Anyone else get dysphoric in hyperfem spaces?
The place I go to for laser and electrolysis also does stuff like Botox. I am happy with my technician, but in the office, I see brochures and stuff for all sorts of procedures, and it just feels like an assault on my self image.
I hate these insane beauty standards. Cis women can't even meet them.
As far as I'm concerned, they're a huge part of the reason I stayed an egg until I was in my 40s. Ever since I was a teen, I was triggered by the sight of anorexic models and ads for painful beauty procedures. I felt them viscerally as a psychic assault on my own self worth (in ways that only make sense in retrospect).
I also see them as a contributing factor to why so many of my trans sisters hate what they see in the mirror - countless women who pass seamlessly and yet still post selfies asking "what can I do to look like less of a man?"
I need my face cleared, and I like my laser technician, but environments that promote these standards make me uncomfortable. Even something simple like getting my nails done can often be in spaces where toxic beauty standards are ambiently normalized, and I just end up feeling dysphoric - like I do not belong in these spaces.
Even though I do seriously need their services. My presentation is not hyper feminine, but not terribly masculine either. I like girly things. I would very much like to engage in more feminine grooming rituals that are also social.
Does anyone else get dysphoric from tensions and internal contradictions like this?
Posted Sep 3, 2025, 6:29 PM UTC