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Reddit user /u/80s_hairmetal_babi's Detransition Story

Transitioned: 18 -> Detransitioned: 28
female
low self-esteem
hated breasts
took hormones
regrets transitioning
escapism
trauma
depression
got top surgery
serious health complications
body dysmorphia
retransition
anxiety
This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
On Reddit, people often share their experiences across multiple comments or posts. To make this information more accessible, our AI gathers all of those scattered pieces into a single, easy-to-read summary and timeline. All system prompts are noted on the prompts page.

Sometimes AI can hallucinate or state things that are not true. But generally, the summarised stories are accurate reflections of the original comments by users.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious

Based on the provided comments, this account appears authentic.

There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or an inauthentic detransitioner/desister. The comments display a consistent, deeply personal narrative of social isolation leading to transition, detailed accounts of medical and psychological effects from testosterone, and a coherent (if strongly worded) ideological critique of transgenderism. The passion and anger are consistent with the stated harm experienced.

About me

I transitioned because I was deeply lonely and thought it would fix my broken self. Taking testosterone gave me a new identity at first, but it severely damaged my mental health with extreme mood swings. I now see my discomfort was never about gender, but about social anxiety and a need to belong. I deeply regret the permanent changes from hormones and surgery for a problem that wasn't physical. I'm now detransitioning, accepting my female body, and finally dealing with the real issues that started it all.

My detransition story

My journey into transition started from a place of deep loneliness. I never went through any major physical or sexual trauma, but my childhood and teenage years were marked by a chronic social isolation that felt unbearable. My parents loved me, but they didn't do a good job of making sure my social needs were met. I was homeschooled on and off and switched between schools, which left me socially awkward and unlikeable to other kids. I was rejected most of the time, and it created a toxic home life that felt inescapable.

Transitioning became my way out. It was a form of escapism, a chance to relinquish my old self that I felt was broken and unlovable. I thought I could be reborn as an idealized version of who I truly was. It gave me a new identity and a new community, something I desperately craved. I started taking testosterone, thinking it was the solution to all my problems.

For a while, it felt like it was working. But about two years into taking testosterone, my mental state began to deteriorate drastically. I started having massive mood swings that were identical to bipolar disorder. My mind was in a constant state of instability and stress because of the big spikes in male hormones and then the sudden drops. It felt like my brain's ability to produce chemicals properly was seriously impaired, especially serotonin. My female endocrine system was strained and stretched thin for over five years, and it did a number of terrible things to me that I'm still trying to figure out to this day.

Looking back, I see now that my discomfort wasn't really about gender. I believe "transgenderism" is a culturally engineered phenomenon, a coping mechanism people adapt to based on internalizing pervasive problems in our society. My issues were rooted in social anxiety, low self-esteem, and a deep need to belong, not in being born in the wrong body. I had internalized a lot of pain and saw transition as the only escape.

I don't believe someone can be born trans. I think historical examples of people who were uncomfortable with their bodies or social roles were just that—people uncomfortable with the restrictive expectations placed on them. That doesn't make a person trans; it makes them a human being reacting to their environment.

I deeply regret my transition, especially the medical aspects. The testosterone caused serious health complications for my mental state that I'm still dealing with. I also had top surgery, which I now see as a permanent solution to a temporary feeling. I hated my breasts, but removing them has left me with long-term nerve issues and pain that I have to live with. I would advise anyone considering it to explore every other option first.

My thoughts on gender now are simple: it's a social construct. Biological sex is immutable. No matter what procedures you undergo, your inherent nature as male or female doesn't change. I've benefited from stepping away from affirming therapy and looking at my underlying issues, like my social anxiety and depression.

I’m now trying to move forward, accepting my female body and working on the real problems that led me down this path in the first place.

Age Event
Childhood-Teens Chronic social isolation, feeling unlikeable and rejected by peers.
18 Began identifying as trans and started taking testosterone.
20 Began experiencing severe mood swings and mental instability from testosterone.
23 Underwent top surgery (double mastectomy).
23+ Continued testosterone for over 5 years, dealing with ongoing mental and physical health complications.
28 Began detransitioning, stopping testosterone and starting to accept my female body.

Top Comments by /u/80s_hairmetal_babi:

7 comments • Posting since May 23, 2025
Reddit user 80s_hairmetal_babi (detrans female) explains why they believe being trans is a culturally engineered concept born from sexism and a coping mechanism, not a biological reality.
30 pointsJun 6, 2025
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Transgenderism is a culturally engineered phenomenon, something that has been artificially created due to the twisted ideas of 3 pedophile activists who couldn’t accept the fact that some people are born different for their sex. I believe its existence is born from inherent sexism. And because it isn’t something biological or scientifically realistic in our species, it doesn’t exist. It is a coping mechanism that people adapt to based on internalizing pervasive problems in our society.

So no, you are not trans because you have been altered. You are like any other man, you just appear different. Trans is a made-up concept. No matter what you’ve done to yourself, the biological default is something immutable and your inherent male nature is not something that can be changed.

Reddit user 80s_hairmetal_babi (detrans female) explains that historical gender dysphoria was a reaction to stringent social norms, not an innate identity, arguing that discomfort with one's body is an internalization of culture, not proof of being trans.
7 pointsJun 7, 2025
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The cultural influence of gendered expectations were very stringent and restricting in those times, so of course I could see people being “gender dysphoric.” But gender dysphoria doesn’t make someone trans. We’re talking about times in history where if you deviated from social norms in any way then there were much bigger social consequences for behaving differently than in today’s society. There have been people throughout history who have been different yes, and have felt uncomfortable with their physical bodies. But again, that’s the internalizing of the current paradigm and culture, and it doesn’t matter if the concept of transgenderism didn’t exist then. These are ancient hurts that many people in different periods of the past felt, and throughout our time progression, yeah, it’s all the same collection of similar feelings. But that did not and does not make a person trans. That’s just being uncomfortable with physical reality.

Reddit user 80s_hairmetal_babi (detrans female) explains the mental horrors of testosterone, describing bipolar-like mood swings, a damaged serotonin system, and a constant state of instability from hormonal spikes and drops over 5+ years.
6 pointsJun 7, 2025
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I look back in horror about what testosterone did to my mind more than anything else. Two or so years into using T I began having massively shifting mood swings identical to that of bipolarity. I think my brains ability to produce chemicals properly was seriously impaired, especially when it came to serotonin. My mind was in a constant state of instability and stress because of the big spikes in male hormones and then the sudden drop. That and my female endocrine system being strained and stretched thin the entire 5+ years I was on that shit really did a number of terrible things I’m still trying to figure out to this day.

Reddit user 80s_hairmetal_babi (detrans female) explains the history of John Money, detailing his sex crimes against children, forced surgeries on intersex infants, and the non-consensual SRS performed on David Reimer.
5 pointsJun 7, 2025
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They are guilty of the worst sex crimes towards children you could think of. John Money is also very well known for attempting “sex change” surgeries on intersex children. He also performed “SRS” surgery on a man named David Reimer after he ended up suffering from a botched circumcision.

Reddit user 80s_hairmetal_babi (detrans female) explains how chronic social isolation, not trauma, led her to transition as a form of escape and a hope for a "rebirth" into an idealized self.
4 pointsMay 23, 2025
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My situation is interesting. I never went through any major traumas physically, sexually or overtly in the psychological sense. But a huge factor contributing to my transition was giving myself some kind of hope or escape from the chronic social isolation I was suffering from for many years throughout my child and teenhood. It was a way for me to relinquish my old self that was no longer helpful or functional for personal growth so I could be reborn as an idealized version of who I thought I actually was.

Reddit user 80s_hairmetal_babi (detrans female) advises against a full mastectomy for breast removal, citing long-term nerve issues and pain, but suggests a reduction or finding ways to come to terms with them, while understanding a hysterectomy for severe medical problems.
4 pointsJun 13, 2025
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I understand the hysterectomy completely if you’re having such severe medical problems that you can’t function in your day-to-day life. As for your breasts I’d do whatever I could to come to terms with having them. If they’re big then a reduction might be in the cards, but there’s risks that come with that. But a full on mastectomy I wouldn’t go for because that most likely will lead to long term nerve issues and even pain.

Reddit user 80s_hairmetal_babi (detrans female) explains how social isolation and a toxic home life, not an inherent inability to connect, led to her childhood struggles.
3 pointsMay 24, 2025
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Yes it absolutely is, but it took me a long time to realize that because that and the other traumas I've suffered from were deeply insidious. As a result I had normalized all of it to such a degree that for quite a long time until pretty recently the awareness was far back in my subconscious when I was younger.

My parents, while I love them, really didn't do a good job at making sure my social needs were being met and that I was being exposed when I was a kid throughout my time in school. I ended up being very socially awkward and unlikeable to other children so I was rejected by others most of the time. It got worse as I got older because of a toxic home life and being taken out of school for long stretches of time (being homeschooled on and off, private schools, etc.).

As I've grown into my adult self things have definitely gotten easier. I actually do well with other people and I find them easy to understand. It's not that I was incapable of making friends or being true to my personality, I was just a byproduct of living in a shitty home environment for abnormal amounts of time.