The Joy of Not Fitting In – An Essay on How Non-binary People Accomplish Gender Euphoria

Abstract

This thesis aims to understand how gender euphoria is constructed by non-binary people, and how
these experiences are embedded in ideas of masculinities and femininities. The theoretical point of
departure involves the theorization of “doing gender” by West and Zimmerman, concepts from ethnomethodology inspired by Liberman, and finally “performative acts” by Butler. These theoretical
points are relevant to understand how non-binary people are holding their gender identity accountable
to others (and themselves) through their construction of gender euphoria. This can be explicated
in the given site of their social world, which in my study surrounds: (1) internet-ethnographic observations
online on 11 different posts about gender euphoria on Reddit, (2) e-mail interviews with 10
informants from USA, Sweden, Germany, and England, where 7 completed the full interview, and
(3) face-to-face interviews with 3 informants locally and culturally situated in Denmark. This
framework fits together with a social constructivism and hermeneutic methodology that allows the
informants to construct their own realities, while I can find common themes by interpreting this
construction. Hence, it can be concluded that the construction of gender euphoria by the informants
in my study can be divided into five main themes: (1) embodying freedom, (2) accounting for gender
euphoria, (3) negotiating gender euphoria, (4) transgressing strict and rigid norms, and (5) managing
support. In other words, they accomplish gender euphoria by managing support, accounting,
and negotiating how they embody a sense of freedom and belonging with a community, where they
transgress strict, rigid gender norms to do gender in new or different ways that are embedded in
ideas of masculinities and femininities.

Popular Abstract

This thesis aims to understand how non-binary people describe experiences of gender euphoria, and
how these experiences can be connected to ideas of masculinities and femininities. Gender euphoria
can be hard to define, but it involves a feeling of joy, peace, or freedom with(in) yourself and your
gender identity – it’s the things that you do which make you feel good about yourself and your gender
identity. In my study, I explore how these ‘doings’ or actions are related to ideas of masculinities
or femininities, where non-binary people fit less into fixed gender norms that are typically associated
to men or women, as non-binary people don’t identify as male or female.

To understand this, I use theories from scholars that understand gender as a social construction,
which refers to gender as a product of society instead of biologically defined. If society determines
what is masculine or feminine, then society can also change what is considered masculine or feminine.
West and Zimmerman explain how people do gender, or how people do a specific action that
is read by others and used to classify the person as female, male or neither of them. Liberman uses
ethnomethodology to discover the things that people do in specific situations to create orderliness in
their lives. Finally, Butler explains how gender is made up of performative acts that involves how
people do actions in a certain way repetitively, which others read as either female, male or as neither
of them. These theories can help explain how non-binary people do gender, create orderliness
in their lives, and what performative acts they uses in order to experience gender euphoria.

In my study I have used three different types of data collections to answer my research questions:
(1) observations online on Reddit in forums focused on non-binary people, (2) e-mail interviews
with non-binary people from USA, Sweden, Germany, and England, and (3) face-to-face interviews
with non-binary people from Denmark. Here I’ve been able to observe and ask how they understand
gender euphoria and what experiences they have with it. As a result, I concluded that non-binary
people experience gender euphoria based on five different themes: (1) embodying freedom, (2) accounting
for gender euphoria, (3) negotiating gender euphoria, (4) transgressing strict and rigid
norms, and (5) managing support. In other words, they experience gender euphoria by managing
support, accounting, and negotiating how they feel a sense of freedom and belonging to a community,
where they do gender in a new or different way that are connected to ideas of masculinities
and femininities.

• author: Kramer Kluw, Frederik
• supervisor: David Wästerfors
• organization: Graduate School
• course: SIMZ21 20221
• year: 2022
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Social Sciences
• keywords: Non-binary, Gender Euphoria, Masculinity/Femininity, Internet-ethnography, Ethnomethodology, Doing gender
• language: English
• id: 9093374
• date added to LUP: 2023-06-22 09:53:04
• date last changed: 2023-06-22 09:53:04