interview with a [[trans man]], the subject states, "I think that day [Dr. Charles Ilhenfeld] administered my first shot of the 'wonder-drug' must have been one of the 'peak-experiences' of my life -- talk about 'gender euphoria'!"<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhLaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Transsexualism: A Collection of Articles, Editorials, and Letters on the Subject of Male-to-female and Female-to-male Transsexualism Edited from the TV-TS Tapestry Journal, Issues 39-52 |date=1988 |publisher=International Foundation for Gender Education |location=University of Michigan |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003725/https://books.google.com/books?id=nhLaAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref> The interview indicates he is referring to [[testosterone]].<ref name=":7" />

Other figures, including [[Mariette Pathy Allen]] and [[Virginia Prince]], have used the term in their work. In 1990, [[Virginia Prince]] used the phrase in the trans magazine ''Femme Mirror,'' ending an article with, "...from here on you can enjoy GENDER EUPHORIA - HAVE A GOOD LIFE!"<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HVdAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Femme Mirror |date=1990 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003734/https://books.google.com/books?id=0HVdAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |url-status=live |last1=Prince |first1=Virginia }}</ref> Starting in 1991, a monthly newsletter named ''Gender Euphoria'' was released,<ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = MacKenzie GO |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p60N-QvxvD8C&pg=PA180 |title=Transgender Nation |date=1994 |publisher=Popular Press |isbn=978-0-87972-596-9 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003732/https://books.google.com/books?id=p60N-QvxvD8C&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA180&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref> featuring articles about transgender topics; [[Leslie Feinberg]] read the newsletter to better understand the transgender community.<ref>{{Cite book |vauthors=Feinberg L |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1HtppmYfBEC&pg=PA22 |title=Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue |date=October 10, 1999 |publisher=[[Beacon Press]] |isbn=978-0-8070-7951-5 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003728/https://books.google.com/books?id=j1HtppmYfBEC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA22&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, there are instances in which gender euphoria has been used with a different meaning, such as in 1979, when the Black feminist [[Michele Wallace]] used it to describe the [[male privilege]] present in Black men.<ref>{{Cite book |vauthors=Gittelson N |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_lsoCPr94sC |title=Dominus: A Woman Looks at Men's Lives |date=1979 |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |isbn=978-0-15-626118-0 |language=en |access-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003732/https://books.google.com/books?id=E_lsoCPr94sC&newbks=0&hl=en |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |vauthors=Kriegel L |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6ixAAAAIAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=On Men and Manhood |date=1979 |publisher=Hawthorn Books |isbn=978-0-8015-0248-4 |language=en |access-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003724/https://books.google.com/books?id=D6ixAAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The term has been embraced as part of a movement to stop pathologizing being transgender.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |vauthors=Califia P |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_aHAAAAIAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism |date=1997 |publisher=Cleis Press |isbn=978-1-57344-072-1 |language=en |access-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003731/https://books.google.com/books?id=m_aHAAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1989, [[Mariette Pathy Allen]] published an unnamed transgender person's quote in her photography book ''Transformations'': "The shrinks may call it 'gender dysphoria,' but for some of us, it's gender 'euphoria,' and we're not going to apologize anymore!"<ref>{{Cite book |vauthors=Allen MP |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=No1pAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Transformations: Crossdressers and Those who Love Them |date=1989 |publisher=Dutton |isbn=978-0-525-24820-0 |language=en |access-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003728/https://books.google.com/books?id=No1pAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> The movement to focus on the positive side of gender expression was also advocated for in 1994, when the Scottish "[[Transvestism|TV]]/[[Transsexual|TS]]" periodical ''The Tartan Skirt'' wrote, "Let's accentuate the positive, discard the negative, and promote the new condition of 'Gender Euphoria.'"<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9laAAAAMAAJ |title=The Tartan Skirt: Magazine of the Scottish TV/TS Group |date=1994 |publisher=ADF Editorial Services |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003730/https://books.google.com/books?id=F9laAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1997, [[Patrick Califia]] described [[Transgender rights movement|transgender activists]] picketing using signs that read "Gender Euphoria NOT Gender Dysphoria" and handing out "thousands of leaflets" at protests.<ref name=":13" /> The following year, in 1998, ''Second Skins: The Body Narratives of Transsexuality'' reported:

{{blockquote|The transactivist group [[The Transexual Menace|Transexual Menace]] is campaigning to have the diagnosis "Gender Identity Disorder" removed entirely from the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]''. "Gender Euphoria NOT Gender Dysphoria"; its slogans invert the pathologizing of transgender, offering pride in queer difference as an alternative to the psychiatric story.<ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Prosser J |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0O-HAAAAIAAJ&q=%22gender+euphoria%22 |title=Second Skins: The Body Narratives of Transsexuality |date=1998 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-10934-5 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003727/https://books.google.com/books?id=0O-HAAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22gender+euphoria%22&q=%22gender+euphoria%22&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Similarly, [[Florence Ashley]] has advocated for the medical field to focus on helping patients achieve gender euphoria instead of treating patients on the basis of gender dysphoria.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ashley F | title = The Misuse of Gender Dysphoria: Toward Greater Conceptual Clarity in Transgender Health | journal = Perspectives on Psychological Science | volume = 16 | issue = 6 | pages = 1159–1164 | date = November 2021 | pmid = 31747342 | doi = 10.1177/1745691619872987 | s2cid = 208214158 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ashley F, Ells C | title = In Favor of Covering Ethically Important Cosmetic Surgeries: Facial Feminization Surgery for Transgender People | journal = The American Journal of Bioethics | volume = 18 | issue = 12 | pages = 23–25 | date = December 2018 | pmid = 31159694 | doi = 10.1080/15265161.2018.1531162 | s2cid = 81006262 }}</ref> They argue that currently, in order for individuals to receive [[gender-affirming care]], they must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, which is not always accessible and entails people must be experiencing significant distress before they can fully express their own [[gender identity]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ashley F | title = Gatekeeping hormone replacement therapy for transgender patients is dehumanising | journal = Journal of Medical Ethics | volume = 45 | issue = 7 | pages = 480–482 | date = July 2019 | pmid = 30988174 | doi = 10.1136/medethics-2018-105293 | s2cid = 117715087 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Ashley's stance that gender euphoria does not need to be preceded by a clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and that gender euphoria is complex, is echoed by Elliot Tebbe and Stephanie Budge in their 2022 ''Nature Reviews Psychology''<ref>Tebbe, Elliot A; Budge, Stephanie L (September 26, 2022). "Factors that drive mental health disparities and promote well-being in transgender and nonbinary people". ''National Library of Medicine''.</ref> article, in which they write, "Gender euphoria is not merely the absence of gender dysphoria, but rather a conglomeration of positive emotions and subjective well-being in response to being affirmed in one’s gender."<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tebbe EA, Budge SL | title = Factors that drive mental health disparities and promote well-being in transgender and nonbinary people | journal = Nature Reviews Psychology | pages = 694–707 | date = September 2022 | volume = 1 | issue = 12 | pmid = 36187743 | pmc = 9513020 | doi = 10.1038/s44159-022-00109-0 }}</ref>

Gender euphoria has also been expressed through art. Photography in the East Village in Manhattan has served as means to express gender euphoria, contrasting fashion photography, which is said to reinforce the [[gender binary]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |vauthors=Ridout A |title=Gender Euphoria: Photography, Fashion, and Gender Nonconformity in The East Village |url=https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3825 |publisher=[[Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College]] |date=October 28, 2015 |degree=Master of Arts |doi=10.31390/gradschool_theses.3825 |language=en |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2019, the [[Midsumma Festival|Midsumma]] festival in Australia hosted "Gender Euphoria," a [[cabaret]] focusing on "bliss" in transgender experiences, including musical, ballet, and [[American burlesque|burlesque]] performances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-25 |title=The joy that comes from embracing trans identity shouldn't be so rare | vauthors = Connor A |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/26/the-joy-that-comes-from-embracing-trans-identity-shouldnt-be-so-rare |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003726/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/26/the-joy-that-comes-from-embracing-trans-identity-shouldnt-be-so-rare |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web | vauthors = Dezfouli L | date = 19 January 2019 |title=Review: Gender Euphoria, Midsumma Festival |url=https://www.artshub.com.au/news/reviews/review-gender-euphoria-midsumma-festival-257176-2362042/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=ArtsHub Australia |language=en-AU |archive-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003724/https://www.artshub.com.au/news/reviews/review-gender-euphoria-midsumma-festival-257176-2362042/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-17 |title=Gender Euphoria review (Melbourne International Arts Festival) |url=https://dailyreview.com.au/gender-euphoria-review-melbourne-international-arts-festival/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=Daily Review: Film, stage and music reviews, interviews and more. |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328183642/https://dailyreview.com.au/gender-euphoria-review-melbourne-international-arts-festival/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |vauthors=Woodhead C |date=October 16, 2019 |title=A joyful and poignant celebration of difference |url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/theatre/a-joyful-and-poignant-celebration-of-difference-20191016-p5316n.html |access-date=June 2, 2022 |website=The Age |language=en |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003724/https://www.theage.com.au/culture/theatre/a-joyful-and-poignant-celebration-of-difference-20191016-p5316n.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A reviewer described it as "triumphant – honest, unpretentious, touching, and a vital celebration."<ref name=":8" />

The 2020 [[young adult novel|young adult]] [[fantasy (genre)|fantasy]] novel ''[[Euphoria Kids]]'' by [[Alison Evans (author)|Alison Evans]] was also inspired by the concept of gender euphoria.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kerr |first1=Jodie |title=State of euphoria: Alison Evans on 'Euphoria Kids' |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2019/11/08/141016/state-of-euphoria-alison-evans-on-euphoria-kids/ |access-date=30 November 2024 |work=Books + Publishing |date=8 November 2019}}</ref> In the book's foreword, Evans wrote: "I want people to learn about gender euphoria (before) gender dysphoria... I want the young trans kids that will read this book to be proud of who they are, and to imagine wonderful, magic lives for themselves."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Alison |title=Euphoria Kids |date=2020 |publisher=Echo Publishing}}</ref>