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

• 2020년에 캐나다, 미국, 프랑스, 벨기에, 인도네시아, 스코틀랜드, 핀란드 출신의 16~25세 20명을 인터뷰했으며, 20명 중 19명이 출생 시 여성이었습니다.
• 모두 사회적으로 전환했고 13명은 의학적으로도 전환했습니다(12명 호르몬, 8명 적어도 한 번의 수술, 2명 사춘기 차단제). 그러나 13명 중 18세 이전에 의학적 전환을 시작한 사람은 3명뿐이었습니다.
• 중단 후 성별 정체성은 다양했습니다. 일부는 다시 출생 성별을 받아들였고, 일부는 자신을 논바이너리나 유동적이라고 부르거나 아무 명칭도 쓰지 않았으며, 일부는 전환 후의 이름이나 대명사를 유지했습니다.
• 성적 지향을 이야기한 사람의 절반 넘게가 전환 전에 같은 성에게 끌렸고, 여럿은 자신의 전환을 동성애에 대한 수치심과 연결 지었습니다.
• 대부분은 전환 중 몸이 더 나아졌다고 느꼈지만, 일부는 변화가 충분하지 않다고 느끼거나 합병증이 있었거나 다음 ‘단계’로 계속 나아가라는 압박을 느꼈습니다.
• 중단 후 몸에 대한 경험은 세 가지로 설명되었습니다. 꽤 편안함을 느낌, 원래의 고통이 돌아옴, 목소리나 얼굴 털 같은 영구적 변화에 대한 새로운 고통입니다.
• 저자들은 누가 중단할지 예측할 수 있는 공통 특징을 찾지 못했으며, 사후 동의 설명이 성적 지향, 있을 수 있는 상실, 평생에 걸친 미래의 어려움을 다룰 것을 권고합니다.

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.