gender dysphoria

noun

: a distressed state arising from conflict between a person's gender identity and the sex the person was identified as having at birth

I am a 24-year-old transgender woman, and I know gender dysphoria very well. My distress over my physical body, my feeling that it doesn't always match up with my gender identity, often lurks in some far corner of my mind. It doesn't matter how well I'm dressed, how much I brush my hair, how many compliments I receive, or how well my hormone therapy treatment is working. When gender dysphoria hits, it packs a punch.

—Serena Sonoma

also : a condition marked by such distress

The treatment for gender dysphoria is often multi-disciplinary, combining the efforts of several behavioral health and medical professionals. … Non-operative treatment focuses on implementing psychosocial therapy and/or medical management with hormone replacement therapy. Operative treatments range from small cosmetic procedures to much larger genital transformation surgeries.

—Danyon Anderson et al.

compare gender euphoria

Examples of gender dysphoria in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The fine print: Trump directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to publish a review within 90 days of existing literature on best practices for promoting the health of children with gender dysphoria. —Carrie Shepherd, Axios, 30 Jan. 2025

Many transgender people say their gender dysphoria began at an early age. —Reuters, NBC News, 15 Jan. 2025

Transgender restrictions The most controversial amendment in the defense bill is a restriction on the children of U.S. service members from receiving medical treatment if they are diagnosed with gender dysphoria. —Brad Dress, The Hill, 9 Dec. 2024

This case challenges the 2023 law Tennessee lawmakers enacted which bans doctors from giving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to a minor seeking treatment for gender dysphoria. —Joyce Orlando, The Tennessean, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

gender dysphoria

noun

: a distressed state arising from conflict between a person's gender identity and the sex the person was identified as having at birth

Nonbinary people may or may not use medical approaches to align their identities and physical bodies, and, like transgender people, some nonbinary people experience gender dysphoria while others do not.

—Elizabeth Kukura, Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics

also : a condition marked by such distress

Scientists have no conclusive explanation for what causes some people to feel dissonance between their gender identity and aspects of their anatomy. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association updated its manual, replacing the term "gender identity disorder," with one that is less stigmatizing, "gender dysphoria."

—The New York Times

compare gender euphoria