Dysphoria is Not “Trans Only”
So there has been a /lot/ of misinformation about the term dysphoria that has led to a lot of discourse as well, so I would like to clear up a few things.
To start: the word “dysphoria” alone is not trans specific, and is a medical term that predates modern trans terminology. To have dysphoria is to have a level of discomfort, anxiety, or unhappiness with a part of or all of your body, typically due to something on your body feeling “incorrect” or onset due to trauma.
People who can experience dysphoria include: people with phantom limbs (including supernumerary phantom limbs), people who have had sudden and extreme weight gain or loss, people who have lost a part of their body, kids and teens who have recently had a growth spurt (temporary dysphoria is normal with puberty, but only for up to a year or so after a change occurs), trans people*, individuals who also have dysmorphia, people with trauma related to physical incidents, etc.
* This is specifically gender dysphoria.
What trans people experience is “gender dysphoria”, a specific subset of dysphoria that typically is permanent without surgery or hrt, and is usually more intense then typical dysphoria. Gender dysphoria IS a trans specific term, and should not be used outside of describing experiences as a non-cis individual. This is not being disputed.
I also see many people claiming that what is being experienced is actually “dysmorphia” which is both extremely innacurate and a little funny (due to how innacurate it is). Dysmorphia is a serious medical condition in which one cannot hold a true image of what their body appears like, and feels their body is distorted from what it actually appears like. Dysphoria can (though not always) be a symptom of dysmorphia, but they are very different experiences and are not interchangeable.
In closing, please stop attacking people for using the term dysphoria to accurately decribe their experiences. It is a broad medical term, and is not owned by any one community.
Discussion ¬