Open Access“There Is Nothing to Do About It”: Nonbinary Individuals' Experience of Gender Dysphoria
Author(s) -
M. Paz Galupo,
Lex Pulice-Farrow,
Emerson Parker Pehl
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
transgender health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2688-4887
pISSN - 2380-193X
DOI - 10.1089/trgh.2020.0041
Subject(s) - gender dysphoria , psychology , dysphoria , conceptualization , developmental psychology , androgyny , gender role , transgender , clinical psychology , thematic analysis , gender identity , social psychology , qualitative research , masculinity , psychiatry , anxiety , social science , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , psychoanalysis
Purpose: Clinical definitions of gender dysphoria have primarily centered on a binary conceptualization of gender. This study aimed to understand nonbinary transindividuals' experiences of gender dysphoria. Methods: Data were collected online from a nonclinical sample comprised of 205 nonbinary and agender participants. Analysis focused on answers to a single open-ended question prompting participants to describe their gender dysphoria as it relates to their body and/or appearance. Results: First, content analysis was used to document 11 contextual elements in which participants described their dysphoria with regard to three overarching categories, including no gender dysphoria (no issues with body, no dysphoria), aspects of gender/sex (naming gender identity, naming assigned sex, gender role, or expression), and aspects of body (body shape, genitals, chest, secondary sex characteristics, hormones, reproductive capability). Second, thematic analysis revealed six central themes describing the unique way gender dysphoria is experienced by nonbinary individuals: (1) Androgyny or Fluidity , (2) Feminine and Masculine Traits , (3) Dysphoria vs. Expression or Appearance , (4) Varying or Shifting Dysphoria , (5) No Solution , and (6) Trade-off/Loss. Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that nonbinary transindividuals experience gender dysphoria in unique ways. These findings highlight the need to develop clinical assessments of gender dysphoria that reflect nonbinary experience, and to outline explicit medical protocols for interventions tailored to achieve a desired outcome of physical androgyny.