Dysphoria and masturbation

[doriannnnn]

Hello. I'm AFAB and I've been experiencing a bit of gender dysphoria. Whenever I imagine being involved in any sort of sexual activity I picture myself as a man. It's getting somewhat stressful. Now I feel very little satisfaction from masturbating because I can't align my body with the mental image I have of myself.

I know this sounds more like a gender-related issue than a sexuality-related one, but really I just have a hard time masturbating and it frustrates me. Whenever I do it now it simply feels wrong. Sort of like I'm in the wrong body, but I don't feel too much dysphoria outside this sphere of things, if that makes sense?

Thanks in advance.

[Michaela]

Hi Dorian,

Although you stated that gender and sexuality-related issues are separate, sexuality and gender are quite intertwined. So, it makes a lot of sense that the thoughts you are having about your gender identity are affecting masturbation as well-- how can you find pleasure from your body if your body does not feel right? The main sex organ in the body is actually your brain so the way you are thinking and feeling plays a major role in the pleasure you will experience during sex. I want to link a resource that we have that dives a little more into gender questioning to see if it is something that resonates with you (Gender Confusion: Being unsure doesn't have to be a bummer). After giving the article a read-through, does anything make you more curious? If you're interested in additional info we have loads more where that came from.