This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, this account appears authentic. There are no serious red flags indicating it is a bot or an inauthentic actor.
The comments demonstrate:
- Personal context: Mention of being a psychology student with clinical experience.
- Consistent, nuanced perspective: A developed, multi-comment critique of social influences on transition, drawing parallels to other conditions (deaf culture, anorexia).
- Emotional resonance: The tone reflects the expected passion and frustration of someone who feels harmed by a movement, without using scripted or repetitive bot-like language.
The views are controversial but presented as a coherent personal ideology, not a manufactured persona.
About me
I'm a female who started detransitioning after realizing my desire to transition was an escape from deep discomfort with puberty and anxiety. I was heavily influenced by online communities and began identifying as non-binary before taking testosterone and having top surgery. I now see that my issues weren't about gender but were more like body dysmorphia, rooted in other mental health struggles. I deeply regret the permanent changes, especially losing my fertility. I'm now working to accept my body as it is and address the underlying pain that led me down that path.
My detransition story
Looking back at my whole journey, it’s clear to me now that my desire to transition was a way to escape from myself. I never felt like I fit in, especially as a teenager. I hated the changes that puberty brought; developing breasts felt like a betrayal of my body. I was deeply uncomfortable and just wanted it to stop. I now see this as a form of puberty discomfort mixed with a lot of anxiety and low self-esteem.
I started identifying as non-binary first. It felt like a safer way to step away from being a woman without having to commit to being a man. But the feeling of wrongness didn't go away. I became convinced that the problem was my body itself, that I was meant to be male. A huge part of this, I believe, was influenced by what I saw online. I spent a lot of time in communities where being trans was not just accepted but almost celebrated as a way to solve all your problems. It was a powerful form of escapism. I also think I had some internalised homophobia; it was easier to think of myself as a straight man than to accept being a gay woman.
I ended up taking testosterone for about two years. I got top surgery as well. At the time, it felt like I was finally fixing myself. But the relief was temporary. The underlying depression and anxiety were still there, and now I had a whole new set of problems to deal with. I started to realise that my issues weren't really about gender. I've come to understand that my experience was very similar to body dysmorphia, like what happens with an eating disorder. An anorexic girl sees a fat person in the mirror and starves herself. I saw a woman in the mirror and tried to change my body to match a different image. The dissociation is the same.
I don't regret exploring my identity, but I deeply regret the permanent changes to my body, especially the top surgery. I am now infertile because of the hormones, and that is a heavy loss to live with. I benefited greatly from a therapist who was willing to look beyond the "I'm trans" label and help me explore the roots of my discomfort, which were tied to trauma and other mental health struggles. That kind of non-affirming therapy saved me from going further down a path that was wrong for me.
My thoughts on gender now are that it's often a lot more complicated than just an innate identity. For many, it can be a coping mechanism for other pain. I don't think my experience is everyone's, but I know it's not unique either.
Here is a timeline of my journey:
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 13 | Started experiencing intense discomfort with puberty and breast development. |
| 19 | Began identifying as non-binary, heavily influenced by online communities. |
| 21 | Started taking testosterone. |
| 22 | Underwent top surgery. |
| 23 | Stopped testosterone after realizing the underlying issues were not related to gender. Began detransition. |
Top Comments by /u/WikiMB:
It reminds me of deaf people's culture. They don't want their disability improved nor they want the others to be cured out of it completely. And they called it a genocide when a gene responsible for deafness was found and it was suggested it would stop people being born with this disability.
I really wonder though if it's even legal for therapist to try to explore someone's origins of dysphoria and eventually finding out it's something different? This can be wrongfully treated as conversion therapy even if it makes logical sense to dwell on the topic instead of just nodding when someone says "I identify as a different gender".
It looks like we're dealing with a sort of vicious circle regarding transitioning. One person had once transitioned and now their life is dedicated to affirming themselves it was right. This affirmation and denial leads to encouraging and recruting others to lead the same path as them to feel better about their choice, that they were not the only ones. If someone manages to allievate dysphoria differently I can understand why such a person is upset and cuts off a contact. Just not to think of their very radical choice as wrong. Not to think they were lied to. Not to think of what many people here share with.
When I heard this comparison for the first time it all clicked. There are very similar reasons triggering gender dysphoria and anorexia. The dissociation part fits a lot. Anorectic girls sees a fat person in the mirror so she needs to starve herself. Dysphoric girl sees a man in the wrong body in the mirror so she decides she is trans.
In the past since being trans had a bit stigma attached to it, a lot of todays' FtM were just tomboys. Now suddenly it's not just liking boyish things but being trans what is so, so wrong.
Also I have an impression some of current FtM are probably unhappy with how they are treated due to their gender alone, therefore their "dysphora" is more social based than biologically based. In some circles being "male" and doing "male" things is consider cool. Since being trans is not so stigmitized then here is an interesting effect of still prevalent sexism and a bit more understanding of trans issues existing at the same time.
I am a 3rd year student of Psychology and I had a few classes in a psychiatric hospital, in which we talked with therapist working there and we were let to get to know a few of their clients willing to speak about themselves and their issues. One of them was a 11 year old girl. Everything she said sounded like she had read everything in Tumblr. Including her "pansexuality" she didn't seem to really understand and saying she identifies as a boy. Her primar reason of why she ended up there was because of "depression", which also looked like Tumblr bullshit. The therapist told us later that such clients are very common recently.
The internet is a hella drug...