What do detransitioners need?

Key points from an exploratory study

In April 2021, Elie Vandenbussche, a young researcher originally from Belgium, and herself a detransitioner, published an exploratory study on the support needs of detransitioners in the Journal of Homosexuality. She surveyed 237 detransitioners, which she recruited online. Respondents were primarily female (217), self-identified as detransitioners, and they had all undergone medical and/or social transition and had stopped. Participants were from across the globe, mainly from USA and Europe - 6% (15 participants) were from Canada.

Vandenbussche found that study participants were mostly young and from Western countries. The majority of study participants (51%) had started their transition prior to turning 18, with 25% starting a medical transition prior to 18. Fourteen percent detransitioned prior to turning 18. The average age of detransition was 22 for female participants, and 30 for males. On average, female participants had transitioned for 4.5 years and male participants for 6.3 years prior to detransitioning. 

The majority (84%) reported experiencing both body and social dysphoria. Vandenbussche defined social dysphoria as ‘a strong desire to be seen and treated as being of a different gender’.  Body dysphoria, on the other hand, was defined as a ‘strong desire to have sex characteristics of the opposite sex/rejection of your own sex.’

Vandenbussche found that more than half (54%) of her participant sample reported high rates of co-occurring mental health issues, with depression and anxiety being the most prevalent. She also found a high prevalence of autism spectrum conditions (20%).

Reasons for detransitioning

Participants’ reasons for detransitioning varied - but significantly, only a minority reported detransitioning due to factors such as discrimination, lack of social support or financial pressures. Instead, the majority (70%) reported detransitioning due to realizing that their gender dysphoria was related to issues other than being trans. Half (50%) had felt that transition did not help their gender dysphoria and 45% had found alternative means for handling their gender dysphoria. A majority (62%) reported other health concerns.

Only a minority of participants (18%) felt that they were properly informed of the health implications of the treatments and interventions they accessed. 

Needs and challenges

Vandenbussche identified four key areas where detransitioners needed support: medical, psychological, social and legal.

Medically, approximately half (49%) wanted help with accessing accurate information on ceasing or changing their hormone treatments, with roughly a quarter (24%) seeking help with managing hormone or surgery complications. 

Psychological needs were the most prevalent, with a majority (65%) wanting help with managing co-occurring mental health issues, as well as managing and finding alternative treatments for their gender dysphoria. A majority (60%) also sought help managing feelings of regret, with roughly half (52%) seeking help for dealing with internalized homophobia. 

A large majority (87%) reported wanting to hear other detransition stories, or to connect with other detransitioners (76%). A majority also reported needing help dealing with negative reactions from others to their coming out as a detransitioner (57%).

Legal supports seemed less critical, with 55% reporting no need, and 40% reporting needing help with changing their name or legal gender/sex marker. A small minority (13%) reported wanting support in taking legal action.

Experiences with existing supports 

Roughly half the participants (51%) felt they had not received sufficient support throughout their detransition.

Similar to transitioners, Vandenbussche found that a majority of detransitioners (65%) accessed support online, through groups, forums and social media. 

LGBT+ and trans organizations were not found to be a great source of support for detransitioners. Many shared experiences of rejection and loss of support, leading them to step away from LGBT+ communities. 

Only about a third of participants (29%) found support from the medical providers who had originally helped them transition. Some reported that their doctors did not believe them, did not listen, refused services, or did not know how to help. 

Also, many reported difficulties in finding therapists who were willing to look at the underlying factors contributing to their gender dysphoria and who were able to offer alternative treatments to medical transition.

The full journal article is available online.

Also available online is a booklet that Elie and a German detransitioner, Nele, created for other people questioning their gender transition.