This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, the account "dankepurple23" appears to be authentic.
There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or an inauthentic account. The comments display:
- A consistent, detailed personal narrative spanning years, including specific ages, procedures, and a timeline of their transition and detransition.
- Emotional complexity and nuance, expressing both regret and acceptance, and a range of feelings from anger to support.
- Internal consistency across multiple comments, with the same key details (e.g., 8-year transition, top surgery at 19, detransition at 23) repeated without contradiction.
- Engagement with the community that is characteristic of a real user, offering personalized advice, empathy, and sharing their own experiences to help others.
The account's passionate and critical stance is consistent with the experiences of many genuine detransitioners and desisters.
About me
I started questioning my gender as a teenager because I felt deeply uncomfortable with my body after an early puberty and didn't fit in with other girls. I transitioned to male for eight years, taking testosterone and having top surgery, because I thought being a man was an escape. I eventually realized my discomfort wasn't about being female, but came from body dysmorphia and internalized misogyny. Now, I am detransitioning and learning to accept myself as a woman. While I don't regret the journey, I wish my doctors had explored my mental health more deeply before I made permanent changes.
My detransition story
My whole journey with this started when I was just a kid. I started puberty really early, around 8 years old, and I was the first girl my age to develop breasts. It made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, mostly because of the way other people reacted and made comments about my body. I felt like an outcast. By the time I was 14, I was struggling with a lot of anxiety and I just didn't feel like I fit in with the other girls. I hated anything feminine—makeup, pink, dresses—and I think I started to believe that being a girl was synonymous with being weak, emotional, and annoying. I looked at boys and thought they had it so much easier.
When I was 15, I came out as a trans guy, FTM. I thought I had finally figured myself out. My family was surprisingly supportive, but ironically, some of my LGBTQ+ friends were a little weird about it. I socially transitioned for almost two years before I started testosterone when I was 17. The children's hospital I went to and the therapists there were very affirming; they didn't really question me or dig deeper into my mental health. I was in therapy, but the approach was just to affirm my identity, not to challenge it. I was on testosterone for about three years.
When I was 19, I got top surgery—a full double mastectomy. I remember lying in the hospital bed right before the surgery, they gave me anti-anxiety medication, and a thought flashed through my head: "Do I really want to do this?" But no one asked me if I had doubts. I went through with it. For about two weeks after the surgery, I felt better. The dysphoria I had about my chest disappeared. But then, my mind just found something else to hate about my body. That was a big clue that I was dealing with something deeper.
I stopped testosterone when I was about 20, telling my doctors it was because I’d gained what I wanted from it, but I know now that wasn't the real reason. They just said "okay" and didn't look into it further. It wasn't until last year, when I was 23, that I really started to question everything. I’d been living as a trans man for eight years. With the help of my therapist—who is amazing and unbiased, and actually challenges me—and my boyfriend, who had suspected I wasn't really trans but wanted it to be my journey to figure out, I realized I wasn't a man.
I realized that I never had gender dysphoria; I had body dysmorphia and a deep hatred for my body that started because of the trauma of early puberty and other people's comments. I didn't want to be a woman because of internalized misogyny; I thought being a man was an escape from the struggles of being a woman. I was wrong. Both genders have their own struggles. I also learned that it's very common for women to hate their chests, especially if they have a larger one, and that doesn't make them trans. It's normal to feel uncomfortable with your body.
I officially started detransitioning in January of this year. Telling my friends and family was scary, but they were mostly supportive. My mom even blamed herself, but I reassured her it wasn't her fault. Now, I'm relearning how to be a woman. I'm growing out my hair, learning about makeup and feminine clothes—things I never even did before I transitioned. It feels like I'm playing dress-up sometimes, but it's slowly starting to feel more natural. I'm also learning how to socialize with women again; after eight years of learning to communicate as a man, it feels unbalanced.
I don't regret my transition because it was a part of my journey that led me to where I am now, but I do have specific regrets. I regret getting a full double mastectomy. I wish I had listened to my boyfriend, who had gently suggested I try a breast reduction first. Most days, I wish I still had my breasts, especially when I'm with my boyfriend and I remember the intimacy we shared before. But I'm trying to look at the positives, like being able to take off the mastectomy pads I wear and not feel any weight. I'm learning to love my body as it is now.
I believe trans people are valid, but I also believe that many people, like me, are confused because of underlying issues like trauma, anxiety, depression, or body dysmorphia. Doctors and therapists need to be more careful and not just affirm someone without exploring these deeper problems. Changing your body doesn't make your mental health issues go away.
Here is a timeline of my journey:
Age | Event |
---|---|
8 | Started puberty early, began to feel uncomfortable with my developing body due to others' comments. |
14 | Started struggling with anxiety and feeling like I didn't fit in with other girls. Began questioning my gender. |
15 | Came out socially as a transgender male (FTM). |
17 | Started testosterone hormone therapy. |
19 | Underwent top surgery (double mastectomy). |
20 | Stopped testosterone therapy. |
23 | Began questioning my transgender identity and realized I was not trans. Started detransitioning socially and living as a woman again. |
Top Comments by /u/dankepurple23:
I don’t understand what’s changed between when I got surgery and now. When I got surgery in 2021 (I was almost 20, so an adult mind you) they required me to be on hormones for at least a year, I had to have been seen a therapist for a couple years and I had to be stable mentally which meant that I didn’t have any thought of suicide or life threatening depression/anxiety. I hate when people say it’s “life-saving” or even when they say “if I don’t get surgery soon I’ll kms”. Like WHAT?? If you’re that unstable about your chest or anything in your body that you’d risk your own life then you shouldn’t be getting surgery you need to be in therapy working through your issues whether it’s anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc.
Absoltuly. The fact that there are trans people out there saying "If I didn't get this surgery/started hormones when I did I wouldn't be here today". THAT'S CONCERNING. If you're not stable you shouldn't be given hormones or surgeries PERIOD. You will not die without hormones or surgeries. MANY trans people have survived without them especially back in the 70s/80s/90s. Address your mental health issues before doing permanent things. It's not a coincidence that most trans people suffer with depression/anxiety/PTSD/trauma. Changing your body is not going to make those things go away, trust me.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that that was from like 10 years ago and ironically, the LGBTQ community and especially the trans community keep harping that the detransition rate is less than one percent. It’s not anymore. The detransition rate is the highest it’s ever been. It’s still low, but it’s the highest it’s ever been.
I’m gonna be honest with you, my therapist said that all the patients of hers that are trans have some sort of mental health issues. They could have anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar, and/or trauma. It’s not a coincidence that a lot of trans people have mental health issues. I got diagnosed with anxiety and misdiagnosed with gender dysphoria. I hated my chest because other girls made me feel weird about it since I started puberty so young. I thought that boys had it easier and hated the changes my body was going through. I got top surgery, felt better for like two weeks and then my mind found something else to hate. I wish I would’ve gotten a reduction instead of a double mastectomy. Your friend is wrong, absolutely trauma can make someone think they’re trans because most people who detransition (at least that I’ve seen) have some sort of trauma.
It’s I guess to include trans and NB folks but like idk. I always thought pansexual was like parts didn’t matter and bisexual was that they do matter but that’s all changed. They’re even telling me (a straight person) that I could be attracted to trans men. Like maybe?? But I really like 🍆. To some people things like that matter and that’s okay.
It's ironic because they want to not be put in a box and then turn around and put things in boxes. 'Short hair means your queer in some way' 'If you wear makeup you're either gay or queer' 'If you have colored hair you're in the community' 'If you like boys stuff and you're a girl you're trans and vice versa'. It really is annoying people shouldn't be put in boxes AT ALL.
I don’t get it!! It makes the doctors/surgeons look like they’re doing it for the money. No one cares about these young adults well being or their future! Bottom surgery (and really any affirming care surgery) needs to be a long haul process!! And there needs to be an age minimum on top of that. No one under the age of at least 30 should be getting bottom surgery
It’s a weird thing that I’ve learned but women can be just as awful as well. I used to think the same thing but about women because I’d have such bad experiences with them but the truth is both genders have their awful people but also have great people
I’ve been detransitioned for a little over a year and I am not against trans people at all. With that being said I don’t think everyone who says they’re trans is actually trans. It’s definitely become more of a trend to be trans right now and I think sometimes people can’t tell the difference between being trans and being a masculine woman or a feminine girl. My political views haven’t super changed. I’m definitely not as hard left as I was but I still am a democrat and lean left. My thought process is “just because being trans wasn’t correct for me, doesn’t mean it isn’t correct for someone else”. Trans people ARE valid but I do think there’s some things that are ridiculous in the community (saying that as someone who was in it for 8 years).
Coming from somebody who did get Top Surgery I wouldn’t say I fully regret it, but I wish I had gotten a reduction rather than the full double mastectomy. I wish I had learned sooner that the reason I hated my tits so much was because they started developing at an early age and everybody made me feel uncomfortable about them, so I grew to dislike them. I feel like if I would’ve gotten a reduction rather than the full surgery, I would’ve been happier, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I am so happy for you and that you didn’t make that mistake and I’m glad to see that you keep discovering who you are 🫶