The title of this video is kind of clickbaity but it’s a good interview and relevant to your questions nonetheless, so I highly recommend watching: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1-6oBqAbxdI

Early on, much of my grief came from not starting HRT “early enough”, but I eventually learned it wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyway. Don’t be in a hurry. HRT is overrated, doesn’t do a lot, and being a medical patient for life isn’t worth it. I say this as someone who is years into HRT and to a point where stopping is impractical.

Thank you for taking detrans experiences into consideration as you navigate what is best for your child. You’re a great parent!

I wish trans spaces were more nuanced and encouraging of the respectful dialogues that I wanted to have.

I went into medical transition knowing sex is unchangeable, so I wasn’t very comfortable referring to myself as an MTF, but people expected me to anyway. Including medical professionals.

And that felt unscientific. Even if I magically became indistinguishable from someone AFAB, I found it important to acknowledge and accept that I always have been and always will be male, no matter what. No denial.

I felt like there wasn’t a place for me at the table. This was despite my scientific approach treating sex separately from gender.

Transitioning helped me to a certain extent, it even saved my life, but it was ultimately a distraction. My gender dysphoria is cured now, thanks to psychedelic mushrooms and lots of self reflection, but it has been replaced with a different kind of dysphoria, something worse and more sinister. This terrible fear that I will never accomplish anything, never be loved, always be ignored or abused, never be pretty, never escape.

I still think attempting to transition was an integral part of my healing process, and I don’t regret it one bit. Sure, I failed, but I had to try. I had to scratch that itch. I don’t think I would have been able to feel truly cured or let go otherwise. I would have just carried a bunch of resentment about never getting to try if I hadn’t. I would still be deluding myself. The grass always seems greener on the other side. I had to try it firsthand.

tl;dr Even though transitioning didn’t cure my gender dysphoria directly, and in some ways made it worse, it feels as if it was a necessary step for me to reach this point where I can very confidently say I’m cured.

To a certain extent, I think it’s important that we push our limits and explore the things we need to in order to reach some state of relative equilibrium, balance, satisfaction, harmony. It’s part of our growth. Your body hair brings you discomfort, so maybe you could try hair removal. We invent things like that because it’s in our human nature to want to be as beautiful as we possibly can. Other animals, not just humans, groom themselves as well.

It’s easy to feel like the grass is greener on the other side, but humans in general are gross and transition is no escape from that. Many people feel this way about their bodies regardless of their birth sex. The best we can do is strive to be our best selves despite our limitations and to embrace the remaining imperfections that we can’t change.

My gender dysphoria was very bad, and attempting to transition saved my life. I have no transition-related regrets. I would not be who I am today otherwise. I still take cross-sex hormones because stopping is impractical. My body can't produce testosterone anymore due to surgery, and I prefer the skin/hair/bodyfat changes from HRT anyway.

Despite my best efforts, my transition didn’t work out. Not everyone finds acceptance or gets to be passable. And the opposite of "to pass" is "to fail". This brought me a lot of grief, and I couldn't find any support. A quick Google search for "ways to cope with a failed gender transition" turned up zero relevant results. It's as if everyone prefers to pretend that bad outcomes do not exist.

I gradually stopped identifying as trans. And this was not by my own choice. I do not believe it is something that a person can consciously choose to do with success. For me, it just… happened. I let go of a lot of the bitterness. I even realized that transitioning during early puberty wouldn't have made a huge difference. I no longer dream of being a beautiful woman. I now dream of achieving a new kind of beauty, this complex, femininely masculine beauty. Isn't it ironic? I never expected my brain to adapt in such a way. The human mind is full of surprises.

That's all to say: just because I no longer identify as trans, that doesn’t mean I never was "genuinely" trans to begin with. I find that type of language divisive and exclusionary. Many of the people here on r/detrans either are or were struggling trans people. We all have our own stories, so with all due respect, please do not gatekeep the trans identity by using words such as "genuine".

First off, you’re very brave for being honest with yourself about how you feel.

Each sex’s understanding of life as the opposite sex is often oversimplified. The grass may appear greener on the other side, but there are plenty of women out there who would feel like they aren’t pretty enough to wear the sandals you mentioned. There are also women who would bully them for trying. Being a woman in your example in no way guarantees that the sandals work out and you get to feel good wearing them.

It’s easy for our male brains to equate being female to being pretty. That’s one of the reasons I ended up on HRT.

All the above. I’ve embraced the masculine and the feminine parts of my body, and I consider myself a gender-nonconforming male. I am whole.

I haven’t heard of estrogen improving productivity, it doesn’t seem to for me. Tell me more about that. What motivated you to stop? I believe our bodies are healthiest when allowed to produce their own hormones, so you made the best decision.

Is medical detransition necessary? For example: I’ve socially detransitioned, but I still take cross-sex hormones because that’s what works for me. No regrets, I just stopped identifying as trans one day. I learned to love myself and accept my birth sex. I feel plenty welcome here. What kinds of exclusionary posts or comments are you seeing?

I think most people go about their lives without experiencing any kind of gender euphoria.

The absence of dysphoria is not euphoria, it is indifference. I feel indifference now, which is a big improvement, but I don’t think transitioning is to thank for that. For context, my transition didn’t work out.

I still occasionally experience dysphoria, but it is no longer rooted in gender. It’s more complicated than I ever imagined. If only I’d known sooner.

Thank you for your story. It really is a religion. The fear of wrongthink, the excommunication of those brave enough to entertain it. These are traits of all religions. You are incredibly brave for going on this journey of self discovery and for speaking at the panel!