![Sample our Language & Literature journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5941/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Language-Literature.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
The current increase in the visibility of trans people in the media has been accompanied by a backlash in the form of an increased deployment of narratives of ‘sex change regret’ or ‘de/retransition.’ Through analysing mainstream media articles from 2015–2018, this paper identifies and discusses three main themes detected in discussions of de/retransition. First, the articles claim that the social and political climate has become too accepting of trans identities and, thus, any discussion of de/retransition is silenced because of ‘political correctness.’ Second, while the articles collected tend to begin with a general discussion of the phenomenon of de/retransitioning, they slide into addressing (White, cisgender) children and the need to protect them from misdiagnosis. Third, the fear about misdiagnosis of (White, cisgender) children is intensified by the focus on a recently hypothesised category of gender dysphoria – rapid-onset gender dysphoria – that suggests some children’s and adolescents’ dysphoric feelings are a result of ‘social contagion.’ Mainstream media discussions of de/retransition focus on the aforementioned themes in an attempt to question contemporary approaches to regulating access to gender-affirming medical care for trans individuals.
KEYWORDS:
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Detransition refers to the process of transitioning back to one’s assigned gender (or an alternative gender) after having undergone some measures (medical or social) to transition to another gender. Detransition is also sometimes referred to as ‘retransition,’ a term that perhaps more accurately reflects a double transition to a different gendered state, rather than a reversal to a previous form of gendered embodiment.
2. I collected English language articles primarily from the United States and the UK, although a couple are from Australia and New Zealand, as well.
3. This date range was not predetermined by the researcher. While there are a few articles that mention de/retransition prior to 2015, the bulk of the attention has occurred from 2015 onward.
4. See Vipond (Citation2015a) for an overview of the history of the gatekeeping of transition-related medical care. See also Lane (Citation2018) for a discussion on older gatekeeping models of care, as well as the shift to a more collaborative approach. Lane also touches on the issue of de/retransition and regret in relation to approaches to care.
5. BBC News, 25 September 2017; Berrien, The Daily Wire, 2 October 2017; Hardy, The Daily Mail, 13 October 2017; Liccione, Intellectual Takeout, 5 October 2017; Revesz, Independent, 25 September 2017; RT News, 10 February 2018; Schute, The National Post, 2 October 2017; Turner, The Times, 23 September 2017; Weale, The Guardian, 25 September 2017; Wheaton, Metro, 25 September 2017; Yorke, The Telegraph, 23 December 2017.
6. There is evidence that Caspian holds the view that some cases of gender dysphoria are caused by social contagion. See Turner, Janice. 2017. “Even Asking Questions is Now Transphobic.” The Times, September 23.
7. Walt Heyer is a notoriously vocal anti-trans detransitioner.
8. I looked at studies from 2011 and later.
9. Interestingly, despite this focus, he includes a discussion of famous de/retransitioner Carey Callahan (36) as evidence of the ubiquity of the phenomenon of de/retransition.
10. See Carter (Citation2007) and Cohen (Citation2013) for an extended analysis.
11. For an alternative perspective on the increase in assigned girls presenting to gender clinics, see Ashley (Citation2019b).
12. Although beyond the scope of this paper, it is also interesting that ROGD is only theorised in relation to assigned female at birth (AFAB) people. Considering the hysteria around the potential sterilising effects of hormones, it is unsurprising that this newly hypothesised diagnosis targets assigned girls, given the long history of denying women reproductive rights. A diagnosis of ROGD would serve as justification for limiting AFAB individuals’ reproductive rights – in this case the right to decide not to reproduce.
13. Julia Serano has written about this in relation to de/retransition and children informally (cf. Citation2016).