This story is from the comments by /u/man_on_the_moon44 that are listed below, summarised with AI.
User 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 a bad-faith actor.
The user's story is highly detailed, emotionally consistent, and spans a long period, describing a complex personal journey with specific medical procedures, psychological insights, and evolving relationships. The language is natural, and the narrative includes very personal, vulnerable details that would be difficult to fabricate convincingly. The passion and anger expressed are consistent with the experiences of many detransitioners.
About me
I started medical transition very young, beginning puberty blockers at 12 and testosterone at 13. My underlying trauma was never addressed, and I now believe I was trying to escape the pain of being a girl after a childhood assault. After eight years living as a man, I realized my transition was a form of escapism and I stopped testosterone. I’m now detransitioning, and while it's been a difficult process, I'm finally finding peace by accepting my natural female self. I'm scheduled for breast reconstruction and am learning to embrace my womanhood.
My detransition story
My journey with transition started when I was very young. I was medically transitioned at 13, but the process began even earlier. I was put on puberty blockers at 12. Looking back, I feel I was not properly informed. I had no real understanding of the long-term side effects of delaying puberty with Lupron or what taking testosterone for years would really do. When I asked questions, I was told that information about long-term effects was just outdated fear-mongering.
A huge part of my story is that my underlying issues were never addressed. During all my mental health evaluations, no one really asked me about my past traumas or other factors in my life that made me reject being feminine. The truth is, I was sexually assaulted when I was six years old. After that, I became very tomboyish and all my friends were boys. I now believe my transition was an attempt to kill the little girl who was so hurt by the men around me and replace her with what I saw as the "stronger" sex, so it wouldn't happen again.
My doctors and therapists presented transition as the only option. They told my parents I was a suicide risk if they didn't transition me as soon as possible, and that doing it earlier would make my life easier later on—which it absolutely has not. They never explored my trauma or my mental health deeply. I started testosterone at 13 and had top surgery at 14. I had a keyhole procedure, so the scarring is minimal.
I lived as a man for about eight years. For a long time, I had zero doubts. I was totally stealth and thought I was happy. But around 19, I started to change. I began thinking, "Wait, this is stupid. I'm just female and it doesn't matter how others see me." My beliefs became less radical and more rational. I realized I was deeply unhappy and that my transition was a form of escapism and even self-harm. I was chasing a fantasy of being male that was never actually possible. I was using testosterone almost like a drug to cope with deeper problems, including depression and anxiety.
A major turning point for me was my desire to be a mother. It breaks my heart to think that might have been taken from me because putting me on the transition path was easier than fixing my root issues. This feeling was powerfully reinforced during a psychedelic mushroom trip with my boyfriend where we talked about having children for over an hour; I felt a deep connection to my desire to be a mother, not a father.
Finding a therapist who was willing to honestly question gender ideology with me was life-saving. He's a gay liberal man, and we talk a lot about how the misogyny and sexual abuse I experienced as a girl made me reject womanhood. This non-affirming therapy has helped me immensely, similar to how people treat eating disorders or body dysmorphia—working to overcome the distress rather than affirm it.
Detransitioning has been a process of accepting reality. My body has changed a lot since stopping testosterone two years ago. My period came back, which shocked me since I never even had one before blockers. I have painful cramps, but I believe I'm still fertile. My body fat redistributed, making my face rounder and my hips and thighs fuller. My voice softened and became more feminine, though it's not super high. My skin got softer, my acne cleared up, and my hair got a bit thicker.
I have some regrets about my transition. I regret that I wasn't encouraged to seek more therapy and other treatments first. I feel the medical industry is irresponsible; it was incredibly easy to get approval for top surgery, but now getting approval for breast reconstruction is a difficult fight. I sometimes get weird nerve pains in my chest, and I’m scheduled for reconstruction soon. I'm terrified, but I hope it helps me feel normal again and heals that connection to my inner child.
Socially, detransitioning was hard. Many of my trans friends turned on me, accusing me of being transphobic or just a cis woman who made a mistake, even though I medically transitioned longer than most of them. It was isolating. But I’ve found a wonderful, supportive boyfriend who loves me for me and sees me fully as a woman, even with my more masculine features.
My views on gender now are that terms like "man" and "woman" are somewhat meaningless. Most women don't "feel" like women; it's just a category of person, not a feeling. I think if homosexuality and natural gender non-conformity were more accepted, there would be far fewer trans people. I'm not anti-transition for adults, but I am pro-responsible healthcare. I believe people need extensive therapy to address root causes like trauma, internalized homophobia, or misogyny before making permanent changes.
I’ve found peace in accepting my natural self. It took nearly two years to start feeling like myself again, but I'm happier now than I ever was while transitioning.
Here is a timeline of my journey:
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 | Experienced sexual assault, which significantly impacted my relationship with femininity. |
| 12 | Started puberty blockers (Lupron). |
| 13 | Began testosterone therapy. |
| 14 | Underwent keyhole top surgery. |
| 17 | Stopped taking puberty blockers. |
| 18-19 | Began to seriously question my transgender identity after nearly 5 years on testosterone. |
| 19 | Stopped testosterone and began my medical detransition. |
| 20-21 | Lived through the physical and social changes of detransition. Body fat redistributed, voice softened, period returned. |
| 21 | Scheduled for breast reconstruction surgery. |
Top Reddit Comments by /u/man_on_the_moon44:
i got so many death threats and even a rape threat from a parent of a trans kid for talking about detrans stuff on the news even though i've never said anything transphobic. it blew my mind how many people turned on me just for having a different perspective
yep... also body integrity identity disorder (the mental condition where people feel the strong urge to disable themselves because they feel they should have been born disabled) which is widely considered a mental disorder. i don't see how it's different from wanting to mutilate or sterilize yourself because you feel you were supposed to be born differently.
for me, no. i would argue my transition actually drove me closer to suicide. i attempted suicide shortly after my top surgery at 14 because i started experiencing psychosis that made it impossible to sleep. obviously this isn't the case for everyone but i personally feel transition ruined my adolescence and gave me far more problems then i had when i began transition. post surgery, i felt no regret about transition but my hatred for my body worsened and i further disconnected from reality. i lived happily as a man those around me, i definitely seemed more confident and comfortable but mostly because i have sexual trauma that made presenting femininely uncomfortable even though i prefer to dress feminine and always have. i also started engaging in more high risk behaviors (self harm, drug use, etc.) because i felt more confident while i was spiraling. it took me years to realize i have to get my shit together and that i was living a dangerous lifestyle but i still didn't realize my regret. only after working on my trauma/mental health outside of gender related things, i realized i was never trans and never really had genuine gender dysphoria. once i detransitioned my life got exponentially better and my mental health issues mostly disappeared beyond occasional anxiety/insomnia.
i was in a similar situation (i transitioned at 11, t at 13, top surgery at 14) where my father was supportive and my mother was wasn't until he convinced her. but honestly what helped me with the anger is realizing that my father is as much of a victim of gender ideology as i am. i realized blaming my parents isn't productive and the doctors/medical industry are fully responsible at the end of the day. but honestly i've realized blame and anger, while valid and real, aren't productive for my detransition. as angry as i am, i've found the best way foward is just completely disregarding any responsibility on my or my parents part and focusing on healing our relationship for the future. i do plan to pursue breast reconstruction at some point but right now it isn't a priority and surgery isn't something i ever wanna take lightly again.
i don't know how long you've been detransitioning but i promise it gets better. it took me nearly two years to start being able to pass as female again and for others longer. i felt so destroyed and was horribly depressed for two years, now im happier then ive ever been. it takes time to get back to who you were but you can get back to her and that's a beautiful thing. as awful as this is, never waking up to reality would have been worse. things will sort themselves out. i'm so sorry your struggling though but just know you aren't alone, others have been down this road before and come out just fine.
i'm detrans (t and top surgery) and dating a right leaning man rn and it's the best relationship i've been in, he's lovely and is right wing for all good/fair reasons but is fairly pro choice and has no racial bias or anything people stereotype right wingers as. he treats me like a princess and has been nothing but kind and loving about my detransition. i think it really depends on the man tbh cus some right wing men are very uninterested in masculine women but not the case with all right wing men. left wing men can be just as shitty as right wingers, i think it really depends on morals and why they have the beliefs the have
i transitioned medically at 13 and tbh i was not informed, i had no idea the long term side effects of delayed puberty from lupron or long term testosterone use. when i asked about it i was assured that most information claiming there are long term effects are outdated fear mongering techniques. also during all of my mental health evaluations i was hardly asked about prior traumas or external factors in my life that might make me reject femininity.
i always do the "this is just my experience, i don't support bullying, i wouldn't enforce my beliefs on anyone" etc. etc. but it's so tiring when they still just hit me with the "erm that's terf rhetoric" or "you're just a transphobic cis woman who made a mistake", it's slowly driving me insane because i do actually have extreme gender dysphoria and have medically transitioned for far longer then any of the other trans ppl in my life who are now starting to hate me. i'm pretty progressive, id say im like center-left but the way liberals/leftists act about gender makes me wanna scream 😭
i know exactly how you feel. i feel especially emotional when i see trans women enforcing misogynistic stereotypes (like getting a rhinoplasty as part of ffs or talking about feminizing makeup) or trans men talking about how awful the female body is or how certain masculine traits feel better or are better. i wouldn't say i think people shouldn't transition but it just feels like another way of reinforcing the stereotypes that made me transition/hate myself in the first place because being a woman was so associated with other things that i didn't feel ready or capable of womanhood. idk if that makes sense but i know how you feel.
ugh i'm so sorry, i know how insane of a process it is. i was in a similar situation, it's been fucking mind blowing to me how difficult it's been to get approved for reconstructive surgery. opposed to top surgery which for me took basically no time for me to get letters and a surgery date.