LGBTQIA+ Language Lesson: Let’s Talk Gender Dysphoria

To feel at peace in your flesh vessel (a.k.a. your body) is a gift, and for a variety of reasons, it’s a beatific feeling that seems out of reach for many. Admittedly, having a body is weird in general. The concepts of physical appearance, anatomy, self-perception, and being perceived only make the experience weirder, more complex, and emotionally weighty. Adding gender’s unfortunate attachment to societal norms and stigmas further muddles the whole “having a body” thing for a certain individuals, especially those with gender dysphoria.

To clarify, gender dysphoria is nothing to joke about, and its ability to consume every aspect of life can potentially be debilitating for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people. In today’s LGBTQIA+ vocab lesson, we’re breaking down the ins and outs of gender dysphoria.

What Exactly Is Gender Dysphoria?

People tend to confuse gender dysphoria with body dysmorphia, so let’s get that out of the way first. According to the Cleveland Clinic, body dysmorphia (technically called body dysmorphic disorder) is “a mental health condition that causes you to view your own physical appearance unfairly.” It may cause you to have incessant negative thoughts and feelings about your body’s appearance that can ravage many aspects of life, including self-worth.

Gender dysphoria also involves a person’s negative perception of their body and physical appearance, but as the name suggests, it is specifically related to gender. Put simply, gender dysphoria is the troubling, sometimes all-consuming feelings caused when a person’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth (and the anatomy that comes with it) are at war with each other. “Being born in the wrong body” is a phrase the transgender community sometimes uses to describe the feeling, though not all individuals under the trans umbrella resonate with the phrase.

Mayo Clinic clarifies that not everyone who falls under the trans umbrella experiences gender dysphoria, as some “transgender and gender-diverse people feel at ease with their bodies and gender identities.” People who fall under the trans umbrella and do experience gender dysphoria may feel associate the distress with specific aspects of their body, including their voice, height, genitalia, body hair, bone structure, et cetera.

How Does Gender Dysphoria Relate to Mental Health?

The DSM-IV’s criteria for “gender identity disorder,” a now outdated term, was revised in the DSM-5 to eliminate stigmatizing language. Mayo Clinic notes that there is a diagnosis for gender dysphoria in the the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Some trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people are uncomfortable with viewing their dysphoria as a mental health condition, as judgment, ignorance, and stigmas are still widely prevalent. However, Mayo Clinic also specifies that the importance of a gender dysphoria diagnosis is directly related to accessing necessary healthcare and treatment. This is especially important because severe gender dysphoria can lead to “anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, [and] substance misuse.” Those with untreated gender dysphoria and lack of support are at higher risk of experiencing thoughts of or attempting suicide, so understanding what it is and banishing stigmas is vital.

An official diagnosis is NOT about a person’s gender identity and/or expression, but rather “focuses on the feeling of distress as the issue.” The American Psychiatric Association even specifies that “gender nonconformity is not in itself a mental disorder.”

Do you believe you struggle with gender dysphoria? What steps have you taken to get help? Let’s chat in the comment section below.

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