This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, the account appears authentic. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or inauthentic.
The comments demonstrate:
- Personal, nuanced reflection: The user shares a specific, repeated thought experiment about visualizing their future self, which is a credible introspective process.
- Consistent narrative: The story about being on HRT but questioning due to future-self visualization is consistent across multiple comments.
- Plausible personal details: The mention of a fire chief brother and nurse sister-in-law offering cautious advice adds a layer of believable, mundane detail.
- Appropriate emotional tone: The tone is thoughtful, questioning, and supportive of others, which aligns with a genuine person navigating a difficult decision.
There is no evidence of scripted talking points, incoherence, or other bot-like behavior in this sample. The account presents as a real person who is questioning their gender transition.
About me
I started questioning my gender at 28 and began taking hormones a year later, hoping to find a community and an identity. My brother, a fire chief, warned me about the permanent effects of surgery, so I only ever tried HRT. Everything changed when I tried to picture my future life as a transgender woman and realized I couldn't see myself in that role. I only saw my current, male self growing older, whether I was with a partner or on my own. That realization made me stop HRT, and I'm now learning to accept myself without a full medical transition.
My detransition story
My whole journey with transition and now detransition has been complicated. I always hated the simple idea of an "egg cracking." For me, it was never that straightforward. It was a mix of so many things: falling down online rabbit holes, my own confirmation bias, and a deep desire to find a community and an identity. I wanted to feel good about myself and to finally feel accepted.
I started taking hormones. My brother, who is a fire chief, and his wife, a nurse, were supportive but also very cautious. He warned me that taking hormones is a lifelong commitment and was strongly against any surgeries that remove body parts. His point was that you can't go back from that, and there can be serious long-term health consequences. I listened to that advice and only ever did HRT.
What really made me start questioning was a simple thought experiment. I asked myself: what will my life look like in 5, 10, or 15 years as a transgender woman? I had pushed so hard to become her that I never actually stopped to imagine a daily life as her. When I tried to visualize my future—things like traveling, going to the shooting range, or just having a beer with friends—I could only ever see myself as I am now, just older. I couldn't see that transgender woman in those scenarios. It just didn't fit.
Thinking about a future partner sealed it for me. I could picture myself with either a man or a woman, but in that picture, I was always just me. My cis self. Not a transgender woman. Picturing my life alone, if I never found someone, I also saw my current self. That exercise was a complete game-changer for me. It made me realize that moving forward with a full medical transition as MTF was the wrong path for me.
I don't think exploring this makes me a bad person. I think it means I was trying to understand myself and was sensitive to the feelings of others. But I've also learned that we can't control how other people react to us; we can only control our own actions. We live in an imperfect world.
Here is a timeline of my journey:
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 28 | Started questioning my gender identity and began exploring online communities. |
| 29 | Started hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after much consideration. |
| 30 | Had a crucial conversation with my brother about the permanence of HRT and surgery. |
| 30 | Performed the future-self thought experiment and began to seriously question my transition path. |
| 30 | Decided to stop HRT and detransition after realizing I could not envision a future life as a transgender woman. |
Top Comments by /u/MickiMichelley:
Always disliked the ‘egg cracked’ metaphor. What dysphoria is… what transitioning is and detransitioning is… is alot more complicated than an egg cracking. Rabbit holes are a thing, confirmation bias is a thing, wanting community and acceptance is a thing, wanting identity, wanting to feel good about myself, wanting to not be bullied is a thing. All of these ideas are part of this complex issue.
So not sure… just know this is complex
My brother is a fire chief his wife a nurse. He supported me w doing hrt with cautions that taking hormones its for life. He also highly cautioned against doing any surgeries that remove parts. His point was… you cant go back once that happens, and there can be long term health impacts trim removing parts.
I am on HRT .. but I’m questioning cause i realized i couldn’t see what life would be like for me in 5, 10 , 15 years as the gender i thought i wanted to be. Once i did that thought experiment i realized that going forward as mtf is likely the wrong way forward for me.
I too am questioning my transition. One thing that helped me was asking. Myself ‘ how do i see my life , what is my life like in 5,10, 20 years. How do i see myself?
i couldn’t see myself in that life. That was telling. I had pushed so hard to change gender i hadn’t stopped to think about what i wanted my life to be like as the gender i wanted to transition into. Sigh..
Once i did that thought experiment i realized that going forward as mtf is likely the wrong way forward for me.
Hope that helps in some way with your path
Ya thinking about the end goal for me changed my decision. I can easily see myself traveling, shooting guns, drinking a beer as myself, but not as the transgender woman i thought i wanted to become. And when i visualized what my future partner might be i can see a cis man and or cis woman in that role and Im me as current me just older.. picturing my life alone, if i don’t find someone compatible, i see myself as cis self not a transgender woman.
So… for me the thought exercise really was a game changer in which way i want to steer my transition.
I don’t think that makes you a bad person. I think it makes you an empathic person. Sensitive to the feelings and distress in others is not a bad quality. I’d also caution that we can only control ourselves we can’t control how other people react to us or how they behave. We just don’t live in that perfect world. We can educate them or at least put the information in front of them.
Thanks for sharing.