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Detransition

Our personal experiences are with our own children who did not pursue medicalization while trans-identified. But we want to acknowledge the parents of children who do. We hope our information is helpful to them too. Detransition is when someone who previously identified as transgender and pursued medical and/or surgical interventions, stop the interventions, often re-identifying with their biological sex. There are many factors that can influence a person’s decision to detransition. In a published survey of 100 detransitioners (Littman, 2021) the most common reason given for detransitioning was that their “personal definition of male and female changed and they became comfortable identifying with their natal sex (60%).” Detransitioners face the same challenges as desisters, which may include coming to terms with problems in their life that might have contributed to a transgender identity, a painful separation from friends and other influences, dealing with feelings of embarrassment and regret, and reconciling with family. Detransitioners though must also address the significant, sometimes irreversible changes to their body. This can be very hard. Detransitioners often report that the mental health and medical professionals who facilitated their medical “transition” are unwilling or unable to help them with detransition. They find that while insurance would pay for medical interventions related to “transition” it will not pay for detransition. Like desisters, people who detransition need understanding and compassion.

Research on Detransition:

Resources:


Studies and Papers:

  • BMC Psychiatry: Discontinuing hormonal gender reassignment: a nationwide register study

    • "​In this nationally representative register study covering subjects proceeding to hormonal GR over three decades, 7.9% discontinued their established hormonal GR. The risk for discontinuing hormonal GR was greater in the latest intake cohort (2013–2019) than in the earliest cohort (1996–2005)."

  • ​Lisa Littman: Individuals Treated for Gender Dysphoria with Medical and /or Surgical Transition Who Subsequently Detransitioned: A Survey of 100 Detransitioners

    • Detransitioners and desisters, in their own words, have provided additional depth to the discussion, describing that:

      • (1) Trauma (including sexual trauma) and mental health conditions contributed to their transgender identification and transition (Callahan, 2018; Herzog, 2017; twitter.com/ftmdetransed & twitter.com/radfemjourney, 2019)

      • (2) Their dysphoria and transition were due to homophobia and difficulty accepting themselves as homosexual (Bridge, 2020; Callahan, 2018; upperhandMARS, 2020)

      • (3) Peers, social media, and online communities were influential in the development of transgender identification and desire to transition (Pique Resilience Project, 2019; Tracey, 2020; upperhandMARS, 2020)

      • (4) Their dysphoria was rooted in misogyny (Herzog, 2017)

  • Elie Vandenbussche: Detransition-Related Needs and Support: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

    • ​"most detransitioners could benefit from some form of counseling and in particular when it comes to psychological support on matters such as gender dysphoria, comorbid conditions, feelings of regret, social/physical changes and internalized homophobic or sexist prejudices. Medical support was also found to be needed by many, in order to address concerns related to stopping/changing hormone therapy, surgery/treatment complications and access to reversal interventions. Furthermore, the current study has shown that detransitioners need spaces to hear about other detransition stories and to exchange with each other."

  • Pablo Exposito-Campos: Medical detransition following transgender identity reaffirmation: two case reports

    • ​"Gender detransition is an under-researched phenomenon. These cases highlight the need for a more nuanced approach to gender-related clinical presentations, which involves providing individuals the opportunity to work on their social ecosystems and explore alternative options to manage GD before initiating GAMI."

  • J.Cohn: The Detransition Rate is Unknown

    • ​"It should also be noted that regretters and detransitioners do not seem likely to report their status without being asked for it; in a recent convenience sample survey of detransitioners, only about a quarter told their clinician of their detransition (Littman, 2021)."

  • Lisa Littman, Stella O'Malley, Helena Kerschner & J. Michael Bailey: Detransition and Desistance Among Previously Trans-Identified Young Adults

    • ​ "Transgender identification was not fleeting, but typically lasted for several years, and was associated with serious social and medical steps. All our informants took steps to socially transition, and most also obtained and used cross-sex hormones. An appreciable minority also had “gender-affirming” surgery. During transgender identification, gender dysphoria and general unhappiness increased considerably."

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Articles and Reports:

  • The 2024 Annual Qualitative Report from the Bridging the Gap Detransitioner Support Group* at BeyondTrans.org

    • "This is not a study, and the group was not created for research. However, the members have indicated a desire to contribute to the discourse and raise awareness of the transition and detransition experience. This report aims to respect their privacy while synthesizing the information this group has produced."​

  • The Telegraph: NHS to launch first service for trans patients wanting to return to birth gender

    • "The move comes in the wake of the Cass Review, an independent report into transgender services, which found that children were being hurried down “affirmative” pathways involving powerful drugs and medical interventions."

    • "The review made a series of recommendations to the NHS, including to provide care for people who had changed their minds after transitioning, and warned health leaders not to use the same medics previously involved in their care."


Books:

  • Rene Jax: Don't get on the plane, why a sex change will ruin your life

    • "​Don't get on the plane is an intimate look as the men and medicine who created the current medical treatments for this condition. Rene Jax, a male to female, post operative transsexual brings over fifty years of person experience and study into this complicated discussion. She shows the fallacy and failure of these barbaric medical treatments to treat gender confusion. Don't get on the plane is a warning to young and old alike, to not buy the plane ticket that will ruin your life."

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