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 user's comments are highly personal, emotionally nuanced, and reference specific, complex life experiences (e.g., a psychedelic realization, the process of stopping HRT cold turkey, a detailed account of a coercive sexual encounter). The language is inconsistent and contains the natural flow of human thought, including self-correction and emotional resonance. The passion and anger present are consistent with a genuine detransitioner or desister who has experienced harm.
About me
I was born female and started taking testosterone at 18 because I thought it would fix my discomfort with puberty and feminine stereotypes. I stopped cold turkey four years later after my clinic abandoned me, which was incredibly difficult. I regret putting those chemicals in my body and am still dealing with the effects. I've learned that my biology doesn't define how I can express myself, and I can be a masculine woman. I'm now focused on self-acceptance and understanding that the problem was never my body, but society's narrow expectations.
My detransition story
My journey with gender started when I was a teenager. I was born female, but I never felt like I fit in with the expectations for girls. I hated my breasts when they developed; they felt like a betrayal of my body and made me incredibly uncomfortable. I had a lot of anxiety and low self-esteem, and I think a lot of my feelings were tied to the discomfort of puberty and not fitting into a feminine stereotype.
When I was 16, I had a profound psychedelic experience that really shifted my perspective. It helped me see that I could understand both masculine and feminine perspectives, but that it wasn't my fault I was born female. It made me realize that the stereotypes for men and women are made up and not based on biology. This was a big moment for me, but I still struggled.
I ended up taking testosterone. I thought it would solve my problems and make me feel more like myself. For a while, I thought it did. But eventually, I realized I was putting extra chemicals into my body that it didn't need. I was exhausted. I decided I needed to stop and reflect on who I really was. I called the clinic that was helping me with my shots and left a message saying I wanted to pause my hormones. They never called me back. I felt completely abandoned by the medical system that was supposed to be supporting me, and I ended up stopping cold turkey on my own, which was really hard.
I don't regret exploring my gender because I needed to go through that to get to where I am now. But I do regret taking testosterone. I put my body through a lot, and I'm still dealing with the effects of that. I don't think changing my body was the right answer for me. The real answer was learning to accept myself as a female person who doesn't have to look or act a certain way. I'm just a person.
I've had some really difficult experiences with other people, especially in dating. I was involved with someone who was very confused about their own gender and sexuality, and they were manipulative and violated my consent in a really hurtful way. That experience showed me how much confusion exists around this topic and how it can really hurt people.
Now, I see that my biology doesn't dictate how I have to express myself. I can be a masculine woman. That's okay. Butch women have always existed and have often been mistaken for men. I don't need to change my body to be valid. I just need to be me. My advice to anyone struggling is to try and accept yourself for who you are, not for who you think you should be. Your body is not the problem; society's narrow expectations are.
Here is a timeline of my journey:
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 | Had a significant psychedelic experience that provided clarity on gender stereotypes. |
| 18 | Started taking testosterone. |
| 22 | Stopped testosterone cold turkey after being ghosted by my clinic. |
| Present | Living as a detransitioned female, working on self-acceptance. |
Top Comments by /u/daisychained12:
Hey there. Just wanted to affirm that you can be a beautiful, pretty, or feminine leaning person and it doesn't mean that you need to be ashamed of or hide your maleness (everyone else doesn't matter as much typically) but to yourself especially. It is hard to accept ourselves through the dysphoria for how we were born, but you don't have to go through changing your body for anyone else's benefit. Your behaviors and expressions of choice cannot change your biology, but your biology does NOT dictate anything about what you need to be either. Each human is unique and the modern roles for males and females are not clear, and we all need skills from each sets anyway. There will be men who are attracted to your body, who also see and feel your femininity.
Yeah it's odd. They then at one point told me they "would be a trans guy if they were AFAB" so I feel like this was more just a very confused person their self. Especially since they then began very physical flirting at work with no resolution to the fact that I "looked like a guy". Just so hurtful and confusing mentally.
I actually had a psychedelic experience at 16 that caused me to realize this: Yes, I am someone who can in some ways see from the perspective of both females and males, or at least masculine and feminine people in the society I am part of. That being said, I will never be truly MALE or experience the unique downfalls that being socialized male or being male bodied can have. Just like you will not experience some of the things females go through physically or socially, but will still be subject to being treated badly in similar ways sometimes due to being feminine. Because I see that it is not my fault I was born female, and it's not my fault that all of these non biological made up stereotypes for males and females exist, I just saw it was time for me to stop putting extra chemicals into my already exhausted body. For actually stopping, I handled it poorly but I tried not to. I called the clinic that had been helping to administer my shots in the beginning, and left them a message about information on pausing the hormones to reflect on myself. They ghosted me and I ended up stopping alone cold turkey. Be honest with those closest to you, and stop the physical intervention at a safe pace. Get medical advice if it is possible in your situation.
In my personal case, a lot of straight men and straight women also assume I am male still but it doesn't bother me really either way unless someone is trying to specifically be a dick to me based on what they think I was born as or what way they assume I am trans.
Maybe also, try to take opinions of gay or straight men with a grain of salt. More people who are accepting of their attraction towards masc and fem people (like bi or pansexual identified) will probably give you an easier time expressing yourself fully than If someone feels they need you to fit into their personal idea of a man or woman or else they can't be with you.
TW(questionable consent/coercion): Yeah, they are not at all good at consent and use a lot of confusion and trickery tactics so I would say they mostly aren't an okay human. I do know they probably don't want to hurt others and are very confused. But when you're an adult and partaking in the weird gender manipulation paired with repeatedly saying you "never use your penis and hate when women want you to" but then switch from something agreed upon to your actual body part in the dark with no condom knowing the person has only been with AFAB people, you probably are trying to hurt others I suppose.
Just remember that no female or male is obligated to look a certain way, and you don't have to be feminine to "count". I wish it wasn't such a frustrating world that even people who are born as the sex they are currently trying to present as (even people who have never taken hormones or IDd as trans) feel like they have to prove their womanhood every day. Masculine butch women have always been confused by others for men. Many even embraced this and just tried not to rock the boat in public by challenging other people's views of how they need to be as a female. Be respectful as possible, and if anyone says anything to you just tell them "I respect your space very much, but I am a female person and I have dealt with menstruation and other biological reasons that would cause me to need to be in here, just like you"