The growing phenomenon of detransitioners

Pride month is coming to an end, but the Federal Government has decided to use our tax dollars to produce a YouTube talk show called, ‘Summer of Pride’ (because a month is simply not long enough anymore, I guess). This is through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and each episode will have ADM Rachel Levine talking to queer activists like artist, musician, and LGBTQI+ advocate Ryan Cassata who wrote-off detransitioners because the regret rate is about “one percent.” This doesn’t take into account that that’s according to the information we have so far, as this is a new phenomenon and studies are still being conducted because detransitioners have been largely ignored up until recently. Furthermore, if you have been following along with my Pride Month series, you will note that one percent is a lot higher than the number of trans people “dying by violence” and yet queer activist claim trans people are in danger. So much so that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) literally declared a national emergency this year. I think it’s important to understand detransitioners and make sure they are heard when many LGBTQIA+ activists want to shout them down, because detrans lives matter just as much as trans lives, regardless of what queer activists say. As you will see, Cassata’s claim of “one percent” is actually misinformation.

Percentage of people who actually detransition

According to a 2015 survey of 28,000 people in the U.S. nearly 8 percent of respondents reported some kind of detransition. Of the 8 percent, 62 percent only did so temporarily due to societal, financial, or family pressures. Nevertheless, that would still mean over 3 percent detransitioned for other reasons—and is also a higher percent than the one percent Cassata felt comfortable brushing off.

A study from Sweden that looked at 767 transgender people found over a 50-year period (1960-2010) found that 2 percent (again, double that of what Cassata said) expressed regret after receiving transitioning services. It should also be noted that 1960-2010 and even 2015 is before adults were pushing the gender reassignment services on confused children. The percent change that we will see will most likely spike by an unprecedented level.

In a more recent study from 2021 published in the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a survey of 27,715 transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people found that 17,151 (61.9 percent) of participants had pursued “gender affirmation, broadly defined.” Of those 17,151 participants, 2,242 (13.1 percent) reported a history of detransitioning. Of those, 82.5 percent reported at least one external driving factor including pressure from family and societal stigma. A total of 15.9 percent of respondents reported at least one internal driving factor, including fluctuations in or uncertainty regarding gender identity. That’s a little over 2 percent of participants who pursued “gender affirmation, broadly defined.”

Another study from 2021 that looked at 237 detransitioners found a lot of really interesting information. For one, most of those participating were female (92 percent). About 2/3 had transitioned socially and medically while 1/3 only transitioned socially. There was no option for “only medically” transitioned. The average age for social transition was 18 (17 for females and 24 for males). The average age for medical transition was 20.7 (20 for females and 26 for males). Furthermore, a quarter of respondents underwent medical transitions before age 18. The average age for detransitioning was 23 (22 for females and 30 for males). This means on average, detransitioning began about 5 years after transitioning with males taking a little longer. The reasons for the detransitions were really interesting, too.

• Realized that gender dysphoria was related to other issues (70 percent)

• Health concerns (62 percent)

• Transition did not help with dysphoria (50 percent)

• Found alternatives to deal with dysphoria (45 percent)

• Unhappy with social changes (44 percent)

• Change in political views (43 percent)

• Dysphoria resolved itself over time (34 percent)

• Co-morbid mental health issues related to dysphoria solved (30 percent)

• Unhappy with the physical changes (30 percent)

• Lack of support from social surroundings (13 percent)

• Financial concerns (12 percent)

• Discrimination (10 percent)

In this study, external factors for detransitioning were far fewer than internal factors—granted it is a smaller sample size. Nevertheless, this is important data to begin to understand detransitioners. There is a reddit page for “detransitioners/desisters and self-questioners” that has over 48,000 members and is growing. Also, that 2 percent in 2021, has already risen to 2.5 percent in 2022 for “transgender kids.”

Detransitioning is rare, but that does not mean that it’s not important. These are real people who have been manipulated and hurt and their lives matter just as much as anyone else’s. With all the “progressive” ideologies being pushed on children today, we should not be surprised if the percentage of detransitioners begins to rise, and rises quickly over the next decade or two.