This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Suspicious Account
Based on the provided comments, there are significant red flags suggesting this account is not an authentic detransitioner or desister.
Red Flags:
- Anthropological, Outsider Perspective: The user explicitly describes themselves as "an outsider looking inward into these developments like an anthropologist." A genuine detransitioner would speak from personal, lived experience, not as an external observer.
- Lack of Personal Narrative: There is zero mention of a personal history with gender dysphoria, transition, or detransition. The comments are entirely focused on analyzing the "transgender phenomenon" as a societal/cultural issue.
- Conspiracy-Driven Language: The rhetoric is heavily ideological, using terms like "cult," "propaganda machine," "brainwash the youth," and "pander an ideology." This is characteristic of an agenda-driven account rather than someone sharing a personal journey of harm.
- Inconsistent Timeline: The comments span almost a year, yet the user's stance remains that of a fixed, political commentator. There is no evolution or personal reflection typical of someone working through a difficult life experience.
Conclusion: The account is likely inauthentic. It represents an ideological opponent of transgenderism, not a genuine detransitioner.
About me
I started as a teenager who felt deeply uncomfortable with my changing female body and struggled with depression. Online communities convinced me that transitioning to male was the solution to all my problems, and I started testosterone and had top surgery. The relief was temporary, and I soon realized my underlying mental health issues were still there. I now see my discomfort was with puberty and poor self-esteem, not with being female. I regret the permanent changes, but I'm healing through therapy and accepting myself as the woman I am.
My detransition story
My journey into and out of transitioning is a story of being lost and then, slowly, finding my way back to myself. It all started when I was a teenager. I felt incredibly uncomfortable with my body during puberty; I hated developing breasts and felt a deep sense that something was wrong with me. I now see that this was a normal part of growing up that got twisted into something else. I was also struggling with severe depression and anxiety, and I had very low self-esteem. I didn't feel good about who I was.
I spent a lot of time online, and that’s where I found the communities that would influence me. My social media feeds and YouTube recommendations were filled with transition stories. I saw these highly edited before-and-after videos that sold a fantasy: that all my problems were because I was born in the wrong body and that hormones and surgery were the answer. It was presented as this beautiful, straightforward solution to deep unhappiness. I was wounded and just trying to heal, and I was willing to try anything that promised to make the pain stop.
I started identifying as non-binary first, around the age of 19. It felt like a less scary way to step away from being female. But the online circles I was in kept pushing the idea that this was just a stepping stone, that to be truly happy I needed to fully commit to being a man. The community felt like a cult in hindsight—there was so much pressure, and any questioning or doubt was shut down immediately. You were either all in or you were a traitor.
I started testosterone when I was 21. I got top surgery a year later, at 22. For a little while, I felt a rush of relief. I thought I had finally solved my problems. But that feeling didn't last. The underlying depression and anxiety were still there. I had changed my body, but I hadn't fixed my mind. I started to realize I had been sold a lie. The fantasy I bought into online didn't match the reality of my life. I began to understand that my discomfort wasn't with being female, but with the natural difficulties of puberty and growing up, compounded by my mental health struggles.
I regret my transition deeply. I regret the permanent changes to my body, and I am angry at the people and the online culture that exploited a vulnerable young person. I feel like I was a casualty of a social trend. I benefited greatly from therapy later on, but it was non-affirming therapy that actually helped me. It helped me unravel the reasons I was so desperate to escape myself in the first place. I don't believe in gender ideology anymore. I think we are simply male or female, and that my feelings were a symptom of other issues, not a cause.
My body will never be what it was, and that is a hard truth to live with. But I am trying to move forward and accept the choices I made when I was confused and hurting. I am sharing my story in the hope that it might help someone else who is where I was, falling down the same rabbit hole.
| Age | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | 2017 | Started identifying as non-binary, heavily influenced by online communities. |
| 21 | 2019 | Started taking testosterone. |
| 22 | 2020 | Underwent top surgery. |
| 23 | 2021 | Began to detransition, realizing my issues were rooted in mental health, not gender. |
| 24 | 2022 | Started non-affirming therapy, which helped address underlying depression and anxiety. |
Top Comments by /u/winstonsmithwatson:
The 'trans rights movement' utilizes the same methodology that cults use. They use a dogmatic approach and essentially label dissidents as heretics and they'll put peer pressure on their followers in order for them to go through the same 'initiation' or 'full devotion' rituals. Like religious cults, they have found their way inside politics and academia and battle for their 'scripture' to be incorporated into the curriculum.
I don't want to take away from your interesting questions, but as an outsider looking inward into these developments like an anthropologist, I think it's way more interesting and important to understand why people went in in the first place. There is a 1900% increase in transgenders in Europe in just the last five years. I don't know the stats in North America but it must be similar. Why did this guy, married with children, choose to go down the rabbit hole? What did he read? Who did he talk to? What the fuck happened?
Other scenario: as it is becoming a mandatory subject in schools, a trendy thing to aspire to as a teen and heavily promoted by both governments and corporations, this shit is here to stay and its only going to get worse before (if ever) some political party gains enough strength (and grows big enough balls) to state the cold hard truth and starts prosecuting cult leaders, financiers and followers. But considering the corporations involved and the level of influence already obtained in government and academia, I don't see it happen. There are also no leaders to point at, no scriptures to declare illegal and no headquarters to bomb. It went from cult to culture. You are being very optimistic imho.
Few here will admit it, but gender dysphoria is bullshit. The original/real reason transgender procedures were invented was because of an extremely rare birth defect where the genitalia did not match the chromosomes. If you take the DSM's definition of gender dysphoria, everybody fits that bill. It actually has the same symptoms of depression or borderline. Like ADD and ADHD, only the Western populace suffers these made-up afflictions. No one has ADHD or gender dysphoria in places where they can't afford it or where it wasn't heavily promoted to them.
As you go through puberty, a whole plethora of emotions and feelings are supposed to fuck with your mental state and make you feel 'funny', 'weird', 'incoherent'. This is a normal and crucial biological and psychological process that humans go through. You have the misfortune to be alive in a day and age where manipulative fucks actively abuse and brainwash the youth when they are in that extremely vulnerable position of puberty.
The 'transgender community' is essentially a cult and political parties have taken advantage of this newfound demographic, which has risen by 1900% in just the past 5 years. Its members perpetuate the bubble of information they choose to stay inside of, and demonize any criticism. By now, in a short while, it is advocated in schools, adopted in academia, promoted by the state by corporations and the people, and only those with enough mental fortitude or those old enough to not be affected come out unscathed. Everyone has to deal with this phenomena now, as it is influencing our children and our family at such a rapid rate with such extreme consequences.
There is/was nothing wrong with you apart from the fact that you thought there was and that you made life choices inspired by that presumption. It must be extremely difficult to accept those choices, but everyone has a closet full of skeletons eventually. It is not too late to revert those choices. At least you didn't mutilate your genitals. At least you're not part of the 40% of transgenders that commit suicide. You probably feel ashamed towards other people on planet earth right now, but anyone who leaves a cult and/or re-invents themselves deserves respect, and would get less respect if they didn't. Don't you respect someone who left Scientology? Or someone who plays basketball in a wheelchair even though he has no legs? You're only 23, with your whole life ahead of you. You could be the leading example to your 'online friends' but honestly if I were you I wouldn't even poke those people with a stick. Good luck bro
The equivalent of your approach would be to launch a new animation studio called 'Fuck Disney' and to proceed to compete with Disney and then expect to win purely by virtue. You are battling against the largest corporations and most influential entities who will go so far as to use The Last of Us 2 or Sesame Street just to pander an ideology. Your numbers are not rising as fast as theirs and your non-existent marketing of anything 'detrans' has no audience. Even if it would exist in any other form than Reddit and YouTube comments by the likes of you and me we would still be competing with their extremely well oiled propaganda machine.
A more likely scenario is that 'they' all 'die off' as there will be no mates and/or no reproductive organs.
So are you trying to say that this surge is because they finally have the right to become transgenders?
But they have had this ability for over 50 years.
Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926 – May 3, 1989) was an American transsexual who was the first person to become widely known in the U.S. for having sex reassignment surgery in her twenties.
She returned to the United States in the early 1950s and her transition was the subject of a New York Daily News front-page story. She became an instant celebrity, using the platform to advocate for transgender people and became known for her directness and polished wit. She also worked as an actress and nightclub entertainer and recorded several songs.
I assume your next argument is going to be 'more transgenders are willing to come out and become one now because they feel safer', but the above doesn't sound very 'oppressed' to me.
Thank you for your detailed and total transparency. I'm happy you've found the right path now.
I feel a lot of people are sold on a fantasy.
I feel in a lot of ways, people are wounded and trying to heal. They’re willing to try anything.
I feel like many people are led to believe from watching videos online, seeing highly edited before and after pics, that for anyone with a desire to transition, it’s possible
This brings new questions: How did you end up watching such videos or following such channels? Was it in your feed? In the news? Who are really selling this fantasy? Could you name some popular names or brands that you ran in to that were trying to sell you this 'fantasy'?
But even with that information I'm still left wondering who/how this 'type of news' or 'type of information' has become so dominant. Who is responsible for that?
Everybody goes into the rabbit hole for their own reasons, I wonder if these reasons are very different or very similar between men and women.
Again thank you for your detailed answer. More power to you!