_Your Guide to Gender-Affirming Playtime – thatsassything

2. Navigating Gender Dysphoria: Your Guide to Gender- Affirming Playtime – thatsassything

3. Ever been called a “good girl” and felt icky about it? Or found yourself wondering what it would be like, if you didn’t have to always be the penetrating partner? A lot of the ways most of us approach intimacy is based on gender roles. The scripts on pleasure that we are fed are dictated by the binary and it is a huge leap to introspect about how we might enjoy touch, irrespective of our genders assigned at birth. This is also what brings the person and the political together and makes this unlearning so revolutionary. Aunt Sassy’s always been one to break norms, and knows that oftentimes the gateway to owning your pleasure, comes down to exploring yourself (and she’s got a whole collection of self-care products to help you find your way). In this guide, we’re going to be talking about gender dysphoria and how we can mould our playtimes to be spaces that allow us to process it and affirm our identities. We’ve also gotten in touch with some sassy experts

4. Breaking down gender dysphoria Trigger warning: suicide Gender dysphoria refers to emotional and physical distress that is experienced by an individual when they encounter incongruence between the gender that they identify with and the gender that they have been assigned. Because of the strict gender roles that society prescribes for all of us, many people may feel a disconnect between who they are and the gender that they are “supposed” to be. However, this disconnect can cause significant distress in trans and non-binary people, such that it may affect their day-to-day functioning and put them in a state of marked discomfort, leading to depression, anxiety and even suicidality. As Apurupa, who is 30, a sexuality educator and one of our masterclass facilitators explains, “my dysphoria isn’t the problem, the cis-centric transmisic way in which we’re taught or not taught to navigate intimacy and relationships is.” They also highlight how trans-affirmative pleasure education is almost unheard of, which further exacerbates the journeys of trans and non-binary people as we try to explore ourselves.

5. Another participant R, who is 24 and works as a research assistant in gender and legal policy making explains, “during any intimate experience, it feels like the roles and expectations have been predetermined. As a vulva owner, I am expected to go down on my partner who’s a cis man. My partner with a penis is expected to engage in penetration and I’m supposed to be at the receiving end of it. This is what I’ve been conditioned to believe all my life. As a femme non-binary person, I’ve always felt conflicted about my engagement in pleasure based on how a woman is supposed to, normatively. “ Rewriting the scripts for playtime ● When trying to navigate gender dysphoria, Apurupa highlights, “it is important to remember that not all trans people might be dealing with gender dysphoria, and nor is dysphoria necessarily the most important indication of a person’s transness.” This makes it all the more important to pay attention and communicate about individual needs and preferences.

6. For more information visit: https://thatsassything.com/blogs/sassy- stuff/navigating-gender-dysphoria-during-sex