Growing up, I hadnt heard of the term nonbinary, and I didnt know what gender dysphoria was. Watching nonbinary folks come out on YouTube and following their blogs on Tumblr helped me figure out my own identity.

Its important for people to see themselves reflected in art and media. So I created Documenting Dysphoria, a series of illustrative portraits that explore what gender dysphoria feels like. The project is inspired by my own journey as a nonbinary person.

Gender dysphoria is a term for the distress a person experiences as a result of the disconnect between their internal gender identity and the gender they were assigned at birth by a doctor. This experience often allows many, though not all, trans people to come to understand their own identity.

However, gender dysphoria is sorely misunderstood by society. The fact that in 2021, state legislatures across the U.S. continue to advance bills that target transgender people shows that our society still has a long way to go to fully understand and accept the trans community and all gender identities.

Documenting Dysphoria seeks to show the diversity of experiences around gender dysphoria and across the gender spectrum. In this series, each photograph represents that individuals feelings of gender dysphoria. Everyone experiences gender dysphoria differently and to different degrees. Some people may experience more body dysphoria, and others, more social dysphoria. Some trans individuals may not even experience any dysphoria at all.

These images are intended to affirm and offer visibility to the trans and nonbinary experience from a queer lens. This project is for other trans and nonbinary people for us to hear and see fellow trans and nonbinary stories, for us to recognize parts of ourselves in the experiences of others. Ultimately, it is to empower us to embrace our own skin.

For everyone who is trans, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, or questioning their gender identity, this project is for you.