Mujeres detransicionadas informan necesidades no satisfechas: La transición médica no resolvió la disforia

Narrativas de adultos registrados como mujeres al nacer que iniciaron una transición médica y luego detransicionaron

Entrevistas e investigación cualitativa Destransición y arrepentimiento Atención y apoyo a destransicionadores

Authors: Jane Lomax, Catherine Butler
Journal: Archives of Sexual Behavior
Year: 2025
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-025-03083-9#ref-CR61

Summary

Researchers interviewed six UK women who medically transitioned and later detransitioned, looking for shared themes. All had taken testosterone for 1 to 5 years, and four had had both breasts removed. Four themes emerged. First, hormones and surgery did not resolve their distress or change their sex. Second, they worried about the long-term health effects of testosterone. Third, their sense of belonging changed, and some felt more at home among women and lesbian communities. Fourth, detransition was an ongoing process, and their needs were mostly not met by health services. The authors call for careful whole-person assessment before transition, research on testosterone's long-term effects in women, and better support for people detransitioning. It gives a detailed picture of a few lives, but six similar, self-selected people cannot show how common this is.

Key findings

Se entrevistó a seis adultos del Reino Unido nacidos mujer, de 21 a 32 años. Todos habían tomado testosterona durante 1 a 5 años, empezando entre los 17 y los 24 años, cuatro se habían extirpado ambos pechos, y habían hecho detransición entre 2 meses y 5 años antes.
La transición médica tenía límites: las hormonas y la cirugía no resolvieron del todo su malestar de género ni sus problemas de salud mental de fondo, y algunos sintieron más malestar, o malestar por su cuerpo cambiado, tras los cambios físicos.
Las preocupaciones de salud a largo plazo guiaron las decisiones: la inquietud por los efectos desconocidos de la testosterona en cuerpos femeninos, como riesgos cardíacos, reducción del útero e infertilidad, contribuyó a la detransición, y sentían que no habían sido informados adecuadamente de antemano.
El sentido de pertenencia cambió con el tiempo: muchos descubrieron que se sentían más ellos mismos al relacionarse con mujeres y comunidades lésbicas que viviendo como hombres, y algunos se dieron cuenta de que las ideas estrechas sobre lo que es una mujer habían influido en su decisión inicial de hacer la transición.
La detransición fue compleja y continua: trajo duelo, culpa y problemas prácticos como vivir con una apariencia más masculina, y la mayoría encontró formas distintas al tratamiento médico de manejar el malestar.
Faltaba apoyo en general: describieron necesidades que médicos y terapeutas no cubrían, y a menudo recurrieron a comunidades de detransición en línea para obtener información, consejos prácticos y apoyo emocional.
Cuatro de los seis tenían un diagnóstico de autismo (o, en una parte del artículo, autismo o TDAH).

Abstract

The visibility and presence of people who have detransitioned following a gender transition is growing, with an increase in research on the needs and experiences of this group. This study presents a thematic narrative analysis of interviews from six females (M = 25.5 yrs; range = 21–32 yrs). All detransitioned after having at least one gender-affirming medical or surgical treatment as part of a gender transition in the UK. Four narrative themes were developed to capture how they made sense of their detransition: (1) the limits of medical transition, (2) the longer-term health implications, (3) the social limits of transition, and (4) detransition as an ongoing process. Participants discussed a range of emotional, practical, and other support needs, largely unmet by healthcare or other services. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring that people have realistic expectations of transition as part of a holistic assessment process. Long-term health outcome research is also needed, addressing the impact of testosterone on female anatomy and health specifically. Further clinical implications with those considering transition or detransition are discussed.

Conclusion

This research adds an in-depth analysis to the previous literature on detransition. Participants detransitioned because they found medical transition had limits to resolve distress, or to change their sex. The ongoing health implications and associated risks were also a factor for most. Participant perception of social group belonging often shifted after transition, sometimes linked to feminist values, or perhaps reflecting the normal developmental experiences and trajectory of adolescence and early adulthood as young people explore their identities in different social contexts. It is also possible that the experience of the physical limits of transition to transform them, left the social aspects feeling hollow, increasing social dysphoria related to the new gender. Detransition was a complex and individual, ongoing process, with a range of needs expressed. Implications for clinical practice with people considering transition and detransition were discussed.

Methodological limitations

Very small group: Six people is suitable for in-depth interviews, but cannot show how common these experiences are among detransitioners, let alone among everyone who transitions.
Very similar people: All were White and UK-born, lesbian, bisexual or asexual/lesbian, had at least started university, and were aged 21 to 32. Four had an autism (or, in one part of the paper, autism or ADHD) diagnosis. Results may not carry over to people born male, older people, ethnic minorities or straight detransitioners.
People chose to take part through detransition networks: They were found via Twitter, the r/detrans forum on Reddit, a Facebook 'gender discourse' group and the UK Detransition Advocacy Network. People active in these spaces may hold particular views of transition, and the authors note their group may resemble those in Littman (2021) and Vandenbussche (2022).
One interview, looking back: Each story was told once (in 2021) and may be shaped by how people now make sense of their lives. The authors note experiences may be reinterpreted or left out as people's sense of themselves changes.
Medical history not checked: Diagnoses, treatments, timing and what they were told before treatment all rely on what people said, with no check of medical records.
Dates not recorded: The years of transition and detransition were not collected, so experiences cannot be linked to particular UK clinic rules or periods.
Researchers' influence: One interviewer (the first author) did all the interviews, and the authors admit that being women who do not identify as trans, and the interview relationship, will have shaped the stories told.
Little checking with the interviewees: Summaries and themes sent to the six interviewees for checking got no replies. The person with lived experience who reviewed materials was also found via Reddit and may share their views.
Other paths to detransition left out: Detransitioners born male, people who transitioned again, and people who detransitioned for outside reasons such as stigma or lack of access were not included. The authors also did not look closely at changing gender identity.
No comparison group: Without interviewing people who continued to transition, the study cannot say which experiences (such as health worries or changing sense of belonging) are specific to those who detransition.

detrans.ai

Summary

Key findings

Abstract

Conclusion