Gender detransitioning—going back to living as the gender one was assigned at birth, or identifying differently—is generating more and more headlines these days. How do young people who’ve gone through the process view how the media portray them?

To find out, researchers at Université de Montréal’s School of Social Work conducted semi-directed interviews of some two dozen people aged 16 to 25 who had interrupted a social and/or medical gender transition.

The interviews were done between 2020 and 2022 with 25 teenagers and young adults recruited for the study in North America, Europe and Indonesia. All had completed their detransition.

Co-authored by School senior research advisor Morgane Gelly and professor Annie Pullen Sansfaçon, with former applied-humanities Ph.D. student Sidonie Atgé-Delbays, the study is published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy.

In the interviews, some things come up again and again: young people see themselves excluded socially, feel their detrans realities are misrepresented in the press, and suffer adverse impacts from the dominant narratives around detransitioning.

Of the 25 participants in the study, eight had completed a social transition only, while 17 had carried out a social and medical transition.

“They had gone from their assigned-at-birth gender, transitioned to another gender and then either went back to their assigned-at-birth gender or now identify as another gender, such as a non-binary identity,” explained Pullen Sansfaçon, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Partnership Research and the Empowerment of Vulnerable Youth.

One key question

The participants were asked one key question: “There is growing discussion about detransitioning in mainstream media. How do you view media and social representations of detransitioning?”

Other issues were also explored, including how participants view gender and how they perceive the medical experiences of trans people and their access to care.

“Doing an inductive thematic analysis was particularly important to ensure all voices would be heard, without imposing a pre-conceived framework on what detransitioning should be,” said Pullen Sansfaçon.

“This allowed us to compile a variety of narratives from these participants, whether they decided to return to their assigned-at-birth identity with a sense of regret or now recognize themselves within a non-binary identity.

“It was fundamental for us to adopt an anti-oppressive, gender-affirming approach, regardless of each participant’s gender identity.”

Many of the young people interviewed mentioned that they had never heard of gender detransition until they were directly confronted with the issue. Some were unaware that there was a term to describe their experience.

“The participants told us there was very little detransitioning information available,” said Gelly.

“Resources on how to detransition, particularly from a medical perspective, are scarce. Some people actually joined this study so they could learn more about the topic.”

Media coverage shows one side

When detransitioning gets covered in the media, it is often shown from only one perspective, against a backdrop of regret and suffering, with little emphasis on the wide variety of individual experiences out there, Gelly added.

“In the dominant narrative, detransitioning is often depicted as a failure or a mistake. But individual experiences are much more nuanced,” she said.

“Some people still identify as trans but were forced to interrupt their transition for personal, financial or medical reasons, while others have doubts about their gender identity.”

At the same time, some trans-affirming points of view tend to minimize or deny the reality of detransitioning, reducing it to a consequence of social pressures or transphobia, Gelly added.

Another relevant issue is the political weaponization of detransitioning by groups with anti-trans agendas, the researchers say.

Some gender-critical groups seek to capitalize on detrans narratives to discredit all trans identities, they say, while others attempt to keep detrans experiences in the dark to avoid feeding into anti-trans rhetoric.

“I guess there are those who try to use detrans people as pawns in the effort to discredit gender transition, […] which is unfair to both trans and detrans people,” Theo, one of the participants, says in the study.

“No-one benefits from that, except for right-wing politicians fighting their idiotic culture wars. I find that quite sad.”

Attacks on credibility

The study also sheds light on what the researchers call an epistemic injustice, casting doubt on whether trans youths can position themselves as people who can contribute to furthering knowledge of the process.

Often, they add, there is a testimonial injustice as well: attacks on the credibility of what detrans youths have to say. Some people regard them as unduly influenced or manipulated, thus negating their ability to choose to detransition.

On the other hand, some within the trans community itself see those who detrans as “traitors” or, at best, as rare exceptions.

“Claiming that detransition is always the consequence of a mistake or some kind of constraint is denying the diversity of experiences,” said Gelly.

“This erases individual journeys and leads to injustices in terms of social representation, with concrete impacts on people’s lives.”

The study underscores the need for more nuanced representations of detrans experiences, the researchers argue, which would in turn ensure that young people are helped more effectively.

More inclusive dialogue

By recognizing the diversity of experiences in the detrans community, a more inclusive dialogue can be constructed, one that respects all gender identities, the study authors say.

“In the past, there was a very stereotypical view of trans youth,” said Pullen Sansfaçon. “Often, people could only imagine one type: a white person receiving medical treatment, undergoing hormone therapy and then reassignment surgery.

“But recent research indicates that the phenomenon of gender transition is much more diversified, and that detransition is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ experience,” she said.

“We need to foster dialogue between young people who’ve transitioned and those who’ve detransitioned. This will give us valuable insight into their individual experiences and help us improve our practices instead of creating division.”