Gender identity, gender dysphoria, and gender euphoria are constructs that are important in the lives of both non-cisgender and cisgender individuals. Through my master's thesis, I aimed to explore the experience of these constructs in greater detail, in order to contribute further to their understanding, expand psychological literature, and contribute to the depathologization of transgender and gender-diverse individuals. I collected data through semi-structured interviews and analysed it using the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis. The study included 17 participants, aged 18 to 28, who described their experiences of the three constructs. While their experiences varied greatly, surprisingly significant differences did not emerge between cisgender and non-cisgender participants. The overall sample couldn't be reliably divided into these two categories, and participants' reports indicated that sexual identity is largely socially conditioned. This suggests a blurring of boundaries between different gender identities and raises new questions about a construct that has often been taken for granted. Almost all participants experienced gender dysphoria and gender euphoria, regardless of their gender identity. Many descriptions aligned with prior literature, while some findings were novel.
Although the master's research provides an overview of the experience of the three constructs as described by the participants, it raises more questions than answers. Nevertheless, it can serve as a launching pad for further research into gender identity, gender dysphoria, and euphoria.
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