Detransitioning
Phenomenon:
Detransitioning
Phenomenon:
You may have encountered the term “detransitioning” sometime in the last couple of years. After all, it seems to be gaining popularity as more and more media outlets are covering gender detransitioners and their stories. Online communities are growing as well.
But what does this growing phenomenon really mean? In this article, we’ll give you an overview, including the rate of detransitioning and the most common reasons people go through this process.
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If you’re looking for a doctor who understands your needs and can help you with how to detransition MTF through breast restoration, schedule a consultation here.
What is Detransitioning?
Also known as retransitioning, detransitioning is the process of affirming one’s cisgender identity after affirming their transgender one.
In other words, the person has already transitioned but is now returning to live as the gender assigned to them at birth.
The process is different for every person. They may feel the need to change their gender expression. They might want to go back to their original social and legal identity. And in some cases, they might feel the need to go back to their original anatomy.
The term “detransitioning” is actually a controversial one in the transgender community. After all, activists and allies consider gender as a journey—it does not necessarily go in a straight line.
It also doesn’t help that some sectors use the term “detransition” to restrict access to gender-affirming care, fearing that it would only lead to transgender regret.
Facts and Figures
If we base it on detransitioning statistics, it looks like detransitioners are just a tiny percentage of the transgender community. Detransition rates.
Skye Davies, Stephen McIntyre, Craig Rypma
Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
Of the 3398 patients who had appointments during this period, 16 (0.47%) expressed transition-related regret or detransitioned.
Of these 16, one patient expressed regret but was not considering detransition, two had expressed regret and were considering detransitioning, three had detransitioned, and ten had detransitioned temporarily.
The reasons stated by patients for their regret or detransition included: social factors, reporting physical complications, and changing their mind about their gender identity and identifying as their gender assigned at birth.
The 16 patients consisted of 11 trans women, two trans men, two cis men, and one person assigned male at birth who said their gender identity was “trans”. (p 139)
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M.
The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality
- Thirteen percent (13%) of respondents reported that one or more professionals, such as a psychologist, counselor, or religious advisor, tried to stop them from being transgender.
- Eight percent (8%) of respondents had de-transitioned temporarily or permanently at some point, meaning that they went back to living as the gender they were thought to be at birth for a period of time.
- The majority of respondents who de-transitioned did so only temporarily, and 62% were currently living full time in a gender different than the one they were thought to be at birth.
- Respondents who de-transitioned cited a number of reasons for doing so, including facing too much harassment or discrimination after they began transitioning (31%), having trouble getting a job (29%), or pressure from a parent (36%), spouse (18%), or other family members (26%).
(p 119)
A 50-year longitudinal study3 of 757 transgender people in Sweden found that only 2% regretted their decision to undergo detransition surgery.
Cecilia Dhejne, Katarina Oberg, Stefan Arver, Mikael Landén
Karolinska Institutet, University of Gothenburg
A total of 15 individuals (5 FM and 10 MF) out of 681 who received a new legal gender between 1960 and 2010 applied for a reversal to the original sex (regret applications). This corresponds to a regret rate of 2.2 % for both sexes (2.0 % FM and2.3 % MF).
As shown in Table 4, the regret rate decreased significantly over the whole study period, Fisher’s exact test.
Despite this, the fact remains that there’s a fair number of people who experience transgender regret and want to detransition.
After all, data is limited regarding the medical transition of children and adolescents. Only a few studies follow adults who presented as transgender even before puberty.
This lack of information can skew the numbers, as many people who transitioned are young ones.
“In the UK, there was an increase of more than 1,000 percent in the annual rate of natal male children and adolescents seeking specialist gender services from 2009 to 2019.
This was a 4,400 percent increase among natal female children and adolescents—from 40 in 2009-10 to more than 1,800 a decade later. Similar increases have been noticed in other Western countries.”
(Lisa Marchiano, Quillette.com)
Plus, many detransitioners have already cut ties with the transgender community and no longer identify as trans, so they no longer become the subject of studies.
Other surveys also don’t capture the complete picture. The selection criteria don’t include the broader sector of transgenders who transitioned socially but did not apply for a change of legal status or underwent a surgical transition.
Whether they experience transgender regret or not, there are plenty of varying reasons people decide to undergo detransition.
Here are some of them:
Gender dysphoria refers to a person’s feeling of unease about having a mismatched gender identity and biological sex.
A 2021 study of 237 detransitioners revealed that 70% of them detransitioned because they realized that their gender dysphoria was related to other issues. Around 50% felt that transitioning did not alleviate their gender dysphoria.
Even if we now live in a more inclusive world, being transgender is still frowned upon in some societies. That’s why some experienced difficulty dealing with the stigma and harassment that come with their new gender status.
Such phenomenon is termed “minority stress,” referring to the stress associated with belonging to a certain underrepresented or stigmatized group. It’s a form of stress that occurs because of one’s minority status, which transgender individuals are all too familiar with.
Because of the minority stress, many trans individuals felt pressured to transition back to their assigned sex.
According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, the most common reason for detransitioning was the lack of support at home and the workplace. Many of them also endure sexual harassment and discrimination.
This was supported by a 2021 study of 2,242 detransitioners, who mostly claimed that the societal rejection they experienced as transgender people led them to feel depressed and suicidal. In fact, one of the most highly cited factors was simply, “It was just too hard for me.”
Health is another common reason for retransition.
Some people expressed concern over the lack of information on the long-term effects of hormone replacement therapy —an often-used regimen for transgenders.
Others are concerned about their loss of fertility and complications from transition surgery. Some people expressed discomfort over some unwanted sexual characteristics they developed during their transition.
Some people also undergo MTF (male to female) temporarily to achieve a goal, like having biological children.
Only a tiny percentage of detransitioners claimed that their main reason for detransitioning was the feeling that it wasn’t for them.
They felt that transition didn’t address their problems or even made their problems worse. Some of these people even felt angry at healthcare providers who affirmed their decision to transition.
They wished that mental health providers and doctors did not encourage their musings about their bodies being defective. This resulted in the belief that extreme physical modification—in this case, gender reassignment surgery—was a viable option in dealing with their gender dysphoria.
Detransitioners need to find a healthcare provider that’s both considerate and open-minded. Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Gary Rosenbaum is one such example, as he understands the physical, psychological, and emotional needs of his detransitioning patients.
If you are considering undergoing detransition, schedule a consultation with Dr. Gary Rosenbaum.
- 3rd biennal EPATH Conference Inside Matters. On Law, Ethics and Religion
Skye Davies, Stephen McIntyre, Craig Rypma; Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic - The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality. - An Analysis of All Applications for Sex Reassignment Surgery in Sweden 1960-2010 Prevalence Incidence and Regrets
Cecilia Dhejne, Katarina Öberg, Stefan Arver, Mikael Landén, NIH – National Library of Medicine; - The ranks of gender-detransitioners are growing
Liam Knox, NBCNews; Lisa Marciano, Quillette; - Detransition-Related Needs and Support: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey
Elie Vandenbussche, Faculty of Society and Economics, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve, Germany; - Factors Leading to “Detransition” Among Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Analysis
Jack L. Turban, MD, MHS; Stephanie S. Loo, MSc; Anthony N. Almazan, and Alex S. Keuroghlian, MD, MPH; - Gender Role Reversal among Postoperative Transsexuals
A.J. Kuiper, Ph.D. and P.T. Cohen-Kettenis, Ph.D.
Detransitioning stories: https://www.reddit.com/r/detrans/
Effects of detransitioning statistics 2021 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00918369.2021.1919479
https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262734734_An_Analysis_of_All_Applications_for_Sex_Reassignment_Surgery_in_Sweden_1960-2010_Prevalence_Incidence_and_Regrets
https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(18)30057-2/fulltext#sec3.3
https://epath.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Boof-of-abstracts-EPATH2019.pdf
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/media-s-detransition-narrative-fueling-misconceptions-trans-advocates-say-n1102686
http://www.wpath.org/
Detransitioning before and after https://post-trans.com/