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

also : a condition marked by such distress

Examples of gender dysphoria in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Dutch doctors reasoned that puberty blockers could give young patients with gender dysphoria time to explore their identity and decide whether to proceed with hormones to ultimately transition. —Azeen Ghorayshi, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024

The group notes that major medical associations have recognized that gender-confirmation surgery can be critical for the treatment of gender dysphoria. —Jo Yurcaba, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024

As the Legislature overrides Gov. Mike DeWine's veto of House Bill 68, the governor has proposed rules that would regulate treatment for adults and children with gender dysphoria. —Haley Bemiller, The Enquirer, 22 Jan. 2024

The bill prohibits doctors from prescribing hormones, puberty blockers, or gender reassignment surgery before patients turn 18 and requires mental health providers to get parental permission to diagnose and treat gender dysphoria. —Susan Miller, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024

But for those children who face gender dysphoria, and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound. —Julia Zorthian, TIME, 29 Dec. 2023

Such gaps are especially worrisome because the limited research that’s out there shows that, among transgender children, the onset of puberty without access to puberty blockers is associated with greater gender dysphoria, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. —Alexa Lee, STAT, 7 Mar. 2024

The filing says that Doe received inconsistent access to hormone replacement therapy and was denied gender-affirming surgery despite recommendations from two psychiatrists to treat gender dysphoria. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2024

The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court, also states the hospital is discriminating on the basis of disability because gender dysphoria — distress when a person’s sense of their gender doesn’t align with physical characteristics — is a medical condition. —Meg Wingerter, The Denver Post, 14 Feb. 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