The Gender-Affirming Power of Scent: Queer Stories of Fragrance and Identity

Trans and nonbinary people are sick of having to explain to you who they are. They’ve spent their lives doing it—defending their identities from schoolyard bullies and the American government, all within the first fractions of their lifetimes. On the inauguration day of Donald Trump’s second term as president of the United States, the White House issued an executive order to “end the federal funding of gender ideology,” deeming the fluidity of gender norms an “inchoate social concept”—jeopardizing the livelihoods, families, and identities built upon the notion that gender is not a physical being but a word that pins heterosexual normatives onto unsubscribing individuals.

People have taken to the streets and congressional floors to battle these subjugative orders, but often the strongest acts of defiance are the simplest—trans and nonbinary individuals living their lives authentically, wearing the makeup and clothes that represent their innermost identities. One of the most affirming ways that people can express themselves without saying a word is with fragrance.

“Fragrance has helped me subtly parlay between masculinity and femininity in a way that feels the most pure,” Cyrus Veyssi, renowned Iranian American content creator, tells me. “It affirms my gender without me having to prove it based on a certain look.” To non-gender-conforming individuals, a scent is not merely a bundle of notes but a sensorial song woven with silent statements—a subtle, floral-drenched declaration of self and a synonymous battle cry of visibility. “Fragrance is part of my armor,” says beauty and style content creator Antoni Bumba of her growing arsenal. “Scent is [a sense] that many people are incredibly receptive to—and people treat you a whole lot better when you smell good.”

Cyrus Veyssi

Their Forever Fragrance: YSL Beauty Libre Eau de Parfum ($145)

For the former magazine intern turned content creator champion, Veyssi has found sensorial strength in the invisible accessory. Whether they dip into their “evening” selection of fragrances—read: muskier, more mysterious scents—or shower themselves in daytime florals, they appreciate the fact that fragrance speaks for itself. “That takes off so much pressure for me to have to prove anything,” they explain.

Above all, Veyssi appreciates the fluidity of fragrance—how no scent is one-size-fits-all, allowing you to highlight different facets of your person with the right combination of notes. “I feel the most gender euphoric towards my masculinity when I’m playing with my evening, bold fragrances,” muses Veyssi, spotlighting Maison Francis Kurkdjian Gentle Fluidity and Tom Ford Oud Wood as frequent picks. Both scents are underscored with notes of wood and subtle spice, making them warm, inviting, and charmingly androgynous. However, the internet mogul favors fresh, feminine scents during the daytime, opting for spritzes of floral Chanel Chance or sweet Miel Bébé from Le Monde Gourmand instead.

It's especially common for trans and nonbinary individuals to float toward fragrances that are associated with positive childhood experiences—especially ones attached to people they found beautiful and safe, like a parent—and Veyssi often embraces the scent memories they hold dear. “My mother used to have a boutique when I was younger, and she constantly sprayed a fragrance that contained a top note of patchouli,” they recall. “Every time I smell that unique scent, it makes me think of my mom. That, and Prada Amber—her signature scent.”

However, if the influencer could have one fragrant calling card for life, it would be YSL Beauty Libre Eau de Parfum: a warm floral laced with lavender, musk, and orange blossom. Its alluring profile of flora and fauna strikes the perfect balance between femininity and masculinity—a bold, utterly unforgettable scent that (literally) screams freedom. “Fragrance is the unique sensorial experience that can connect us both with a memory while also creating and paving the way for new ones,” the tastemaker muses. “I’m so grateful to continue finding joy and acceptance within myself through the dance between masculinity and femininity that each unique scent I play with offers me.”

Antoni Bumba

Her Forever Fragrance: Kilian Angels Share Eau de Parfum ($275)

For the humor-fueled fashion and beauty content creator, fragrance is deeply personal and rooted in Bumba’s purpose. “I decided a long time ago that I wanted my beauty to be expressed with intention through all five senses,” she tells me. Her first memory of fragrance is tied to her mother, whose lilting, citrusy aroma transfixed the budding beauty influencer from a young age. “She always smelled like oranges growing up. Even when we would argue, I never got tired of it,” she reminisces. “It enhanced everyone’s experience of her beauty. I took a bit of that with me,” Bumba adds, her words thick with nostalgia as she realizes, while answering my questions, that she smells just like the effervescent orange garden that is her mother.

Bumba’s journey as a trans woman has seen her through many style evolutions—from bleached buzz cuts and bustier handbags to '50s-inspired curly bobs and a Carrie Bradshaw–esque dress collection. Fashion and beauty are ever-evolving outlets that allow Bumba’s creativity to take hold, and though it shifts with new discoveries, the one thing that remains constant is Bumba’s lifelong affection for the scent of summer fruit. Commodity Juice Expressive Eau de Parfum, a balanced iteration of the brand’s explosive, fruity floral scent, layered with On a Date by Maison Margiela Replica, is the concoction that Bumba feels best affirms her trans identity. A scent she can only describe as a freshly squeezed orange “straight from a tree in the Garden of Eden”—and to me, a modernized version of her impactful mother.

However, Bumba feels like she’s stepping into the highest version of herself when she slips into the sensorial second skin that is Kilian Angels Share. The eau de parfum is opulent without being grandiose, a cognac-inspired scent with just enough sugar and spice to draw you in and make you stay. “It’s rich without being overkill—sexy and just a little sharp,” she explains. Its mysterious, gender-neutral profile evokes mental images of plush velvet chaises, glam touch-ups in an ornate powder room, and clinking glasses in the members-only club. Fabulous, just like Bumba.

But be warned—one spritz of her die-on-a-hill fragrance will attract all of the attention in the room. “Omg, men will not leave me alooonnneee!!!!” Bumba writes to me after wearing this Kilian sent into the ground. “So annoying. Like go awwaaayyy!!!”

Ryan Bailey Potter

Her Forever Fragrance: Glossier You Doux Eau de Parfum ($82)

Ryan Bailey Potter is at a point in her life where she finally feels comfortable in her body. The trans content creator and beauty aficionado has just completed a year of hormone replacement therapy, which has completely redesigned the way that she approaches fragrance. “As I am on the start of this relatively new journey as a trans woman, I'm trying to use scent as a vehicle for expression in a new way,” she tells me. “How do I want to be remembered? What notes do I wish to linger after a night with a friend, after a night with a lover?”

Purpose, like the other creators I’ve spoken with here, is the guiding light that calls one to their most affirming scent. Potter has found synergy with fragrances that provide a healthy dose of nostalgia—gender-neutral fragrances that call her back home to the person she was as a teen, and now the woman she is today. “I like nostalgia, I like warmth,” she notes. “Something to sink into and hold onto for longer than only a little while.”

Though she once strayed from traditionally masculine scents like Bleu de Chanel before her transition process, Potter has since found solace in these muskier scents that marked her coming-of-age story. “As I feel comfortable with my identity as a trans woman, there is an ease and a relief that allows me to dip my toes back into [these] scents,” she explains, though she admits that she knows the rules are arbitrary. “I find that the confidence that I have now in my identity is a reminder that nothing is off-limits, even with fragrance. What you love is what you love.”

Potter was first introduced to fragrance by her mother, who preferred essential oils to traditional parfums. Instead, the creator savored the scents spilling from her mother’s makeup stash—a collection of fragranced Mary Kay products and the sweet aroma of Avon lipsticks that she’d buy from her church friend. Though, she’ll never forget the gift set that she’d purchased for a teenage Potter during one of their annual JCPenney trips: a YSL Beauty L'Homme gift set, which laid the latticework for the scents Potter would identify with, even as her body changed.

Potter doesn’t have a signature scent at the moment (she’s still discovering herself and her taste), but she can’t help but reach for Glossier You Doux on the regular. The fragrance, Glossier’s woodier iteration of the “scent that smells like you,” is a skin enhancer that is meant to dry down differently on each wearer. “You should also know that I adore the scent Light Blue from Dolce & Gabbana—a scent that my ex wore that I cannot for the life of me get out of my head,” Potter laughs. “I've gotten into three Ubers now with drivers wearing Light Blue—talk about whiplash.”

Eli Levi

Their Forever Fragrance: Noyz Unmute Eau de Parfum ($85)

Eli Levi’s preschool teacher might not know it, but she was the catalyst for the future creator’s love of fragrance. “I had a favorite teacher who always smelled so sweet; it made me want to be around her all the time,” Levi reminisces. (It was Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Body Mist, of course.) After working up the courage to ask why she smelled so good (and if they could have some, too—“I wanted to smell just like her”), their teacher gifted Levi a small rubber duck to play with instead, with an empathetic explanation that “perfume wasn’t for boys.”

“I remember crying and feeling confused because up until that moment, I wasn’t aware of society’s constructed rules around gender,” says Levi. “Looking back, it reminds me how often adults think they’re protecting children by enforcing gender norms, when in reality, they’re limiting their growth and self-expression.”

Though their confusion may have hurt in the moment, Levi’s love of fragrance only grew with age. Today, the creator has found a powerful portal within their favorite scents, evoking gender euphoria with a few spritzes of fruity florals or gourmands and a sense of groundedness from effortless, masculine-leaning scents. “I love that scent transcends not only time but also gender norms,” muses Levi. “It allows me to exist outside of the binary, choosing notes and moods that reflect who I am in the moment.”

That said, the fragrance that made Levi feel like they’d come home during their years of self-discovery—the one that wrapped around their very essence in a careful hug—was the gender-transcendent scent of Glossier You. Levi calls Glossier’s hero fragrance a “scented diary of [their] evolution”—that no matter where they were in their self-discovery journey, You was a scent that brought them back to their purpose.

However, Levi emphasizes how fluid fragrance is, acknowledging how that final expression of self is the finishing touch they need to go into the world confidently. “When I put on a fragrance that resonates with me, I feel more confident, beautiful, and aligned with my femininity—or my masculinity—depending on the day.” These days, that scent is Noyz Unmute Eau de Parfum, the scent they’d wear for the rest of their life thanks to its vanilla-tinted, ambery warmth that feels beautifully androgynous (and perfectly representative of them today).

Levi calls fragrance the “invisible layer of self-expression” that conveys what words and clothes cannot. It’s an emotion, a feeling—one that’s just out of our line of sight. “I love that scent has the ability to shift with us, reflecting who we are in each moment and how we want to show up in the world,” they conclude.