This story is from the comments by /u/joliphotia that are listed below, summarised with AI.
User Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, the account "joliphotia" appears authentic. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or a bad-faith actor.
The comments show:
- Personal, detailed narratives about their transition, detransition, and ongoing health issues.
- Consistent viewpoints over time, with a nuanced and evolving personal philosophy.
- Moderator activity that involves nuanced rule enforcement and community management.
- Emotional depth and passion consistent with someone who has experienced significant personal trauma, not a scripted persona.
The account exhibits the passion and strong opinions expected from someone who feels harmed by their experiences, which aligns with the warning about detransitioners being "very passionate and pissed off."
About me
I was born male and felt deeply uncomfortable, so I was quickly prescribed hormones and had surgeries that I was told would fix me. The medical changes left my body broken and dependent on medication for life, causing constant pain and health problems. I now see I was misled by a community and doctors who treated my personal struggles as a reason for permanent alteration. My transition was a terrible mistake that I regret every day. I'm now trying to find peace and accept the body I have left, hoping to help others avoid the same suffering.
My detransition story
My journey with transition and detransition is long and complicated, and it’s left me with a lot of physical and emotional pain. I was born male, and from a young age, I felt different and uncomfortable, but I didn’t have the words for it. I eventually found those words online and in the community around me, which heavily influenced my decision to transition.
I started by socially transitioning, changing my name and how I dressed. I tried binding my chest with binders from eBay and then switched to compression shirts from Underworks. It was never quite right, and I was always aware I was wearing something to hide my body. I hated how my chest looked and felt; it didn’t feel like it belonged to me.
My discomfort was deep, and I was convinced by doctors and activists that medical transition was the answer. I was prescribed estrogen at my first appointment with no real examination or evaluation, against what were supposed to be the standards of care. I was on estrogen for nine years. It felt soothing and numbing at first, like a blanket over my problems, but it didn’t solve anything. It just masked the issues.
I was pushed further and further. I had an orchiectomy, and later, I got top surgery to remove the breast tissue that had developed from the hormones. The doctors were eager to move me along this path, treating me like a science experiment rather than a person. They told me that my autogynephilia—a fetish where I was sexually aroused by the thought of myself as a woman—was proof I needed to transition, that all women feel that way. I now see that was a lie. If I’d had proper counseling, I could have managed those feelings in private until I eventually outgrew them, instead of making it a public, permanent part of my life.
Transition failed me. I never truly believed I was a woman. I was successful at convincing others, but I always knew I was a man who had been altered by drugs and surgery. The physical consequences have been severe. After my orchiectomy, my body can’t produce enough hormones on its own. When I quit estrogen, I became very sick—my body temperature went haywire, my muscles shrank, my bones ached, and my mental clarity suffered. I nearly died. I had to start testosterone to stabilize, and now I’m dependent on pharmaceuticals for life.
My sexual function has been destroyed. I’ve lost sensation, reliability, and the ability to experience pleasure. It’s painful and frustrating. I have phantom pain from the surgeries, and my body is visibly disfigured. I deal with bloody ejaculate and the constant stress of managing prescriptions, insurance, and the fear of long-term health risks like cancer, stroke, and heart disease.
I regret transitioning deeply. I regret the doctors who lied to me, who overdosed me, and who abandoned me when I started questioning. I regret the community that cheer-led me into this and then turned on me when I spoke out. I feel like I was brainwashed and gaslit by a cult. My transition was a form of gay conversion therapy, convincing me to change my body instead of accepting myself.
I don’t hate trans people. I hate the ideology that pushed me into this, the lies I was told, and the harm that was done. I speak out against it because I don’t want others to suffer like I have.
I’ve come to believe that “transness” is a flawed concept. There’s no test for it, and the treatment does objective harm. I think many people feel discomfort with their bodies for various reasons—trauma, internalized homophobia, misandry, autism, OCD, or just the difficulties of puberty—and are led to believe transition is the only solution. For me, it wasn’t. I wish I had focused on building a career, finding meaningful relationships, traveling, and exploring hobbies instead of fixating on my gender.
I’m spiritual now. I trust in nature and time. I believe our bodies are meant to function without artificial intervention, and that lasting happiness doesn’t come from drugs or surgery. I’m trying to move forward, to find peace with what’s left of my body, and to live for my family’s well-being.
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 20 | Began socially transitioning, started wearing binders |
| 21 | First appointment, immediately prescribed estrogen |
| 27 | Underwent orchiectomy |
| 29 | Quit estrogen, became severely ill |
| 30 | Started testosterone therapy |
| 31 | Underwent top surgery (mastectomy) |
Top Reddit Comments by /u/joliphotia:
I know this post will lead to my ban
I don't see why it should.
I was warned by the moderator team that if we go through with this, I will no longer be welcome as I am a documented transphobe.
I don't see why the new mods would say that. Which rule is broken here?
You're an accused/alleged transphobe, but you're not an actual transphobe. I've never seen you express fear or hatred of anyone for being transgender. Even if you were expressing blanket criticism of all transition (which you aren't), that still wouldn't be criticism of trans persons.
I am a conversion therapy victim … I don't expect any of what I wrote to be believed.
I don't see why anyone should disbelieve you here in any of this. Especially those of us who share experiences in abuse, dysphoria, institutionalization, conversion therapy, transition, and detransition. And especially persons who care for those of us with with some of the same or of similar experiences. Isn't that why we're on Reddit anyway? And aren't we who the letter of Reddit's rules are written to protect?
I feel incredibly impressed with your ability to summarize this experience so clearly and quickly, and even more so with your courage in doing so.
I feel honored to have virtually met you and to have shared online conversations with you here. This subreddit has been a surprisingly amazing place, far more so than I ever anticipated it would be.
And again, I don't see how anything you've said here breaks any rules of this subreddit or of Reddit. If the new mods feel differently, I'd like to talk with them about that, publicly in a post or privately in a chat or message.
What more can I say than I'm sorry, and I wish you the best. I feel certain you've helped and positively inspired countless many here over the last year.
I agree, the peer pressure and medical sales pitches and political mantras and eventual abandonment are terrible.
I was on E for nine years. Had an orchi too. I quit E for a couple years, nearly died, been on T now for a couple years. I dress in men's clothes, though a bit dandy, and I'm starting to get gendered as male again.
Saw this on Twitter.
Salamander emojis are common there, since the critter is known for regrowing its severed tail.
Checkered flags are common there too, as a symbol for "victory/finish/completion" (though it often correlates with the new "gender-free" declaration, which might be problematic for some detransitioners who wish to continue support for transition?).
I personally like the idea of having symbols (like our sub's "undo transition" icon) as a means for outsiders to recognize us, and if they help us rally and bond together. But I dislike the pink/blue stereotypical colors and the overly repeated horizontal-stripes patterns for nearly every "identity" under the sun.
What do you think?
Lasting happiness comes from no drug or surgery.
You can still wear whatever you want, and I'll support you.
I'm middle-aged, and the social challenges of younger years pale in comparison to the pains and health calamities of post-transition.
I wish you luck in finding your way forward to healthier living.
I didn't fail at transition. I struggled at first, but I eventually succeeded to convince most people around me I was a woman and had always been one.
Transition failed me. I never believed it. It never solved my problems, and it brought new problems.
I recommend (take or leave my advice) forgetting the "am I trans" question. It didn't matter and it proved harmful in my experience.
A better question is, "Will changing my body to reduce masculine features, add feminine features, and put my long-term health and well-being at risk prove worthwhile?"
I consented to drugs and surgery, albeit without being informed.
I now feel uncomfortable in a swimsuit and naked and even clothed if the wind or light hits me wrong. I miss swimming. I miss sports. I miss fitness. And such physical and social activities become ever more important as our bodies age.
I no longer feel pleasure in sex. Instead, I feel pain. I miss the intimate connection to another human being. I miss what the connection and the act itself brought to my soul.
I'm now dependent on some form of HRT to survive. I hate having to travel with it. I hate seeing the packages fill my waste bin. I hate having to renew permission from government and corporation every few months.
I've wasted thousands of hours and thousands of dollars in this nonsense, which I could've better invested in career, family, charity, self-development, etc.
If you enjoy "feeling effeminate" or wearing women's clothes or whatever other harmless activities, don't stress over it. But please reconsider spoiling your healthy body. I wish I had.
I get your point, and that's why I don't use exclamation points or celebration emojis.
However, I'll add that roughly half our membership are allies, according to our survey earlier this year.
And who knows how we've grown since then? Many new members might be pre-transitioners, questioning their path ahead.
It's also been strange comfort to know I'm not alone, as I've seen this subreddit grow in both membership and activity these last two years.
And perhaps more detransitioners is better than more transitioners.
Though ideally I'd rather see everyone happy in their own skins without medicalization.
Hm, well. Thoughts.
Problems:
- What was the response rate (did at least 50% of those surveyed answer them)?
- How long had these individuals been undergoing transition (did they reach yet a "seven-year itch")?
- How diverse were those surveyed in sex, age, location, kind of transition (social, hormonal, surgical), length of transition?
- Who is "Gender Advocacy Training & Education"? How professional are they? How are they funded? What is their mission? TSER pushes the "gender unicorn", so I already know not to trust them.
> …full of transphobia…hate trans people…
If you find any legitimate instance of hatred directed at any other user on this sub, please report it as a violation of Rule One (Be Civil).
Otherwise, this sub has always embraced tolerance of free thought and free speech (Rule Two). Respectful discussion and disagreement are healthy and necessary aspects of a free society. Criticism of ideas is neither hatred nor phobia.
> Trans ideology is about… Trans ideology and LGBT are behaving like…
These are criticisms of an idea/concept/theory/movement. These are statements of debate, not hatred.
> As a victim of conversion therapy…
My transition was gay-conversion therapy.
> …just plain offensive.
How each of us reacts to criticism of our ideas is our own responsibility.
Please re-read the welcome message, rules, and origin story of this subreddit. This sub is meant to be open for all detransitioners (and you've said you aren't even detrans yourself) regardless of political/philosophical opinions.
A sub that would require everyone be either pro-transition or anti-transition, Christian (or any religion) or atheist, Democrat or Republican (or equivalent parties elsewhere), liberal or conservative, left-wing or right-wing, or that would require everyone say only "trans women"/"MtF"/"assigned sex" or only "trans-identifying male"/"biological male"/"observed sex"—a sub that would demand adherence to any way of thinking, would:
- lack free speech/thought (a necessary component of free society),
- become an echo chamber,
- unfairly exclude users,
- be universally derided by whatever other side,
- be even more difficult to moderate fairly.