There is an ongoing discussion in the “gender-affirming care” debate about desistance and detransition, their similarities and differences, and why the distinction between them is important to recognize.
Desistance:
A desister is someone who experimented with social transition, changing their name, pronouns, and appearance to see if it would ease a perceived incongruence. They never medicalized, and over time, they came to realize that their feelings were fleeting or influenced by external factors. Since their identity wasn’t stable or persistent, they eventually dropped the social transition altogether. A review of one qualitative study, two case studies, five quantitative studies, five ethical discussions, and twenty two editorials reported desistance in 83% of 251 participants. Thirty definitions of desistance emerged, with four common trends: disappearance of gender dysphoria (GD) feelings on identity discomfort alleviated after puberty, a shift away from trans identification, cessation of distress, and loss of desire for medical intervention.
Source: Karrington, B. (2021). Defining Desistance: Exploring desistance in transgender and gender expansive youth through systematic literature review. Transgender Health, 7(3), 189–212.
Detransition:
A detransitioner is someone who has undergone medical procedures to change their appearance, using hormones and surgery to alter their body, often driven by persistent and ongoing discomfort with their biological sex. Over time, for emotional, psychological, or health-related reasons, they decide to stop or reverse the medical transition. This can involve discontinuing hormone therapy, seeking surgeries to undo previous ones, or returning to their original gender expression. Detransitioning is often a complex process that requires addressing the physical, emotional, and social effects of the transition. Detransition refers to the cessation or reversal of transitioning, which can be social (gender presentation, pronouns), medical (hormone therapy), surgical, or legal. While detransition and regret are sometimes used interchangeably, they are distinct concepts that may overlap in some individuals.
Source: Irwig, M. S. (2022). Detransition among transgender and gender diverse people – an increasing and increasingly complex phenomenon. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, dgac356. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgac356
Detransitioner Clementine shares her story with parental rights activist Billboard Chris.
Both desistance and detransition result in a patient's re-identification with their biological sex, but they are entirely different paths with clear differences. This distinction is important because one has been physically harmed in ways the other has not. Desisters have not been betrayed by the medical and mental health establishments in the same way as those who medicalized their bodies. Desisters have a place at this table, as their voices are just as important, but maintaining these distinctions is vital for detransitioners. Stories of detransition often come from a place of medical malpractice, while stories of desistance tend to be more psychosocial and identity-based. Conflating detransition and desistance muddies the waters for those who need proper terminology to meet their needs.
The trans community is not about open discussion and finding common solutions; rather, the forced acceptance of the group as a whole is authoritarian and totalitarian in its approach. Anyone who strays from their ideology is shouted down and exiled. Detransitioners have voices that are hard to hear, and it is difficult for others to fathom what we have been through and how long the road to recovery is for some of us. Our voices are often stifled and dismissed by those who identify as transgender and those who enable them. We are the pariahs of the gender identity movement—refused recognition by those who will not acknowledge the harm they are causing, not just to us, but also to women who fight every day for their personal spaces and sports in the name of their gender beliefs. We need our voices to be heard, not silenced. We need to be seen. We need our stories told! People must wake up to the harm being perpetuated and help us stop others, especially children, from being harmed in the name of gender identity. Help us do this! Speak to your congresspersons and senators! Talk to your state legislators, school boards, and anyone else who will listen. Help us protect children from this harm!