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

• Douăzeci de persoane cu vârste între 16 și 25 de ani din Canada, SUA, Franța, Belgia, Indonezia, Scoția și Finlanda au fost intervievate în 2020; 19 din 20 erau născute de sex feminin.
• Toate făcuseră tranziția socială; 13 făcuseră și tranziția medicală (12 au luat hormoni, 8 au avut cel puțin o operație, 2 au luat blocante ale pubertății), dar doar 3 din cei 13 au început tranziția medicală înainte de 18 ani.
• După oprire, identitățile de gen au variat: unele și-au asumat din nou sexul de la naștere, altele s-au numit non-binare sau fluide ori nu au folosit nicio etichetă, iar unele au păstrat numele sau pronumele de tranziție.
• Mai mult de jumătate dintre cei care au vorbit despre sexualitate fuseseră atrași de propriul sex înainte de tranziție, iar mai mulți și-au legat tranziția de rușinea de a fi gay.
• Majoritatea s-au simțit mai bine în corpul lor în timpul tranziției, dar unii au constatat că schimbările nu au fost suficiente, au avut complicații sau au simțit presiunea de a continua cu următorul „pas”.
• După oprire au fost descrise trei experiențe corporale: senzația de confort relativ, întoarcerea suferinței inițiale sau suferință nouă legată de schimbări permanente, precum vocea sau părul facial.
• Autorii nu au găsit trăsături comune care să prezică cine se va opri și recomandă ca consimțământul informat să cuprindă sexualitatea, posibilele pierderi și provocările viitoare de-a lungul vieții unei persoane.

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.