"The whole world opened up, there's no better word for it than euphoria": Experience of embodiment in trans*feminine individuals

The “experience of embodiment” is a psychological construct that captures how individuals inhabit and relate to their bodies within specific socio-cultural contexts and is closely tied to mental health and well-being. The construct was originally developed to explain the body-related experiences of cisgender girls and women and has not yet been investigated in trans*feminine individuals. Grounded in social constructivism and informed by tenets of gender minority stress, this study investigated trans*feminine experiences of embodiment. Trans*feminine individuals ( N = 28) engaged in focus groups, a photo-elicitation task, and one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis, incorporating both inductive and deductive approaches, was used to construct five interrelated themes: (1) challenging vs. embracing cisnormativity, (2) desire: incoming and outgoing, (3) radical self-care vs harm, (4) journeys to alignment, and (5) corseting euphoria. These themes captured both the internal processes and structural forces shaping embodied experiences, and identified notable distinctions, alongside similarities, to the “experience of embodiment” construct. This novel research advances a broader and more inclusive conceptualization of the experience of embodiment by centering the lived body-related experiences of trans*feminine individuals. • Novel exploration of the trans*feminine experience of embodiment. • Dynamic process of internal and structural forces shape trans*embodiment. • Trans*feminine embodiment is unique from the cisgendered experience. • Trans*affirmation is critical to experiencing embodiment.