- The growing sexual attraction informed the development of gender identity for some youth because the direction of the desire constituted for some an important part of the gender identity. 
- For some, whether the desire was experienced as homosexual or heterosexual helped clarify gender identity. 
- Sexuality did also bring gender to the surface for some youth assigned female
at birth because they discovered that they started to occupy a masculine role when they began to form sexual and romantic relations in adolescence. 

Sub-theme: Sexuality Intersects with Gender Identity

- Many youth experienced that they had to continuously clarify their sexual identity alongside gender exploration, perhaps because gender and sexuality are so interlinked in contemporary society. 
- Some youth experienced that sexuality shifted after they had started to explore and develop a gender minority identity. 

Sub-theme: Troubling Intersection 

- Subjective experiences of gender dysphoria were linked to sexuality for some youth 
because the increasing sexual exploration associated with adolescence and young adulthood created a confusing intersection between gender and sexuality. 
- Forming sexual relations with other people could both bring gender to the surface and alleviate subjective experiences of gender dysphoria. 

Arizona State University

- Highlighting of subjective experience in the new diagnoses – gender dysphoria and gender incongruence – raises questions regarding how we understand the concept of gender dysphoria. 
- Since subjective experiences represent the clinical target of medical treatment, it seems to be especially important to gain further knowledge about the 
nature of gender dysphoria to improve future treatment. 

Subjective Experiences of Gender Dysphoria

Jessen, R. S., Haraldsen, I., & Stänicke, E. (2021). Navigating in the dark: Meta-synthesis of subjective experiences of gender dysphoria amongst transgender and gender non-conforming youth. Social Science & Medicine, 281, 114094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114094

Navigating in the Dark: Meta-Synthesis of Subjective Experiences of Gender Dysphoria Amongst Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth

The gradual process of gaining insight into one’s gender identity was described as navigation in the dark, from the first feelings of being different in childhood, to the gradually increasing identification as a gender minority.

Theme: Gender Dysphoria as Navigation in the Dark 

- The importance of other people and the relational dynamic emerged as 
central to understanding how subjective experiences of gender dysphoria develop and unfold. 

Theme: Relating with Others 

The body emerged as an important contributing factor to the development and unfolding of subjective experiences of gender dysphoria.

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