Thread by @ShabnakA

Today is #DetransAwarenessDay.

Today has mostly been used to weaponize detransitioners against trans rights, as anti-trans voices have so often done to us.

I want to embrace a different kind of #DetransAwareness.

Here's what I want people to be aware of on detransition:

- Much like trans identity, the way we conceptualize our detransition and current gender varies widely from person to person. Some of us still ID as trans, NB, or some form of gender diverse. Some of us ID as our AGAB. There's no singular "detransitioner experience."

- Political/ideological detrans is only a small portion of detransitioners. Don't assume that we're all GCs or anti-trans, this can be very alienating & stigmatizing. A lot of detransitioners say they fear the reaction from trans friends if they talk about detransitioning.

- Rumination over gender identity is a common experience among detransitioners. Some of us ID as our assigned sex because this feels more 'grounding.' Some ID as agender, genderfluid, and similar identities, either to acknowledge that rumination as okay or to mitigate it.

- Most of us don't support stigmatizing trans bodies & identities. Many of us have similar experiences to trans people, and may continue being visibly TGNC. Denigrating trans bodies denigrates us, too. Portraying us as ruined, broken, or mutilated only further stigmatizes us.

- Most detransitioned people reject the notion that they were 'never trans,' even if they ID with their AGAB now. Motivations for detransition can be complex-- under different circumstances, they may have continued transitioning. It's rarely so simple as "realizing you're cis."

- Some detransitioners are glad to have transitioned and like their body more afterwards. Some feel it was necessary for their self-development. Others do feel regrets and wish they never transitioned. Some are in-between. What's right for one person might not be for another.

- Some re-transition, some don't. Every person must figure out what is best for their own circumstances and personal needs. Detransitioners should be supported, regardless of whether we re-transition. Respect us as we are now, not where we might be in the future.

- Detransition is a possibility. Instead of focusing on the rarity of detransition, we should end the stigmatization around detransition as an inherent failure or mistake. Sometimes its necessary for our wellbeing, or it's just another step in figuring ourselves out. That's okay!

I want people to be aware of detransitioners, not as antithetical to trans people or as useful cudgels against transition care. I want us to be valued in and of ourselves. Our experiences could be used for improving gender-related care, not restricting or ending it.

Our needs are not oppositional. We should be allies, we should be working together and supporting each other, learning and growing from each other. I know that's possible. We can make it happen. ❤️#retransawarenessday