Detransitioning & Reversing Gender Transition
Summary: Some reasons someone detransitions is due to transitioning too early, not weighing risks and options, and wanting to escape from self-hatred.
Detransitioning is the process of reversing a gender change in transgender individuals. Someone who is transgender is unhappy with the sex they were born as, so they seek therapy, hormones, and even surgery to be the person they truly identify as. However, while most individuals may feel happy after transitioning, even years later, some continue to be unhappy and may detransition.
Detransitioning can be going back to living as the birth sex again and dropping hormones, or reversing medical procedures and surgeries. Depending on how far the individual has gone with their transition, some procedures may be impossible to reverse, such as genital surgery and ability to reproduce and produce sex cells.
Detransitioning is often misunderstood and shunned by other transgender individuals, and used by transphobic people as a reason why trans people shouldn’t be allowed to transition. However, there are many reasons why one decides to go back on their gender.
One reason an individual detransitions is because they transitioned too early, often as a child, teen, or even early twenties, and it wasn’t the right time for them. Those who transition under the age of 20 tend to have a higher chance of regretting their decision and want to revert sometime after puberty.
Another reason is that the individual rushed into the change, including surgery, without weighing options and possible complications. They wanted to transition quickly and rapidly to get the steps done they felt was going to make them happy.
Relatedly, perhaps the root cause of gender dysphoria wasn’t addressed, and thus the individual is seeking being a different person whom they thought would be happier than their old self. Because they may not truly like the person they are, regardless of what their gender is, they won’t be happy after transitioning since the reason they transitioned was to escape from the person they once were, which, through the process of transitioning, has been heavily repressed.
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And lastly, another reason one detransitions is when they realize that they will never truly be the man or woman they have envisioned and wanted to be. While most trans people accept the difference between the sex they transitioned to and a cisgender individual, some trans people are unable to achieve this image of perfection they seek within their mind.
If you’re doubting any part of your transition, it’s important to understand that you are not the only one going through this. Talk with others whom you can trust and can understand your concerns. It’s hard to transition, and when it doesn’t fulfill what you need deep down, you may feel lost. But, that is the time of major healing, so talk about what you are feeling.
Some people do regret their decision because they thought transitioning was going to make them happy, and maybe it did to a degree, but they are still unhappy. So figure out what in life will truly make you happy because happiness comes from within. No amount of physical belongings or altering your appearance is going to change that unless you find the happiness within yourself.
Let me know how this works for you. Have a great day!
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As a transwoman, who was eager to become who I felt I truly was, I still have moments where I question if it was the right decision for me. I wonder if I had worked on my deep rooted issues from the past if that would still need to transition. I wonder if surgery was the best decision for me, despite the numerous issues I’ve had, and continue to have.
Regardless of anything, I do find myself to be much happier these days. Even though it may have been easier staying a male, I have made the commitment and cannot, and will not, go back. If I regret the decision later in life, that’ll be a price I have to pay, but for now, I am happy and content with who I am and express myself freely.
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