Thread by @reclaimingtrans

I want to say, as someone who spent years using my story as a detrans woman to promote anti-trans views and practices, that trans people are not being unreasonable by being concerned, upset or angry about how detransition is often framed by the media.

Transphobic detrans people go to the media to promote anti-trans theories, conversion practices, urge people to limit access to medical transition or discourage people from transitioning. I know this because I did this myself. Trans people aren't making this up or overreacting.

Believe trans people when we say something is harmful to us. The issue has never been about silencing people who detransition but about recognizing how some detransition stories can be used against trans people and how some detrans people are transphobic.

Also, if the media is going to cover detransition, it shouldn't present specific detrans communities as representative of detransition experiences. Anti-trans detrans people often act like they own the word "detransition". I sure as hell did. But that word doesn't belong to them.

Transphobic detrans people try to control what detransion means in the larger culture and dismiss how it's used by people outside of their community. Like many trans people use detransition to mean stopping hormones or a shift in identity that doesn't involve regret or harm.

Some people detransition and value the time they spent transitioning and consider themselves trans allies or still part of the trans community. Some trans people detransition temporarily because of hardships they encounter. These experiences should also get media coverage.

There is no one detransition story or experience, no one detrans identity. Certain detrans stories get highlighted and promoted because they cater to cis people's fears, concerns and transphobia but they're certainly not the whole story.

I now recognize the damage I did with my story and I apologize for that. I do what I can now to repair the harm I've caused, including speaking out about how some detrans stories can be used to promote transphobic agendas.

Again, as someone who used to use detransition to push transphobic politics, let me now say that trans people know what they're talking about when they name certain detrans narratives as harmful. We're not overreacting, we're naming a real threat to our autonomy and well-being.