This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, this account appears to be authentic and not a bot or a troll.
There are no serious red flags indicating inauthenticity. The user consistently identifies as a trans man who is supportive of detransitioners. The comments display:
- Personal, nuanced experiences with transition and detransition topics.
- Emotional depth and consistency in their perspective over a long period (2019-2023).
- A clear, non-hostile agenda: to share their trans perspective, learn from detrans experiences, and advocate for better mental health screening for anyone considering transition.
Their presence on a detrans sub is explained by their stated curiosity and desire to understand after a friend detransitioned. This is a plausible reason for a genuine trans person to engage with the community.
About me
I started identifying as trans at 17 to escape the deep depression I felt from being female. A year of required therapy made me question everything, but it solidified that medical transition was my right path. Testosterone gave me immense relief, though binding has caused permanent physical damage. I don't regret my transition, but I've learned it's a massive decision that requires thorough exploration. I'm now a 25-year-old man, proud of my journey and living my life.
My detransition story
My journey with gender has been long and complicated, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. I started identifying as trans about seven years ago, when I was 17. Before that, I was deeply depressed. I felt completely trapped in my body, like I was living in a prison of being female. It was a terrible feeling, and I was desperate for a way out.
I was really lucky that the process for me wasn't fast. My state required me to go through a full year of therapy before I could even start hormones. At the time, I hated the wait, but now I’m so grateful for it. That therapist made me talk about my whole life history. We dug into my feelings and why I wanted to transition. She encouraged me to experiment with my appearance—to dress as masculinely as I wanted—but to really pay attention to how it felt. She asked me hard questions, like if I could be happy just being a butch woman, or what would happen if transition didn’t fix how I felt. That process solidified for me that medical transition was the right path. It wasn't an escape; it felt like a necessary step toward being myself.
I started testosterone when I was 18. The first time my mom used my chosen name without stumbling, I felt this incredible wave of relief and joy. It’s hard to describe, but it was a sense of rightness, like a weight had been lifted. That feeling, which some people call gender euphoria, was real for me. Over time, that intense euphoria faded, but not because I stopped being trans. It just became my normal. I got used to being seen as a man, and that in itself was a relief.
Living as a trans man has come with its own set of challenges, especially with dating. I learned early on that I couldn’t just put “trans” in my dating profile. When I did, I’d get flooded with disgusting, invasive messages or people treating me like a novelty. It was exhausting and hurtful. So, I started keeping it to myself at first, not to trick anyone, but to avoid that garbage. I always told people once we became friendly, but before things got physically serious. I believe genital preference is valid, and people deserve to make informed choices. My goal was just to find a way to connect with people without having to deal with harassment right off the bat.
Physically, transition hasn’t been without consequences. I’ve been binding my chest for seven years. It was necessary for my mental health, but it’s caused permanent damage. The tissue in my chest is basically wrecked, which is fine for me since I want top surgery, but it’s not ideal. More seriously, I have permanent rib damage from binding too tight when I was younger. I have scar tissue that causes sharp pains and has reduced my lung capacity. I get respiratory infections easily now. It’s a trade-off I made, but it’s a heavy one.
I’ve been on testosterone for seven years now. I pass as male without binding, and my voice drop is permanent. I had to go off T for a few months once due to insurance problems, and I noticed my body fat started to redistribute to a more feminine pattern and I lost some muscle tone, but my voice and facial hair stayed. I don’t have any plans for bottom surgery because I don’t have much bottom dysphoria; it’s just not for me.
I don’t regret my transition. It saved me from a deep depression and gave me a life I couldn’t have imagined before. But I also have a lot of empathy for people who detransition. I came to this community to learn after a friend of mine detransitioned, and I’ve seen how a lack of proper exploration by professionals can lead to real harm. I strongly believe that transition is right for some people, but it’s a massive decision with lifelong effects. It shouldn’t be instantaneous. There need to be safety nets and thorough therapy to help people figure out if it’s truly what they need, or if their struggles come from something else, like trauma or body image issues.
As for gender itself, I think it’s complex. For me, being a man is an internal sense of self that aligns with how I live my life. But I also understand that presentation doesn’t always equal identity. People should be free to express themselves however they want. I’m not ashamed of being trans. I fought hard to get here, and I’m proud of that. I don’t hide it, because I feel I deserve to be proud of how far I’ve come.
Here is a timeline of the main events:
| My Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 17 | Began identifying as transgender and started the required one year of therapy. |
| 18 | Started testosterone (T) after completing therapy. |
| 18 | My mom first used my chosen name correctly, a hugely affirming moment. |
| 18-25 (Present) | Have been binding my chest daily, resulting in permanent rib and tissue damage. |
| 25 | Currently 7 years on T, living as a man with no plans for bottom surgery. |
Top Comments by /u/PrinxFrizzell:
I've seen it and personally I can see it both ways. I wouldn't necessarily call it pro or anti trans, just that it shows the dark underbelly of surgical transition. Medical procedures aren't magic and there's a lot that can go wrong and I think the film shows that very well.
I will admit, I see the benefit of more localized access to hormones for rural folks and the ability to seek treatment more readily if a person happens to live in a very conservative area with biased professionals, but the narrative of skating around therapy chills my bones...I think hashing out what led up to someone wanting to transition is a critical step in ensuring that medical transition is the best choice
I think it's because a lot of people from LGBT subs come to this one looking for the most extreme viewpoints. I'll fully cop to the fact that part of the reason I came here was to see what all the fuss was about and you bet your buns I came here expecting trouble. I'm glad I was wrong. Sure, I've found some individuals with views I can't even begin to stomach but I'd argue 99% of the people here have legitimate experiences and concerns and I understand their feelings. Detrans folks get a bad reputation because a select few have very radical views. Mostly, though, I think the real issue is a misunderstanding of detrans people and their views.
I'm trans myself but frequent this sub so I'll chime in.
Most folks here are skeptical of trans identities, mostly because a large majority of them believe that transition is not always the best way to treat dysphoria. Though, most of them are not hostile towards trans people and I think their opinions come from a place of concern and a desire to spare others from the hurt a wrongful transition caused them. Some people here are openly supportive of trans folks, but you will find a few that are hostile.
By and large, though, the people here are cool. I wouldn't condemn all detrans people for the vitriol of a few outliers.
Your story is very similar to mine. I'm fairly active on here but I came here to learn after a friend of mine began to detransition and I had to question a lot of what I believed about detrans people.
Taking away this sub would do unfathomable damage to the folks who come here to find comfort and support from others in similar situation. You can find hateful dirtbags in any subreddit. There is no need to punish everyone here for the hatred and vitriol spewed by maybe three people out of the thousands here.
I've noticed that too and it's shocking and heartbreaking to see. Before I came here I certainly thought if anything, the GC folks would rally around detrans people, especially detrans women. Now it seems many of them come here to cause trouble when the purpose of this sub is for community support. Super sad to see...
I'm trans and have been binding for seven years. It has its benefits for me, but it also comes with a TON of complications that you and your kid should know about going forward. I would not recommend binding for someone that young, trans or not. Mind you, I was an irresponsible teenager and bound unsafely for many years before I realized the damage it was causing to bind so tight for so long. Regardless, here's a list of my binder-related issues:
- the tissue in my chest is essentially pudding at this point - I have no elasticity, no perkiness, just two heavy bags full of wrecked tissue. As someone who wants surgery, this is ideal for the sake of that issue's removal, but I would worry deeply about the damage to growing tissue in someone so young as your kid - once the damage is done, there is no reversing it as far as I know
- I have permanent rib damage from prolonged binding and have caused a buildup of scar tissue over the muscle around my ribs - this buildup puts pressure on my ribcage and causes me sharp, random pain whether I'm binding or not - I have been told by doctors the only way to fix this is a procedure that would remove the scar tissue and I cannot have that procedure unless I stop binding completely (not reasonable for me or my life situation) or I get surgery (not in the cards due to money and work)
- because of the above, my lung capacity is next to nothing and I have had more respiratory infections than anyone else I know
- I have one rib that pops randomly and if I push on my ribs, I sound like an old door - this is from prolonged pressure on my ribs that have caused them to weaken over the years
- I have personally known people who have broken ribs and popped lungs due to unsafe binding (wearing binders that are too small, wearing two binders together, binding with tape/surgical bandages, binding for too long, etc.)
My advice to you as a parent is to keep your kid off the binder train for now, especially if her chest is particularly small. This is something to revisit if the dysphoria becomes unmanageable or she gets older and still feels this way. I'm not 100% anti-binders because you can take mine from my cold dead hands, but there are definite health concerns.
If she wants to experiment with her expression and try presenting more masculinely, a tight-ish sports bra and a plaid shirt will make almost anyone look flat - plus there's no health risk and it's far more comfortable. Or if you want to give binders a shot, there are safe ways to do it and that's to only wear them for an hour or so at a time and only wear one that is the correct size of larger, which is what I do now and it has helped me immensely.
I could write you a novel of advice regarding binders and questioning kids but I'll leave you with this for now and circle back if you want to know more. Hope this helps!
My thoughts exactly. I've seen maybe two people trying to cause a ruckus but everyone else here is either looking for support or looking to learn. I'm here pretty regularly and from my perspective as a trans person, everyone is civil and has some pretty solid points and concerns.
But yeah, heaven forbid we let people we don't understand look for empathy and connection
I'm totally blanking on what they're called but they make a kind of bra that has pockets for different sized silicone inserts for women that have had mastectomies. If you don't want to commit to surgery or can't swing the funding, that might help ease your social dysphoria while still giving you the option of being flat if you still want.
Not coming here to start a fight, but I just want to share my take on things, as a trans person.
Back when I was on the dating scene, I didn't disclose that I was trans immediately. It wasn't to trick people into dating me or to force a situation where they felt they had no choice but to hook up with me or go out with me or something similar. Many other trans folks disagree, but I think genital preference is valid. If someone doesn't want to be with me because they're not into my plumbing, then that's totally fine and I respect that.
My reason for not immediately sharing my trans status was the simple fact that when I did put it in my bio (which is what I did initially), I got scores of people flooding my DMs with really gross comments about my body, or asked super inappropriate and invasive questions, or treated me like some kind of starter gay experience because I wasn't really a man. A couple times I had to leave sites because I would get hostile comments and at times worried for my safety. Which, regardless of opinion on any of that, it hurt me. It was exhausting to deal with when all I wanted was to meet people.
So I hid it. And lo and behold, the garbage slowly took itself out. I met some cool people and they were various degrees of okay with me being trans. I understand trans folks aren't on everyone's preferences list. But it was always long before things got serious. I tried to tell people when we became friendly but before things got hot and heavy. I didn't want anyone getting invested only for me to dash their hopes because my body is different than what they had expected.
I think often (not always) trans people choose not to wave their trans flag around for completely non-insidious reasons. You're welcome to disagree but I think often it's to avoid the mental gymnastics of weeding through the trash to find the people who are worth spending time with. That and having to constantly come out to people or answer the same 20 questions is exhausting. I see why this is seen as dishonest/shady and I agree it does sometimes look that way from the outside but from experience, I understand why many trans folks who pass well elect to keep things under wraps in the beginning.
I could write more but I'd like to spare everyone having to read more of a novel than I've already written so I'll leave this here.
Again, I hope this doesn't come off as inflammatory. I just wanted to shed some light on what I feel is a lot of trans folks' reasoning for going stealth.
EDIT: fixed some weird grammar/spelling errors