“The Detrans subreddit changed my world”
Submitted by Tara T.
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My journey into gender ideology began when I stumbled upon the Reddit detrans sub thread. Let me preface this by saying that I'm a transwoman who thought everything was hunky-dory in the trans world, that the rate of detransition was 8% (at the most) and there were safeguards in place to prevent non-trans people from going into medical transition.
Finding the detrans subreddit changed my world! It was there where I found report after report of people walking into a gender clinic and, with as little as one session with a nurse or a 30 minute phone call, they would walk out with a prescription for puberty blockers or hormones.
Surgery wasn't much harder. Girls as young as 13 or 14 who had gotten top surgery (double mastectomy) would later experience regret and detransition. Many had permanently deepened voices as well as other permanent effects such as body frame masculinization, beard growth, increased body hair, male pattern baldness, as well as flat chests. Some had also gotten "bottom surgery" (hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy).
I also learned about the new "affirming model" where one could be medicalized just by declaring they're "trans'' with no mental health assessments required. Healthcare pros who thought some time should be spent with a therapist to determine if gender dysphoria was the proper diagnosis were labeled "transphobic" and risked losing their jobs.
Well-meaning, but misguided, doctors told parents that their child would "commit suicide" if they didn't consent to medical transition, despite scant evidence to support that contention. Even when someone does see a therapist, they're now trained to immediately "affirm" their client's trans status and not explore their past or any concurrent psychological issues. Many young people (mostly females) had other issues such as sexual abuse, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, anxiety, etc. or just the pressures of going through puberty, that they were mistaking for gender dysphoria. Urged on by trans people, they convinced therapists and doctors they were transgender and that transition would solve their significant issues, only to detransition when that didn’t happen.
Fortunately, some courageous detrans people are coming forward with their stories and suing their doctors who so capriciously prescribed puberty blockers, hormones and performed surgeries. Sweden, Finland and the UK are pulling back from the "affirming model" of treating kids, though the U.S. races ahead with this free-for-all. The majority of children (60% - 90%) who exhibit gender variant behavior if they don't transition eventually outgrow it.
Letters From the Front is a series from WoLF curating stories from women about how “gender identity” ideology has impacted them. We’ll share new letters, submitted anonymously, each week. Write in to share your own story!
WoLF does not necessarily endorse the content of Letters.