Summary

Canadian researchers interviewed 20 young people aged 16 to 25, nearly all born female, from seven countries. All had started and then stopped a gender transition, and were asked about the whole journey. How they saw their gender changed over time, and rarely settled into a simple return to their birth sex. Same-sex attraction, sometimes with shame about being gay, was part of why many had transitioned. Body discomfort often eased during transition. Afterwards it could ease, come back, or turn into distress about permanent changes such as a deeper voice. The authors conclude that paths are too varied to predict how things will turn out. They say care should look at the whole of life, including sexuality and possible loss. This is early, exploratory work. The group was small and volunteered, accounts look back in time, and the analysis openly comes from a gender-affirming viewpoint.

Key findings

• 2020年に、カナダ、米国、フランス、ベルギー、インドネシア、スコットランド、フィンランドの16～25歳の20人に聞き取りを行い、20人中19人は女性として生まれました。
• 全員が社会的トランジションをしていました。13人は医学的トランジションもしており（12人がホルモン、8人が少なくとも1回の手術、2人が思春期ブロッカー）、13人のうち18歳より前に医学的トランジションを始めたのは3人だけでした。
• やめた後の性自認はさまざまでした。生まれつきの性別を再び受け入れた人、ノンバイナリーやフルイドと称した人、ラベルを使わない人、トランジションの際の名前や代名詞を残した人もいました。
• 性的指向について語った人の半数以上が、トランジションの前に同性に惹かれており、何人かは自分のトランジションを、ゲイであることへの恥と結びつけていました。
• ほとんどの人は、トランジション中は体について気分が良くなりましたが、変化が十分でなかった人、合併症があった人、次の「ステップ」へ進み続ける圧力を感じた人もいました。
• やめた後の身体の体験は3つに分かれました。かなり心地よく感じる、元の苦痛が戻る、声や顔の毛などの永久的な変化に新たな苦痛を感じる、です。
• 著者らは、誰がやめるかを予測できる共通の特徴を見つけられず、インフォームド・コンセントには、性的指向、起こりうる喪失、人生を通じた将来の課題を含めるべきだと勧めています。

Abstract

Background: Detransition is frequently covered in the media as a return to a cis identity after transition. Detransition is often studied in isolation and fails to examine it in context of various stages leading to detransition. Aim: To present the perspectives and reflections of youth who have detransitioned on their journey from early transition to discontinuation, focusing on three key dimensions: gender modalities, sexual modalities, and dysphoria experiences, and their evolution during this journey. Method: We drew from 20 in-depth interviews with young people aged 16 to 25 who have discontinued a transition and examined various stages of the gender journey from early transition to detransition. Youth narratives were analyzed thematically and longitudinally. Results: We developed three main themes related to the gender journey: nonlinear gender modalities, navigating sexual modalities along with gender modalities, and coping with dysphoria and body discomfort. We found a great diversity of experiences with regard to these within each participant and across the sample. Discussion: Transition and detransition trajectories are nonlinear and heterogeneous, without any identified commonalities that enable the prediction of outcomes after transitions. However, transnormativity may influence how people who detransition are expected to conform to a certain narrative despite the diversity of experiences present in this community.

Conclusion

Youth who discontinue a transition undergo diverse gender journeys and changes across gender modalities, sexual modalities and experiences of dysphoria. Transition and detransition trajectories are nonlinear and heterogeneous, with no identified commonalities that allow outcomes after transition to be predicted, and transnormativity may push people who detransition to fit an expected narrative. Future research should examine these experiences prospectively, for example by following youth from the moment they question their transition and examining how heteronormativity and transnormativity affect decisions to transition or detransition. Providers should look critically at media narratives, take a life-course approach that offers support beyond transition care, help youth understand how transition may affect their gender and sexual modalities, and discuss possible ambiguous loss, in order to strengthen informed consent and support youth whatever direction their gender journey takes.