This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, the account "ButchPeace274" appears to be authentic.
There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or an inauthentic actor. The comments demonstrate:
- Personal, detailed experience: They share specific, first-person accounts of being on testosterone for 10 years, health complications, and the social challenges of detransitioning.
- Consistent perspective: Their viewpoint is consistently critical of transition as a healthy solution, rooted in personal regret and concern for others' well-being, which aligns with many genuine detransitioners.
- Nuanced and empathetic engagement: They offer tailored, thoughtful advice to others, acknowledging the complexity of individual situations, which is difficult for bots to replicate convincingly.
- Internal logic: The arguments are passionate and opinionated but follow a coherent internal logic based on their stated experiences and beliefs.
About me
I was born female and my discomfort started with puberty, which led me to believe I needed to transition. I was on testosterone for ten years before serious health problems made me realize it was physically harming me. I now see my desire to transition was rooted in self-hatred and a lack of positive examples for masculine women. I regret the permanent changes and the damage to my health. Now, I'm focused on self-love and finding peace in my body as it is.
My detransition story
My whole journey with this started when I was really young. I remember feeling uncomfortable with my body, especially when puberty began. I was born female, and I hated the changes, like developing breasts. At the time, I genuinely believed that what I was feeling was "gender dysphoria," and I thought the only solution was to transition. I thought if you felt dysphoria, you were supposed to transition, no questions asked. It sounds pretty stupid in hindsight.
Looking back, I think a lot of things led me down that path. I grew up in a religious Christian background, and I saw how women were treated as less than, told they were just helpers for men. How could that not affect how you feel about being a woman? I also question now if I'm autistic. I've spent a lot of time in the trans community, and nearly every other trans masculine person I met had Autism or ADHD. I used to think I was an exception, but now I'm not so sure. I wonder if girls were diagnosed younger and told that discomfort with puberty can be part of autism, how many of us would have taken a different path.
I started testosterone when I was 22. I was on it for ten years. At first, it felt like it was helping. I think there's a placebo effect; if everyone, including doctors, tells you this is the right thing to do, of course it feels right at first. But that feeling doesn't last. I became more interested in men during that time, which was confusing. The biggest turning point for me was my health. After being on T for a while, I started having serious problems: heart palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, and elevated liver enzymes. I had vaginal and uterine atrophy that caused pain, higher cholesterol, and high blood pressure that I couldn't control no matter how healthy I lived. Doctors tried to tell me it was anxiety, but I know it was the testosterone. I came to a simple realization: this isn't healthy. How can this be my "true self" if it's physically harming me?
That was the catalyst for me to detransition. I’ve come to believe that medical transition is not physically healthy, full stop. I think in 50 years, this will be seen as a major medical scandal. It’s medical malpractice. I was an "adult" at 22, but I was still too young and not mentally mature enough to make such a huge decision, especially since I was never fully informed of the risks.
My thoughts on gender have completely changed. I don't believe in "feeling like a man" or "feeling like a woman" anymore. I think that's all bullshit. You don't need to feel like a girl to be female. A lot of people don't actually feel like a gender; that's mostly a trans myth. I think my desire to transition was rooted in self-hatred. I finally realized that I just genuinely hated myself, and transition was about hating myself enough to try and become a different person. It was also about internalized homophobia and not seeing a place for a masculine woman like me in the world. We're often seen as the bottom of the barrel. If I had known about butch women or had those role models, I might never have transitioned.
I have a lot of regrets. I regret the permanent changes and the damage to my health. I'll never look the way I used to. My voice is permanently deeper, and I'm generally read as male by strangers. I'll probably never be able to pass as a woman again. There's a feeling of loss, especially for my breasts after having top surgery. But I'm trying to focus on the future. The most important change for me has been internal. I'm working on self-love and learning to be at peace in my body, no matter what it looks like. This body isn't "me"; it's just the vessel I use to move through the world. I'm finding moments of peace and finally allowing myself to be who I am.
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| Pre-puberty | Started feeling discomfort with my body and the idea of growing up female. |
| 22 | Started taking testosterone. |
| 32 | Stopped testosterone after 10 years due to serious health complications. Began my detransition. |
Top Comments by /u/ButchPeace274:
Rather than cowardly, I would argue that we were just doing our best given the situation we were put in. If we had fully understood it at the time, we wouldn't have done it. This is what gives me motivation to speak out. So the future generations can make better choices.
A lot of people don't actually feel like a gender. That's mostly a trans myth. And most people could call themselves "nonbinary" if they wanted to, because all that means is that you have both feminine and masculine qualities and don't care much about gender. That describes literally 99% of the population.
I would say just to start by thinking of yourself as female or as a woman, and see how that feels for you. There's nothing that inherently needs to be attached to the identity of "woman". You can be as feminine or as masculine as you want and still qualify as one.
Detrans butch here! I’m generally read as male by strangers due to how masculinized I was with T and the way I dress, so my situation is a bit different than yours. But I feel more authentic and “real” on the inside, like I’m finally accepting and finding who I really am. I don’t really know all the steps I want to take in terms of detransition, or if I’m more or less happy as I am. But I’ve been letting go of pretending to be someone I’m not. The biggest change so far has been internal. Good luck on your journey!
I imagine it might have had more to do with the use of "SRSussy" rather than the overall message of the comment, which is clearly very logical, but I could be wrong.
It amazes me how many people I see saying that the mtf bottom surgery result is indistinguishable from a cis vagina. The only way they could really believe that is if they've had very little experience with either cis or trans vaginas.
Having male friends and sharing hobbies with them doesn’t make you one. You can still be part of that brotherhood without actually identifying as male and transitioning medically.
Give yourself time to grow up before making any big decisions. You’re allowed to explore yourself any way you want to over the next few years. Just give yourself the freedom, time, and space to do that!
You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. If you’ve made these changes and you’re happy living as a man, then okay. You’re allowed to be you.
A lot of people detransition medically because it’s healthier not to be on T. And a lot of people detransition socially because they become uncomfortable being seen as men. It’s possible to do one and not the other, and it’s okay to make your own rules at this point.
In my 10 years in the trans community, nearly every other trans masculine person I met either had Autism or ADHD. I used to consider myself one of the exceptions to that rule until I realized I’m probably not neurotypical either.
If girls were diagnosed younger, and told that discomfort with puberty and growing up as your sex can be part of autism, I wonder how that would change things.
Straight up – I started having medical problems from hormones.
For most people, it takes a few years to a decade to start having issues, which is part of why we don't know much about the medical effects. But if you start really looking into detransition stories, you'll find out about a lot of shit that can happen with cross-sex hormones.
So that was the catalyst – After I realized this wasn't healthy for me, I thought "How can this be my true self if it's going to hurt me to be this way?"
Yep. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if medical transition "helps" you mentally or how much you want to be the other gender – I've come to the realization that it isn't physically healthy. Full stop.
Doctors should not be providing treatment that harms our physical health. 50 years from now, this will be seen as a major medical scandal. I hope we're all still here, in whatever form we take, at that time. There will be life after this!
If you're thinking of doing it, you probably need to at least try it.
You can just go off T (taper off slowly, ideally with the supervision of a doctor) for now and see how that feels. You don't need to tell anyone anything, or start identifying any way. Just get back to your natural hormones and see what happens.
Some people find that their voice gets a little higher after stopping T. Taking extra estrogen won't help with this.
As for "feeling like a boy" and "feeling like a girl", in my personal experience that's all bullshit. You don't need to feel like a girl in order to be female. It's okay for you to just exist, exactly as you are, with no HRT.
Good luck and I hope you find the answers you're looking for!