This story is from the comments by /u/OnceBitten8240 that are listed below, summarised with AI.
User Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the comments provided, the account "OnceBitten8240" shows no serious red flags for being inauthentic, a bot, or not a real detransitioner/desister.
The user demonstrates:
- Personal, detailed experience: They share specific, consistent details about their own transition (5+ years on testosterone), detransition (over a year off), and the physical and emotional changes they experienced.
- Emotional consistency: Their tone is passionate, often compassionate, and aligns with the expected anger and frustration of someone who feels harmed by transition and the ideology surrounding it.
- Substantive engagement: They engage deeply with complex topics, provide resources (book recommendations, coping strategies), and offer tailored advice to others, which is complex for a bot to replicate.
- Internal logic: Their viewpoint is firmly against medical transition, which they consistently frame as a societal harm and a medical ethical failure, comparing it to other body integrity disorders. This is a coherent, if controversial, philosophical stance held by some detransitioners.
The account appears to be an authentic individual who is a detransitioned female, deeply invested in the subject based on personal experience.
About me
I was born female and transitioned to male in my twenties to escape severe body discomfort. Testosterone caused serious health problems, which forced me to stop and finally question the ideology I had believed. I now see that my dysphoria was a mental health issue, worsened by internalized homophobia and trauma. I am learning to accept my female body through therapy, though the dysphoria still comes and goes. I am a woman, and I am working to live in peace with the irreversible changes and find my strength again.
My detransition story
My journey with transition and detransition is deeply personal and complicated. I was born female and from a young age, I felt a severe discomfort with my body, especially during puberty. I hated my breasts and felt a strong sense that I was supposed to be male. This feeling was so intense that I eventually decided to transition. I started taking testosterone when I was in my early twenties and was on it for over five years.
During that time, I told everyone that testosterone made me feel so much better mentally that I would never stop taking it, no matter what. It evened out my emotions and stopped my period, which I saw as a relief. I thought I had finally found the solution to my pain. I fully believed I was a man trapped in a woman's body because I had bought into the idea that people could have a brain that didn't match their sex. I now realize that's not possible.
I stopped testosterone a little over a year ago, but not because I was unhappy with the changes or regretted transitioning socially. I stopped for my health. I started developing serious health complications. My blood became too thick for a female, my heart rate permanently increased, and I now have an autoimmune disease that I didn't have before. I also knew from reading other people's experiences that being on testosterone long-term often leads to needing a hysterectomy, and I didn't want any more surgeries. I had already had a breast reduction years before I transitioned, which was very painful but helped with my back pain.
When I stopped hormones, I began to really think about what "being transgender" actually meant. I realized the whole ideology is built on a social construct, not biological reality. If gender identity were innate, every culture would have the same number of genders, but they don't. I felt foolish for not seeing it sooner. I'm a logical person, and it was my desperation to feel better that made me believe something that wasn't true.
Since detransitioning, my period came back after six months. When it did, I felt a strange sense of relief—like for the first time, I was allowing my body to do what it was meant to do instead of fighting against it. My breasts grew back significantly, my face became more feminine, and my body hair lightened. I lost a lot of hair on my head from testosterone, so I now keep my head shaved and wear scarves to cover it when I go out. I have dark facial hair, so I always have a shadow, but I've found that wearing glasses helps make it less noticeable.
I still struggle with gender dysphoria. It comes and goes, and sometimes it's overwhelming. But I'm learning to accept my body as it is because I know I can't change my sex. No amount of hormones or surgery will ever make me male. I have to work with my body, not against it. I try to connect with it through yoga, meditation, and therapy. I also have OCD, which made my gender obsession a nightmare, and I'm working on that with professional help.
I don't regret transitioning because it was a part of my journey, but I do believe it was the wrong path for me. I think gender dysphoria is a mental health issue that should be treated with therapy and learning acceptance, not with cross-sex hormones and surgery. These treatments are harmful and irreversible. They don't fix the underlying problem; they just put a band-aid on it.
I also want to mention that I am a lesbian. I think internalized homophobia played a role in my desire to transition. I felt shame about being attracted to women, and becoming a man felt like an escape from that. Society values men over women, and I wanted that power and safety. I was also a victim of sexual violence, which made me hate being female and want to escape the vulnerability that comes with it.
Now, I'm trying to live as a woman again. It's scary sometimes, especially using public restrooms or worrying that people will think I'm a trans woman instead of a female. But most people in my life never stopped seeing me as female, so telling them I was detransitioning was easier than I thought. My father had originally been skeptical when I transitioned, and he was relieved when I told him I was stopping.
My thoughts on gender are that there are only two sexes, male and female, and that's a biological reality. "Gender identity" is a social concept that reinforces stereotypes. We don't need to "identify" as anything; we just are what we are. I am a woman because I am an adult human female. Anything I do is something a woman does because I am one.
Here is a timeline of my transition and detransition events:
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| Early 20s | Started testosterone |
| Mid 20s | Had been on testosterone for several years; health began to decline |
| 27 | Stopped testosterone due to serious health concerns |
| 28 | Period returned 6 months after stopping T; began living as a woman again |
Top Reddit Comments by /u/OnceBitten8240:
I'm so glad you reached out for help. You should be very proud of yourself for exploring your doubts and seeking different perspectives.
You cannot "undo" this surgery. Since you are not sure if you want this, you should cancel or push the date back. I suggest waiting at least until you are an adult, but I would urge you to reconsider having a double mastectomy entirely. There is no medical reason to remove healthy breast tissue. There are a number of complications you may deal with, and you can't even be sure if you will like the results; even if you like having less breast tissue, there is no guarantee you are going to like the look of your chest. Like other people mentioned, there is the possibility of keloid scars (I have these from an injury, and believe me when I say people will stare and ask about it,) there is the risk of "dog ears" (tissue that extends out beyond the scar,) et cetera. The most important thing to remember is that surgery will not "fix" feeling bad. Don't make this drastic change thinking it will.
Best of luck to you, truly.
lots of kids deeply believe that medically transitioning is their only hope and their mental health pretty much hinges on it.
This is 100% because society tells them they need to. If kids did not know about the option, they would never think about taking cross-sex hormones. It also would not be "life or death." Activists tell them it is, so it becomes that to them, but it isn't. Before "transgenderism" existed as a concept, people weren't agonizing over being referred to by the "wrong pronoun", or cutting off healthy breast tissue to "masculinize" their chests. Instead, they would have lived as gender non-conforming, sometimes even blending in with their desired sex. But without medicalization.
I'm sorry you have felt hurt by feminist comments. Hearing those messages from your mother must've felt confusing.
I am not a radfem, so I can't speak on that specifically, but anyone who spends any time looking through transgender spaces will see an overwhelming amount of fetishism. This does not mean people think every "trans" person is a fetishist, but there are many examples, and those examples stand out.
I really, really hope you (and anyone else who thinks being anti-prostitution is too extreme) will reconsider your stance on "sex work". I will not get into too much detail here, and I don't wish to start a debate, (I'm not trying to give the mods extra work), but sexual violence is abhorrent and should be vehemently opposed. Most feminists (with the notable exception of liberal feminists) hate the term "sex work" because it sanitizes reality. The reality is that people--especially girls and women--all over the world are forced into enduring daily sexual violence. The idea of the "happy hooker" is a myth. Many, many women (and even some males who identify as transgender) have written about this and I highly encourage you to do some reading on the topic.
I realized that no one is "trans". What I mean by that is that people "identify as transgender" but "being transgender" is not biological, it is entirely social. Something being caused by social influence doesn't mean the "gender dysphoria" we feel isn't real. Of course our feelings are real. But "gender" in the way that people think of it now is not innate. It can't be. If gender was innate, every culture would have the same number of genders. But they don't. And no matter what people try to say, it is false that historical figures were "trans" because the concept didn't exist then. There are two sexes, and that is biological reality.
I didn't have these realizations until I had already stopped hormones (which I stopped for health reasons.) I responded to them first by feeling foolish for having believed something that wasn't true. Then I understood that I needed to work on accepting myself as I am because I have to accept reality. It isn't easy to work on accepting your body as it is, but it is what we must do to be healthy.
> until I started T at 23. I own that decision and I own my decision to detransition now. I was an adult by the time I accessed T, I take complete responsibility for my actions, and I don't want anyone to think otherwise.
I hate that this has to be said. Because
a) Even if you didn't take "complete responsibility" for transitioning, why should you have to?
b) No one transitions alone. Your decision was influenced by more people than you think. For example, physicians, clinics, activists, lobbyists, psychologists and pharmaceutical companies are responsible for you even having access to cross-sex hormones.
(None of this is a dig at you, by the way; I just hate that people won't listen to our experiences without the disclaimer)
People are fanatical when it comes to "transgender" issues. They are so convinced that not only are they right but anyone who dissents is a hateful bigot. Of course in reality, the position of preventing medical trauma to children is caring for them, not hating them.
I know you are in a difficult position here. Have you considered making a hard line in not writing these kinds of letters (for anyone)? I've known therapists that have practice policies that they won't write certain types of letters because they just don't feel qualified in those areas.
My therapists during transition (and detransition) were very good. They did not encourage or discourage me. This meant that I didn't push them away but they weren't feeding into my false ideas either. They would have me reflect on my feelings rather than reinforce them.
I did not have bottom surgery, but I was seriously considering it. Complications for these surgeries are outrageously common, and people in the "trans community" totally ignore the reality of the aftermath. And many surgeons are not presenting people with the real risks; I have heard of lawsuits against the guy for FTM bottom surgery in the US on the grounds that he did not properly explain the risks nor how common serious complications are. I obviously don't know the sex of your patient, but I have read many complications for MTF bottom surgery as well. With MTFs, the most common thing I've noticed is that once they have surgery, they are surprised by the reality of what they are left with since they are told it is "just like a vagina" (it isn't).
This is one reason why a lot of people think that "trans ideology" is just "repackaged homophobia." It is not "transphobic" to be homosexual or heterosexual. When people tell lesbians, for example, that they are "transphobic" for not dating "trans women" they are being homophobic.
He specifically wrote that he treats others with dignity and respect, and therefore would not be "hurling abuse".
Also, for the record, homosexuality is an immutable reality that exists regardless of social conditioning, whereas "transgender identity" is not.
Yes. People fight that idea for a lot of reasons, some of which are below:
- It means that it can be treated like other mental illnesses instead of with cross-sex hormones and surgeries.
- It means admitting something is wrong with him/her, and if the person has tranisitioned, that time, money, emotional and physical energy, et cetera may have been wasted.
- The idea of being "transgender" is benefical to him/her personally (whether for attention, relief, escapism, power, money, opportunity, or something else.)
- Blindly following what he/she has been taught.