gender euphoria

noun

: a state marked by positive emotions (such as happiness or excitement) arising from a sense of alignment between a person's gender identity and gender expression

I would go on to experience this high, this gender euphoria, countless more times over the next ten years. When I bought my first cologne. … When someone called me "sir" for the first time. Or the first time a barista wrote my chosen name on my iced coffee. I could go on. I was experiencing gender euphoria long before I knew that I was trans—and long before I had language for my experience.

—Adrian Silbernagel

When asked to share an example of gender euphoria, Cazares recalled the first time that he went shirtless on a beach. And when he finally felt comfortable entering a men's gym locker room. Those were defining moments, because they happened in spaces that had previously led him to feel frustrated and insecure about his body.

—Eleanor Goldberg et al.

compare gender dysphoria

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

gender euphoria

noun

: a state marked by positive emotions (such as happiness or excitement) arising from a sense of alignment between a person's gender identity and gender expression

Transgender individuals can experience gender euphoria through non-medical interventions, such as haircuts, clothing changes, exploration of affirming names and pronouns, as well as affirming interpersonal relationships. These gender affirming experiences can often be supported within therapeutic settings as well as outside the clinical relationship.

—Ashley Austin et al., Psychology & Sexuality

Gender dysphoria's positive homologue, gender euphoria, has received much less attention, both in research and wider culture. … The absence of knowledge about gender euphoria could reify the clinical focus on negative experiences of dysphoria, and could do so at the expense of fostering positive gender/sex experiences.

—Will J. Beischel et al., International Journal of Transgender Health

compare gender dysphoria