For Trans People, Gender Euphoria Can Come From a Single Garment of Clothing

[Jessica_Rose]

For Trans People, Gender Euphoria Can Come From a Single Garment of Clothing

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/for-trans-people-gender-euphoria-can-come-from-a-single-garment-of-clothing/ar-AA1ciQr1?cvid=c9a7525159ed4fe0831f8db24010c582&ei=4

Story by Emrhys Ma (June 2023)

I am non-binary and transmasculine. This means my transition is toward a more masculine gender presentation. I take testosterone, but I'm not a man. And when I came out in 2016, my first stop wasn't a consultation with health-care providers. I went to the mall.

I found an olive green bomber jacket that I loved. Before coming out, I often felt as though I was dressing in drag, pretending to be a woman. In this bomber jacket, though, I felt the exact opposite. I was presenting as myself, and that made it felt great. This was my first taste of gender euphoria.

"Gender euphoria is when you feel 'right' in your gender—that your gender expression is aligned with your sense of self," says therapist Alyse Ruriani, LPC, and author of The Big Feelings Survival Guide. "[It] can bring about feelings of joy, happiness, excitement, and ease, and is often seen as the opposite to gender dysphoria." Gender dysphoria refers to the distressing disconnect a trans person may feel from their assigned sex at birth.

"When trans people dress in a way that affirms and expresses their gender, it can decrease gender dysphoria and increase euphoria, which can positively impact their mental health." —Alyse Ruriani, LPC