DiscussionWhat is Gender Dysphoria exactly and how is it different from internalized homophobia?

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[–]Destresse🇨🇵 15 insightful - 1 fun15 insightful - 0 fun16 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I'll attempt to answer with the various testimonies I've read of detransitioners as well as my own experiences and understanding of it.

Gender dysphoria is the feeling your body "doesn't belong to you" or shouldn't look like this. It's a deep discomfort with your physical appearance, and not necessarily linked to homophobia, but of course it plays a role in adding to the discomfort. It's the fact people look at you and assume a number of things about you, because of your sex category, but you don't fit those assumptions. You feel like no one sees you as you are, and the culprit is your body. Because it's how you're perceived first. Gender non-conformity doesn't always equal homosexuality, so I don't think it'd be quite right to say it's internalised homophobia, since straight people experience gender dysphoria too.

I've read detransitioners describe their dysphoria with very intense feelings of rejection of specific body parts. As for me, I have sometimes looked at myself naked in the mirror and felt very weirded out, as if my recognition stopped at my neck. My face was me, alright, but the rest... I don't know how to describe it. You look at it and the feeling of recognition just... doesn't quite light up. You know it's you. But it doesn't feel like you. Teen magazines back then said to always spend time before showering just watching yourself in the mirror to boost body acceptance, so I did that. It didn't really help for years, until one day I noticed I had stopped feeling this way, not too long after finally accepting I was a lesbian. Definitely internalised homophobia at play here, for me haha.

I think it's a matter of self-hatred vs self-acceptance of course, but the root of that hatred varies from person to person.

[–]fuck_reddit 10 insightful - 6 fun10 insightful - 5 fun11 insightful - 6 fun -  (1 child)

Gender dysphoria is when they agree with you on something; internalized homophobia is when they don’t.

[–]reluctant_commenter 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Omg. 🤣 Honestly this is kinda true haha.

[–]Butterlogs✨Superlesbian ✨ 11 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 0 fun12 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

GD is “ psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity”, but IMO, it’s a subtype of body dysmorphia. A significant percentage of women experience GD because of the stress of puberty e.g. being sexualized by men, traumatic periods, etc or a traumatic sexual experience/history. Men are more likely to experience GD as a result of not conforming to outdated stereotypes pertaining to masculinity. Anyone of any sexuality can experience GD.

Internalized homophobia is when LGB individuals, “are subjected to these beliefs so often and for so long that they begin to believe that any sexual orientation other than “straight” or heterosexual is wrong, evil, or immoral”. IH may cause an individual to seek ways to deny or suppress their sexuality, which may include transitioning. IH also causes self loathing and hatred directed toward sexual minorities. Only LGB people can experience IH.

Edit: added some info for clarity

[–]OPPRESSED_REPTILIANIntersex male | GNC | Don't call me "a gay", "twink" or "queen" 6 insightful - 4 fun6 insightful - 3 fun7 insightful - 4 fun -  (0 children)

It's exactly the same as "internalized homophobia" - in that neither of those concepts fucking exist.

But seriously though, I think discomfort with one's sex happens, it's just... neither as unusual or extreme as people make it out to be. I fully believe that regular puberty awkwardness and general frustration with being a human is considered "gender dysphoria" these days. And on the flipside, "internalized homophobia" is any twinge of self awareness, self doubt, or mild discomfort. I'm an "internalized homophobe" because I don't believe I flew out of the womb as a fabulous sparkling Gay(tm) - and I'm apparently "dysphoric" because I don't feel like I'm male/female "mentally" and don't have a shitfit if someone on the internet thinks I'm a girl.

So yeah! It's nonsense.

[–]Three_oneFourWanted for thought crimes in countless ideologies 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

As someone who is not a professional on either, both seem to be a form of self hate due to societal expectations just surfacing differently.

GD has people see that they don't fit their gender stereotypes and so they wish they could be the opposite sex, where they would be accepted for their personality. There is probably also a lot of body dismorphia in here, as people hate their bodies (a perfectly normal feeling) and think that being the opposite sex would help with that.

Internalized homophobia is caused by the same reaction to societal expectations but manifests itself as someone trying to reject their preferences, actions, or other characteristics to try and double down on following the stereotypes of their sex to prove that they're a "real" member of that sex. Body dismorphia here may manifest in someone trying to become more like the ""ideal"" of their sex with men trying to become more muscular and women trying to minimize body fat.