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

In addition to the laws barring treatments for minors experiencing gender dysphoria, states have prohibited transgender girls from playing on female sports teams. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 3 Oct. 2024

However, the genre can also be a means through which many trans and nonbinary viewers have processed gender dysphoria, externalizing the fear of a body changing out from under you, wrenching your sense of self in the process. —Abby Monteil, Them, 20 Sep. 2024

Most major medical associations in the U.S. support gender-affirming care for minors experiencing gender dysphoria. —Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2024

Between each stop, the friends discuss topics like why Steele landed on the name Harper, her experiences with top surgery and gender dysphoria, and Ferrell’s love of Dunkin’, all while being filmed by a camera mounted on the hood of Steele’s car. —Elaina Patton, NBC News, 25 Sep. 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