I know everyone has been making the same jokes about the new year - like bringing back the 20s and 20/20 vision - but honestly they haven't gotten old yet so I'm jumping on that wagon.
Some check-in info before we move to definitions:
1. I kept up with the workout and eating schedule until we went to Florida for a family birthday party (I ran while we were there and twisted my ankle a bit - ugh) after which my parents came to visit and I got a cold which hasn't let go of me as of yet.
2. My parents came to visit! It was my mom's first time in Vegas and Dad's second (he helped us move our stuff into the apartment when we first moved here), and we had a lot of fun visiting the strip, and Red Rock, and we even celebrated Christmas on Sarah's birthday. Don't worry we also had birthday cake for Sarah and for Mom since her birthday happened while they were here also.
3. Orientation for RRSAR is on the 9th, and Sarah will be on a business trip, but I'm still excited about it!
4. We're trying bullet journaling this year! Hopefully it will help keep us (me) more organized, and also help me set a schedule for updating this blog as well as log ideas I have for future posts. Here's hoping!
Okay, definition time!
As 2019 comes to a close, and people make New Year's Resolutions - I think it would be appropriate to talk about dysphoria. Some people make resolutions that involve changing their body in some way. This can be anything from working out/losing weight, new hair, new piercing, new tattoo, plastic surgery, and more.
Dysphoria is defined as "a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life". It originates from Greek dusphoria, from dusphoros ‘hard to bear’. As you can tell, it is a very general term. I think we've all been 'dissatisfied with life' at some point, however in regards to transgender people, this can be an everlasting feeling that usually resonates with some specific part of their body, or their entire being. The feeling can be so strong that it can induce anxiety, fear, and cause people to go to drastic measures to hide parts of their body that they are dysphoric about.
When the dysphoria is in relation to someone's gender, it is referred to as (you guessed it) 'gender dysphoria'. In some cases, a person with gender dysphoria feels a mismatch between their sex assigned at birth as early as three or four years of age. This is not always the case, however. Some people may feel "differently" from a young age, but not really be able to identify what they are feeling until later in life. As someone who was raised with little to no information about LGBTQ+ people or issues, I can tell you that I simply did not have the vocabulary for what I was feeling because I didn't know that it existed. I had no idea what transgender was, and was raised thinking that anything 'gay' or 'queer' was negative and something to be hidden or ashamed of.
Not every person who is transgender experiences dysphoria. Some people are fully content with their bodies and simply decide that they wish to be referred to using different pronouns than those they have used since birth.
*** You do not need to experience dysphoria to be transgender ***
This is a common misconception.
There are people who believe that someone is not TRULY transgender unless they experience dysphoria (among other things but I'm not trying to write a novel here). I cannot express how incorrect, dangerous, and hurtful this concept is. Every human is different, and we cannot dictate nor mandate how someone feels or should feel. Concepts like "in order to be transgender you must x, y, and z" breed a dangerous society for those who are not cisgender (a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their sex assigned at birth). It makes people feel like they are not transgender enough or that they are not valid simply because they do not fit into arbitrary check boxes.
Transgender people are already in danger, just by existing. Between October 2018 and September 2019 there were a recorded 331 murders of trans and gender-diverse people, according to a report compiled by Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide.
Please do your best to be a good ally, and correct people who seem to be of a mindset that being transgender involves some sort of checklist, it can save a life.
Happy New Year everyone, stay warm and stay safe! I'll be back in 2020!
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