Ky Schevers on Nostr: It seems like some researchers, clinicians and other folks are trying to identify the ...
It seems like some researchers, clinicians and other folks are trying to identify the “classic detransitioner” just like they used to try to identify the “true transsexual” and both are made-up concepts used to justify gatekeeping and paternalistic control over trans and detrans people’s bodily autonomy and medical care. People are more complicated than a list of symptoms to check off a list or screen for. More importantly they deserve freedom to determine for themselves what they are and what they need.
Based off my own experience of detransitioning and knowing many other detransitioned people, I don’t believe you can predict who’s going to detransition (or retransition after detransitioning). Especially since a significant number of people detransition after converting to an anti-trans ideology and/or deciding to go with an alt-health “treatment” for gender dysphoria over medical transition. Also sometimes people’s sense of gender just changes. You can’t always predict gender fluidity.
I experienced a shift in my gender over time and ended up in an alt-health/political detrans cult after I met a detrans radical feminist while I was looking for support. I don’t regret going on and off t or living as a trans man but I wish I could’ve avoided doing conversion practices on myself to “cure” my genderqueerness and engaging in anti-trans activism. I wish people cared more about countering the harm anti-trans detransition groups do but too many are busy using those groups’ propaganda as an excuse to restrict access to transition.
Instead of trying to prevent people from detransitioning with more psych assessments/gatekeeping, it makes more sense to inform/warn people about anti-trans groups selling detransition and conversion practices as a “cure” for gender dysphoria and providing more resources for people who end up detransitioning or retransitioning. Create standards of care for safely stopping HRT, make it easier for detrans people to get electrolysis or reconstructive surgery if they want it, change legal documents, find support groups that don’t pressure people to convert to anti-trans ideologies, create support groups for people who detransitioned due to external or internalized transphobia, etc.
Based off my own experience of detransitioning and knowing many other detransitioned people, I don’t believe you can predict who’s going to detransition (or retransition after detransitioning). Especially since a significant number of people detransition after converting to an anti-trans ideology and/or deciding to go with an alt-health “treatment” for gender dysphoria over medical transition. Also sometimes people’s sense of gender just changes. You can’t always predict gender fluidity.
I experienced a shift in my gender over time and ended up in an alt-health/political detrans cult after I met a detrans radical feminist while I was looking for support. I don’t regret going on and off t or living as a trans man but I wish I could’ve avoided doing conversion practices on myself to “cure” my genderqueerness and engaging in anti-trans activism. I wish people cared more about countering the harm anti-trans detransition groups do but too many are busy using those groups’ propaganda as an excuse to restrict access to transition.
Instead of trying to prevent people from detransitioning with more psych assessments/gatekeeping, it makes more sense to inform/warn people about anti-trans groups selling detransition and conversion practices as a “cure” for gender dysphoria and providing more resources for people who end up detransitioning or retransitioning. Create standards of care for safely stopping HRT, make it easier for detrans people to get electrolysis or reconstructive surgery if they want it, change legal documents, find support groups that don’t pressure people to convert to anti-trans ideologies, create support groups for people who detransitioned due to external or internalized transphobia, etc.