Meta-ethnography on Chest Dysphoria and Liberating Solutions for Transmasculine Individuals

Abstract

Objective: To describe the experience of chest dysphoria in transmasculine people and the strategies they use to address it.

Data sources: AnthroSource, PubMed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, SocIndex, and Google Scholar.

Study selection: I searched for records written in English from 2015 and later in which authors reported qualitative findings related to chest dysphoria. These records included journal articles, dissertations, chapters, and unpublished manuscripts. I excluded records if the authors explored gender dysphoria as a whole or focused on transfeminine individuals. If authors explored gender dysphoria in general but addressed chest dysphoria, I included the record for analysis.

Data extraction: I read and reread each record several times to fully understand the context, methods, and results. With subsequent readings, I maintained a list of key metaphors, phrases, and ideas using index cards. This allowed examination among and within records to explore relationships among key metaphors.

Data synthesis: I identified nine eligible journal articles and used the meta-ethnographic methodology of Noblit and Hare to compare reported experiences of chest dysphoria across records. The three overarching themes I identified were (Dis)Connection to One's Body, Fluctuating Anguish, and Liberating Solutions. I identified eight subthemes within these overarching themes.

Conclusion: Chest dysphoria must be relieved to free patients from distress and to make them feel authentically masculine. Nurses should familiarize themselves with chest dysphoria and the liberating solutions that patients use to address it.

Keywords: chest binding; chest dysphoria; meta-ethnography; qualitative; transgender men; transmasculine.