An American news channel has highlighted the plight of people in the US who regret undergoing ‘sex change’ treatment and wish to revert back to their birth sex.
In ‘Transgender Healthcare’ – an episode of the CBS show 60 Minutes – correspondent Lesley Stahl reported on the growing concern in America over treatment being provided to troubled adults with gender dysphoria.
Men and women spoke of the distress and physical trauma suffered as a result of taking cross-sex hormones and undergoing gender transition surgery.
‘Completely crazy’
Grace Lindinsky-Smith related how she had struggled with depression in her early twenties and was persuaded by claims of transgender people online that if she could “inhabit” life as a trans man she would feel “free”.
After telling a therapist she was contemplating ‘transitioning’, Grace said it happened very quickly, with little time given to exploring where her distress was “stemming from”.
She was prescribed testosterone, given a double mastectomy and – when she regretted the decision – returned to being a woman all within the space of twelve months.
Reflecting on her experience, Grace said: “I can’t believe that I transitioned and detransitioned, including hormones and surgery in the course of like less than one year. It’s completely crazy.”
Regret
Garrett similarly regretted his decision to ‘change sex’ after he had hormone treatment and his testicles were removed.
He told Stahl: “I didn’t get enough pushback on transitioning. I went for two appointments and after the second one, I had my letter to go get on cross-sex hormones.”
Daisy commented: “After every step that you take, every milestone feels like a million bucks. When I got top surgery, I was elated. When I changed my name, I was elated.
I still felt incomplete
“But when everything that I had set out to do was done, I still felt incomplete.”
Medics frightened
In the report, psychologist Dr Laura Edwards-Leeper expressed concern about the difficulties faced by clinicians working in the field of gender dysphoria.
She said: “Everyone is very scared to speak up, because we’re afraid of not being seen as being affirming or supportive of these young people or doing something to hurt the trans community”.
we’re afraid of not being seen as being affirming
Preparing for the programme, Stahl interviewed over thirty detransitioners who say they had experienced regret after ‘changing sex’.
Ex-trans: ‘You end up destroying yourself’
Ex-trans: ‘I had tunnel vision that transitioning would make me happy’