Gender Euphoria
About This project
This project serves as an exploration of gender expression and gender euphoria in trans, non-binary, and queer cisgender individuals. It is a collection of different individuals explaining how they express their gender identity, and how they view/experience gender euphoria.
Through the project, I photographed these people, and asked them for their response to the question "What does gender euphoria mean to you".
Here are their perspectives.
Cairo
[ they | them ]
"For me, gender euphoria is about rediscovering my true self, which was buried deep under society’s toxic beauty standards and stereotypical gender roles for so long.
Expressing my gender identity unapologetically helps me connect with and heal the little Cairo inside of me that still hurts from being bullied for having short hair and dressing like a boy. The greatest act of rebellion in a world that tries its hardest to make you insecure, is to love your authentic self!"
Jordan
[ she | her ]
"Gender euphoria for me means to feel comfortable in my skin and expression. When I put on clothes that reflect my mood and make me feel pretty, it goes beyond how others might perceive me--- it's about feeling good regardless of how I'm seen by others.
It's important to remember the difference between gender identity and expression. I identify as a woman and so any clothes I wear are women's clothes... even if I only wear jeans made for men"
Leon
[ he | him ]
"It [gender euphoria] is that fleeting moment where everything makes sense and everything works. Suddenly me and my body are one. I am who I am without shame. No concerns about how I look, how people perceive me, or who I wish I were or want to be. I am purely me, I am happy I am me, and I’m content because I am me. It’s a rare feeling of belonging I cherish every time it happens. "
Tessa
[ she | they ]
"Gender Euphoria is a way for me to feel truly like myself. As someone who identifies as a demi girl, someone who does not feel completely like a woman, mixing masc and fem clothing together makes me feel euphoric.
When I feel euphoric, it makes me feel valid in my gender identity and overall makes me feel more confident."
Lucas
[ he | him ]
“While gender euphoria can incorporate so many things, to me it is the essence of who I am. Everyday I have strived to achieve the goal of feeling myself, in both a body and world that fights against me each step of the way.
When I look in the mirror and feel detached from the reflection it means I must strive yet another day to achieve coherence between who I am internally and externally. When I look in the mirror and I see myself, I know I have achieved gender euphoria.”
Ari
[ she | her ]
"Gender euphoria is the comfort in knowing that your gender expression is aligned with your identity. This could be how your body looks, how you present yourself, or how other people perceive you as.
For me, as a lesbian woman, I like to look the part. This is mostly to attract other sapphic women as well as for other queer people to be able to spot me from a distance and feel comfortable around me"
Alan
[ they | he ]
"I’ve been out for 2 years now, but I still feel so giddy when someone uses my preferred pronouns. Getting more masc compliments when I usually present more fem also makes me feel weirdly euphoric. Doesn't matter how I dress, I’m just a little guy!"
Charlie
[ he | they]
"For me, gender euphoria means my body reflects how I see myself. Often, that presents when I wear masculine clothes or how my hair frames my face, but it can also manifest anytime I can be myself and people have a good perception of who that is.
Most cis people don’t have a good understanding of how impactful gender euphoria is, but when looking in the mirror can be the difference between an amazing day and an awful one, gender euphoria can be extremely liberating"
Shivanya
[ she | her, they | them ]
"It [gender euphoria] means to me that I can breathe and see myself - full of color and feeling comfortable in my own body and the surrounding environments. For each person, they have their own authentic way of navigating the world and making connections to each other, that derives from this sense of self and how we identify through our actions.
For me gender euphoria means the human right to exist, be seen, valued, and feel joy and connection to the world through our own authentic human experience"
Christina
[ she | they ]
"Having been raised in the 2000s, I often felt drawn to the emo aesthetics and the androgynous feeling that most outfits/makeup looks would achieve, but being raised in a very strict conservative household I was forced to present very femininely and I never felt comfortable in my own body.
In recent years I have found a great deal of appreciation for the art of Tetsuya Nomura and found the most gender euphoria when styling myself based off of these concepts and styles"
Kate
[ she | they ]
"To me, gender euphoria has a lot to do with embracing fluidity. I used to feel pressure to define my style within a certain “look,” but now I love how much my gender expression changes.
I find so much joy and freedom in waking up every morning and feeling out how I want to express myself on that particular day, even if it’s completely different than the day before"
Malcolm
[ they | them ]
"To me gender euphoria is the freedom to not spend any mental energy worrying about so called gender norms. To do as I please and wear whatever I want with no concern for societies expectation of me.
Walking the world on a path of my own choosing, purely for my own pleasure"
Taylor
[ she | her ]
"Gender Euphoria is feeling completely myself and loving the way I show up in the world.
I feel gender euphoria when my outfits give ambiguity to my gender and people have to internally asked themselves “Is this a boy or a girl?” In the end why does it matter if I am a boy or a girl, either way I am just me"
Janie
[ any pronouns ]
"I feel gender euphoria when I wear sturdy denim overalls. Growing up on a farm, I used to wear them almost every day as a kid. I stopped wearing them at some point because I felt pressure to dress more "femme" with more fitted clothes (even though they made me uncomfortable).
When I wear funky makeup with overalls, it's fun because it's combining two big parts of my identity: my flamboyant queerness and my rural upbringing"