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Reddit user /u/quiwy's Detransition Story

Transitioned: 17 -> Detransitioned: 19
female
low self-esteem
hated breasts
regrets transitioning
depression
influenced online
puberty discomfort
started as non-binary
anxiety
only transitioned socially
This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
On Reddit, people often share their experiences across multiple comments or posts. To make this information more accessible, our AI gathers all of those scattered pieces into a single, easy-to-read summary and timeline. All system prompts are noted on the prompts page.

Sometimes AI can hallucinate or state things that are not true. But generally, the summarised stories are accurate reflections of the original comments by users.
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 comments demonstrate:

  • Personal, nuanced advice: The user offers specific, reflective guidance that draws on lived experience (e.g., "as desis I'm pretty tomboy-ish").
  • Consistent, developed perspective: The views on detransition, self-acceptance, and the difference between online and real-life identity are complex and consistently expressed.
  • Natural language patterns: The writing includes informal phrasing, rhetorical questions, and personal asides ("Now that I've said it, it clicked in me... Wow.") that are difficult to automate.

The passion and criticism of trans ideology present are consistent with the stated experiences of some genuine detransitioners and desisters.

About me

As a teenager online, I admired male characters and confused that with needing to be male myself. I considered medical transition because I was deeply uncomfortable with my female body and the stereotypes around being a woman. I now realize my problem wasn't being female, but my inability to accept that a woman could look and act like me. I am at peace now as a masculine woman, comfortable in my own skin without having changed my body. My journey taught me that true happiness comes from self-acceptance, not from trying to become someone else.

My detransition story

My whole journey with gender started when I was a teenager. I was really into online spaces, fanfiction, and characters from stories, especially the cool male ones. I think a part of me wanted to be like them, to have that kind of identity. For a long time, I confused that admiration with a need to change myself. I started to believe that maybe I was supposed to be a man, or at least not a woman.

I never medically transitioned. I thought about it a lot, especially top surgery to have a flat chest. I hated the idea of having breasts; they felt uncomfortable and wrong. But looking back, I'm not sure it was true dysphoria. I think it was more about a deep discomfort with puberty and the changes that came with being a woman. I had a lot of internalized issues. I saw femininity as something weak or less than, and I wanted to escape from it. I had a lot of low self-esteem and I think I used the idea of being trans as a way to run from other problems, like anxiety and depression.

My thoughts on gender have completely changed now. I don't believe you need to change your body to be happy or to be yourself. I am a woman. That’s a fact, and it doesn't have to limit me. I can have short hair, wear clothes from the men's section, be tall, and be a tomboy. None of that makes me less of a woman. It just makes me me. The problem wasn't that I was female; the problem was that I couldn't accept that a woman could look and act like I do.

I don't regret exploring my identity, because it led me to where I am now: comfortable in my own skin. But I do regret ever thinking that I needed to change my body to fit in or to be happy. I'm glad I never took hormones or had surgery. I benefited immensely from stepping away from online trans communities and just living my life. I had to learn to love myself for who I am, not for who I thought I should be.

My main message to anyone questioning is to take your time. Don't rush into medical changes. A lot of what feels like gender dysphoria can be other issues, like hating the stereotypes forced on your sex or struggling with self-esteem. True peace comes from self-acceptance, not from changing your body to match an ideal.

Here is a timeline of my journey:

Age Event
15-16 Started exploring gender identity online, influenced by fictional characters and fan communities. Felt strong discomfort with female puberty and developing breasts.
17-18 Identified as non-binary and then as a trans man. Seriously considered top surgery and taking testosterone.
19 Began to detransition socially after realizing my feelings were rooted in internalized misogyny and a rejection of femininity, not a true transgender identity.
20 Fully accepted myself as a female and a woman. Became comfortable with my body and my identity as a masculine woman.

Top Comments by /u/quiwy:

12 comments • Posting since December 28, 2022
Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) comments on a user's gender confusion, advising them to overcome internalized misogyny before considering transition and to embrace being a tomboy.
26 pointsMar 28, 2023
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Your post can be summarised in "I'm not like other girls". Sorry if it sounds rude. But the use of a word "chick" towards your theoretical self kinda gives it away.

Anyway. You don't have male mannerism, you don't speak in a maskuline way. You said it yourself, you're a tomboy. Tomboy is not a man, tomboy is a woman that is boy-ish.

I'd say that: don't go into any trans stuff until you get over this disgust towards everything feminine, towards women themselves. Because you can be a trans man, but not a man, and that little fact that you was born female wil be always there.

There's many women over there, and you won't believe how many of them aren't classically feminine. Just normal everyday women. And they are people first, and their sex/gender second.

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) comments on the disconnect between online identity and physical reality, noting that people are gendered by appearance in real life but by declared pronouns online.
20 pointsMar 12, 2023
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I had a person on a discord server rant abour how people irl always gendered them female, yet people on the internet were always polite and respected their pronouns.

And I thought how bizarre that was. Like... that was so obvious to me. You are female irl, because not only you are, but you also wear dresses and makeup. You are anything else on the internet, because on the internet you only shape yourself with your words.

You are what you say you are in the first place, because people respect each other's right to be anonimous. (Now that I've said it, it clicked in me that this community moved from the internet to the real world, yet stayed detached from their bodies and kept pretending to not notice. And demanded everyone else to not notice, too. Wow.)

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) explains how to positively influence a detransitioning sister by modeling self-acceptance and setting boundaries on divisive topics.
16 pointsJan 10, 2023
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Maybe try and be openly happy about who you are now? Like you went through it, you understood yourself and now you have inner peace, and you're just... showing it. It's your family, why wouldn't you share what makes you happy? There's no guarantee it'll make your sis look up to you, though, bc you have distance ralationship, but I bet she wants to just be happy with herself. Show you how happy you're with yourself - bc you are - and she might get interested. Also show that you don't have to have the same opinion on all the things with other people (the fuck terfs moment). You can just. Not talk about the topics you don't share an opinion on and still be friends. Or not throw someone on the internet into garbage bc you have 1 (one) thing you disagree on. (Aka. How trans people and allies would put a "this post was made by a terf" label on even if the post has nothing to do on the topic. It's about crochet. Cute kittens. Climate change. )

Also, if someone tells you your opinion isn't walid bc you weren't actually trans: are people who had depression and win a fight with it never had it?

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) explains why some FTMTF detransitioners adopt a tomboyish style, noting their existing comfort with masculinity and the ease of being read as female after their feminine features return.
15 pointsJan 7, 2023
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I think that's because a lot of ftmtf detransitioners are already comfortable with masculinity, so now they're trying to come at the same terms with feminity they rejected before. And also I assume it's easier to dress less feminine and still be percieved as a women after your feminine features have came back. The second one I assume is true, bc as desis I'm pretty tomboy-ish and fine with it.

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) comments on the irony of writing a detransition sequel to a fanfiction, but advises against it as a toxic way to revisit a past identity.
15 pointsJan 18, 2023
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I had a thought while reading that it would be funny to continue the story, but made this character detrans lol. It would be only fair since I assume it was a reflection of your own issues back then.

But honestly it feels like it'd be too bothersome and kinda toxic towards yourself, since you haven't only moved on from being & idolising transness, but also from fanfiction. Like, it's a past thing. Better push it away and not be stuck in it.

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) explains why a desisted female should use the women's bathroom, comparing potential discomfort to that caused by tomboys.
11 pointsJan 7, 2023
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But you're neither? You're a woman who struggled on her path, and now you've accepted yourself. So just use women's? If you make other women uncomfortable, I'm pretty sure they're the ones who'll get the same reaction with a tomboy or any non-feminine girl.

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) advises on how to subtly detransition online, comparing it to dropping a subculture label like "goth" after a period of self-exploration.
9 pointsMar 19, 2023
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I mean. You don't have to tell people on the internet "I detransitioned". You can change the pronouns you use without mentioning the word detrans, and if they will be first to bring this up the flow of the conversation would be in your favour. Though I wouldn't recommend sticking with them if they're all trans, later it might trigger the desire to retrans when you'll be vulnerable. "Because they're my friends, and they're trans and happy! I want to be happy too! Maybe I'll try one more time."

Tbh i think dropping trans label might be like. Dropping being goth. You tried it, you explored yoursel, you didn't like it. The end.

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) comments on a 17-year-old's pre-transition questions, advising them to differentiate between wanting to emulate a fictional character and a true desire to change their body, and suggests alternatives like a breast reduction or consulting a doctor about testosterone for muscle mass instead of full transition.
7 pointsDec 28, 2022
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Not sure about the whole yaoi thing... wanting to be like a cool fictional character you know is a thing, but the question is do you, yourself, want to change things about yourself while staying yourself or do you want to be more like the character? You can surely dress or act like one, but changing your body... do you have a strong picture of yourself? Can you say "this is the character I like, and that's what differentiates us"?

But overall your situation seems fine to me and you don't really look like you're in the need of it. This is true that it's easier to build muscle mass when you're a man, but idk, maybe you don't need to transition - maybe you need a dose of T to help with it? Idk though if it's a thing, I'm not a doctor, but you surely can ask yours about it.

Flat chest, too, doesn't have to be completely flat? But I don't have enough info on it. If you don't like it because it's big or/and uncomfortable, just get a surgery to make it smaller. Small chest is pretty much the same as a flat one. But if you hate it because of its very existence? That's more of the disphoric territory, but nothing in your post points on it.

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) explains that being misgendered as male doesn't define you, and encourages a woman struggling with her appearance to embrace her height and style without despising gendered traits.
6 pointsMar 3, 2023
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I'll assume you're a desisted female, considering things in your post. Not sure if it's the case, you tried to say things about detransitioning in the end of it, but I'll go with it.

I am your height, have short hair and sometimes wear clothes from the men section. And I am a woman. I, too, get gendered male sometimes. I also get gendered female. The most important thing in this is that's other people who look at you for the first time and then they have to decide how to addres you, based on the factors they think apply to certain gender.

This says nothing about yourself.

You voiced your own problem already: just like you despiced female stuff, you despice male. Don't. Use it, and make it yours. You are a woman, and you can look whatever you want to look. (P.s. being that much taller than average is cool. You should not be ashamed, we aren't in school. It's something that you posess and others don't. It's only yours.)

Reddit user quiwy (desisted female) explains why they reverted to their birth name after desisting, viewing their past self and experiences as the foundation of who they are now.
5 pointsApr 6, 2023
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Personally I don't see a problem with birth name. I was thinking of myself as a whole different person going by that name, existing in the same time as the one going by another, but once I understood I am myself, I stopped caring about names. I've never officially changed it, though, and I'm not going to, because the experience I went through with that name (including all the mistakes) is the foundation of who I am now.

Though I like how the name itself sounds.

Btw, I go by any other name, including nicknames, and allow people to call me the way they knew me from our first meeting, if we know each other from the internet. It just doesn't really bother me now.