This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
This account appears authentic. The comments demonstrate a consistent, nuanced, and deeply personal narrative centered on the user's experience with autism, detransition, and the process of self-discovery. The language is passionate, complex, and emotionally varied, which is not typical of a bot. There are no serious red flags suggesting inauthenticity.
About me
I'm a young woman who started hating my body during puberty and felt I never fit in with other girls. I came to believe I was a man and that medical transition was my only way out of deep depression and anxiety. Discovering I was autistic was my turning point, as I learned my discomfort was from not fitting into stereotypes, not from being the wrong sex. I worked to separate my personality from gender roles and my dysphoria has almost completely faded. I'm now relieved to be comfortable as a woman and grateful I avoided permanent medical procedures.
My detransition story
My whole journey with gender started when I was really young. I never felt like I fit in with other girls. I hated the stereotypes and the expectations that came with being a woman. I hated my body when it started changing during puberty, especially developing breasts. I felt so uncomfortable and out of place in my own skin.
For a long time, I genuinely believed I was a man trapped in a woman's body. I struggled with intense dysphoria for years. I was also deeply depressed and had a lot of anxiety. Looking back, I now understand that a huge part of this was because I am autistic. I didn't know that at the time. I felt like I didn't identify with humanity at all, and latching onto a transgender identity felt like an easy way out of that much deeper confusion. It was a form of escapism.
I was influenced a lot by what I saw online, where transitioning was presented as the one and only solution to these feelings. I started to believe that if I just changed my body, all my other mental health problems would disappear. I came very close to pursuing medical transition. I was terrified of pregnancy and the idea of being feminine, and hormones or surgery seemed like the answer to make it all stop.
But I'm so grateful now that I never went through with any medical procedures. I realized that sterilizing myself for life wasn't the right solution for what I was actually going through. The turning point for me was when I discovered I was autistic. Learning about "autistic masking" changed everything. As an autistic woman, I had spent my whole life learning to hide my true self to fit in and not be seen as weird. I was trying to take control of my identity in the only way I knew how, which was through my gender.
Understanding this allowed me to start demasking. I began to separate my discomfort with gender stereotypes from my actual sex. I learned that I could hate my breasts and hate wearing dresses and still be a woman. I could dress in oversized shirts and sweaters and be a different kind of woman. Becoming friends with other autistic women showed me that you don't have to be stereotypically feminine to be female.
I spent two years working on this, focusing on therapy that wasn't just about affirming a transgender identity but about digging into the root causes of my distress. And now, my dysphoria is almost completely gone. I don't regret exploring my gender because it led me to this deeper understanding of myself, but I absolutely do not regret avoiding medical transition. I see now that it would have been a permanent solution to a temporary, though very painful, problem. It would have destroyed my healthy body and done nothing to fix my mental health.
My thoughts on gender now are that it's often a distraction from more core issues. For me, it was autism and the trauma of never fitting in. I believe you need to find out who you are as a person first, before making any permanent changes. I'm the same person I always was, and I'm finally learning to be okay with that.
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 12-13 | Started puberty; began hating my body and developing breasts. Felt intense discomfort and didn't fit in with other girls. |
| 14-15 | Discovered transgender identities online; began to believe I was a man and that transitioning was the solution. Struggled with severe dysphoria, depression, and anxiety. |
| 15-16 | Researched medical transition (hormones and top surgery) as a way to escape my feelings and fear of pregnancy. |
| 16 | Discovered I am autistic. Began learning about autistic masking and how my dysphoria was linked to not fitting into social stereotypes. |
| 16-17 | Started non-affirming therapy to address root causes. Began the process of "demasking" and separating my personality from gender stereotypes. My dysphoria began to fade. |
| 17 (Now) | Dysphoria is nearly gone. I accept myself as an autistic woman who doesn't conform to feminine stereotypes. I am relieved I never medically transitioned. |
Top Comments by /u/or2072:
Dysphoria comes usually from preexisting mental illnesses, so you put in the work to become more active in your life which is probably why you're doing better, but when it comes to gender you are probably rushing into it. Also, remember that it's ok to crossdress and look feminine while being a dude
You need to find out who you are as a person. Look up what "autistic masking" is and ways to demask. As autistic women especially, we learn from a young age to "mask" our autistic traits and basically be a different person so we won't be considered weird by society. Because of this, we tend to try taking back control of any other aspect of our personality, in this case our gender identity. I still have trouble with masking, but I took control of the way I dress. There isn't a single dress in my closet and I wear things that most women won't. The key is to understand that it doesn't make you a man, but it does make you different. You need to learn to accept the differences in yourself while still acknowledging you're a part of the category that is "women". And I'm sure that becoming friends with other autistic women will open your eyes to how great being a woman can be, without any of the stereotypes that come to your head when you think of the word "woman".
Hey, I'm 17. I totally am with you on that fear of pregnancy and also the last adjective anyone would use to describe me is feminine, but going the medical route (basically sterilizing yourself for life) is something that I know isn't the right thing to do in this situation. You need therapy, I've been there, and you need a therapist that won't just tell you to transition like it'll solve all your problems. You're the same person after you transition, you only change physically.
Hey, good on you for reaching this point. A lot of people are afraid to speak up about it and are continuing to destroy their bodies for the sake of who knows what. The stigma is worth it. And you're close ones will love you just the same if they are true ones.
What does transphobic mean? We don't hate you. Why would I be putting in this much effort to talk to you if I hated you? I've been in your situation and I know what it feels like. I thought I was a man in a woman's body. And after I've done everything to get away from that sort of thinking because it was very unhealthy for me and for everyone, I have trouble abiding to the laws of that way and calling you something you're not.
I know it's not easy. That wasn't my point. Its absolutely not easy, it's the hardest journey I've ever gone through. My point was, transitioning is not the only solution to gender dysphoria. Its an easy way out that feels great at first, but then all the other issues come back and you find that you both destroyed your body and did nothing for your mental health. That's why this sub exists. You will see many people here who legitimately felt amazing in the first few years of their transition, but it doesn't actually solve anything. I really did not mean to phrase it in a way that made it look like "oh you just need to do this" no absolutely not, researching about autism is just the first step to a long long journey of discovery and healing.
I just read another thread on this post, and I'm autistic too and I wanted to explain more about that point. I struggled with dysphoria for many years and I hated being viewed as a girl, I hated my boobs, I hated my body. Ever since finding out I'm autistic and going down the rabbit hole of what that truly means, I can absolutely tell you that in 2 years my dysphoria is almost completely gone. I still dress the same, I got oversized shirts and oversized sweaters, I hate being viewed as feminine and put together with the category that is "women" as it's stereotypically known. However, I still am a woman. I'm not a stereotypical woman and I hate when people think that, but that doesn't make me a man. you will find most autistic people who have been exposed to transgenderism will identify that way, it looks like an easy way out of a much much deeper problem we all share which is not identifying with humanity.