The Transgender Dictionary
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Detransition

(also: detrans)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Detransitioning is an extremely rare phenomenon where someone who previously identified as transgender decides to reverse their transition. Social detransition consists of returning back to one's old name, previously used pronouns, former social identity or way of dressing, and otherwise going back to presenting as their original gender. Medically detransitioning consists of reversing surgeries or hormones with additional surgeries and stopping hormones (or taking different hormones, depending on what previous surgical intervention was involved).

There are people out there who argue that the mere existence of any detransitioners is reason for why gender affirming care should be banned. This is, of course, absurd. Gender affirming surgeries have some of the highest satisfaction rates of any surgeries. Studies regarding detransition rates find that time and time again; less than a percent of people who undergo gender affirming surgeries end up wishing they hadn't. Gender dysphoria, when left untreated, often results in suicide. When treated, it results in gender euphoria (and, you know, general happiness with being alive and a part of society). There are few conditions that are so effectively treated by something so simple (HRT, social transition, surgeries, etc). There is no reason to ban something entirely just because there is a chance that a very, very tiny percentage of people may regret it.

To some extent, the idea is mildly understandable. To someone who isn't transgender, the idea of transitioning may seem horrible to undergo. But the thing is that that (how a cisgender person might picture the idea of being unwillingly transitioned) is just what it is like to be transgender without treatment. Forcing all transgender people to live in that horrible state of being just to protect the statistical anomaly that is a detransitioner is completely unreasonable. It is exceedingly rare for cisgender people (regardless of age) to seek out gender transition at all, never mind have the chance to later regret it.

Due to the increased societal awareness and acceptance of transgender people, there is an increased number of people (again, of all ages) identifying as transgender. Some people try to argue that this equates to an increased number of regrets - though there is no evidence to suggest this. The rate of regret is even lower than the already astronomically low rate of detransition (as some people detransition without overall regretting transition in the first place).

General Information

There are various reasons why someone might detransition.

One of the most common reasons for detransition is simply a change in identity. Some transgender people who first transition in a binary way (aka FTM or MTF) end up identifing as a nonbinary gender later on.

Another common reason for detransition is due to the external force of transphobia. This comes in various ways such as harassment, discrimination, and a lack of community support. It can be when a family threatens to kick out a child who identify as transgender, or when someone's religion is hostile to the concept of someone being transgender. This sort of detransition stems not from no longer identifying as transgender, but from some combination of societal pressure, shame, and a lack of safety.

Some people detransition due to financial reasons. Hormonal treatments aren't always covered by insurance, and sometimes they can get expensive to continue paying for. Being unable to afford this treatment leads some people to detransition against their will. Sometimes local laws will change to disallow someone from having the right to continue treatment

Some people detransition due to health issues. While its not common. Some disorders are incompatible with hormonal treatments. This can make some transgender people discouraged from continuing to transition even socially when they are unable to undergo gender affirming medical treatments.

The most uncommon form of detransition comes from those who realize that they were, in fact, not actually transgender. They made a mistake, and that's ok. This typically occurs during the "social transition" stage, though occasionally it occurs after surgical and hormonal treatment.

"Those" Detransitioners

The smallest group of detransitioners is, unfortunately, also the loudest. This group of people primarly consists of those who had surgeries that they later regretted. These are people who realized that they were not transgender, but instead of doing some self-refelection and realizing that they made a personal mistake, they instead blame the entirety of the transgender community. Somehow their unhappiness is the fault of every happy trans person instead of their own.

They are often propped up as weapons by right-wing conservatives, a group that is already typically transphobic. Being a vocal anti-trans detransitioner often comes with lucrative book deals, tv appearances, and a trip down the gender critical pipeline. This handful of willing puppets are used as so called "evidence" against the mere existence of transgender people as a whole (though it is completely absurd to argue that the concept of transgender people does not exist, they try to insist this fantasy instead of admitting to personal wrongdoing. Trying to argue that transgender people do not exist simply because a few people regretted it is akin to denying the existence of the concept of electricians because you had your overconfident friend "fix" your breaker and your house burned down).

There have been cases of adult detransitioners who admitted to lying to doctors about their identities to speed up the process who later blamed the transgender community instead of taking some responsibility. They often campaign against the transgender community, using themselves as examples for why transgender treatments should be outlawed or banned. They try to place the blame of their regrets in others instead of admitting to having made mistakes. They project their guilt and hatred of the ways their bodies have changed instead of owning up. They often spread extreme misinformation on the very nature of transgender treatments as a form of fearmongering, trying to mask their shame by creating fictional and extreme sypmtoms caused by hormones. They act as though they were forced or tricked into treatments.

No one is being forced into surgeries or hormones. There may be more acceptance of transgender people, but no teenager "decides" to be transgender to "fit in" and its a joke to try and argue that. Even the most lenient of informed consent still requires that you read through everything that will happen and sign documents acknowledging what will be done. You still need, at the bare minimum, to sign your initials next to every change that will be caused by hormones. To have consultations before surgery. Its always advised for anyone who is uncertain about their identity to sit down and talk it out with a gender therapist.

Can the process be fast? Sure. If you are speaking to the doctors with confidence in who you are. If you make it clear that you understand what is going to happen. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where these treatments are legal and don't require months of waiting and multiple letters with multiple diagnoses of gender dysphoria. Anyone who tells you that they were "forced" or "pressured" into becoming transgender is lying (any exceptions to this are so unlikely that they are practically indistinguishable from those who are too shameful to admit that they were wrong).

Its quite sad, really. This display of immaturity and lack of willingness to take accountability. I myself have come across detransitioners, though to be fair it has been through the blessing and the horror that is the existence of the internet. There are a few who simply exist, talking about their experiences like rational human beings who are able to admit that they personally made a mistake. The loudest and most obnoxious of them, however, do not.

I've been directly targeted by loudmouthed detransitioners hell-bent on harassing transgender men. I've had them lie about me, and the nature of my transition. I've been misgendered, insulted, and infantilized by them. I've had them mock and ridicule my appearance. I've even had them insist that I am somehow a "woman" (a term that no one has ever used to my face). I've been called a "nipnopper" (a hilarious attempt at a slur referencing the fact that I decided to forgo my nipples along with the rest of my unwanted breasts via top surgery). At no point have I or will I ever regret my transition. I am who I am. I will always be the man that I am. That is not something that can be taken away from me.

I will always respect a detransitioner's right to detransition in peace. I will never respect detransitioners who use their regret as a weapon to avoid accountability, and use it as an excuse. I will never respect grown men and women who use their childish insecurities as an excuse to harass transgender people at their happiest moments. I will never respect detransitioners who campaign against letting trans kids transition in favor of their deaths. I will never respect the detransitioners who use the deaths of transgender kids who were harassed into suicide to further their hate speech. I will never respect detransitioners who spend their efforts harming the transgender community instead of doing something actually productive, simply because they allow their own mistakes to consume their every waking moments.

If you are a detransitioner reading this. One of the ones who somehow takes offense to me telling you that you need to look inward at yourself and do some self reflection. One of the ones who scrolls through social media looking for people to harass. For scars to mock. For appearences to belittle. For obituaries to weaponize... get a grip.

Take up a hobby. Try woodworking.

Take a deep breath.

A breath that the kids killing themselves, because you fight to take their rights away, will never be able to have.