Cari is a 22-year-old detransitioned woman who was interviewed recently on 4thWaveNow about her experiences as a former teen client of Transactive Gender Center in Portland, OR. Cari wrote to us today to announce an online survey she has created for women who are reclaiming themselves as female. I’ll let her introduce her work in her own words shortly. But first, if you have not had a chance to watch Cari’s very powerful YouTube video, please do so. In it, she deftly takes apart a post on trans youth, desistance, and detransition by trans activist MtoF Julia Serano.
Cari is not the only detransitioner talking back to Serano. Several other women have come forward in recent days to eloquently and incisively describe the many facets of the female detransitioned experience, including Maria Catt and crashchaoscats. Transgender Trend also posted an excellent response to Serano.
Now I’ll let Cari introduce her Survey of female detransition and reidentification. Please share widely!
This survey is for anyone female/AFAB who formerly self-described as transgender. This includes women who transitioned, whether socially and/or medically, and have subsequently detransitioned, as well as individuals who still identify as nonbinary or genderfluid, but have desisted from medical or social transition. The purpose of this survey is to provide information about the demographics of those who detransition and reidentification, motivations of individuals to detransition, and survey general attitudes of female detransitioners towards transition.
I’m posting this as a way of getting some data about detransitioned women where none seems to exist, particularly regarding motivation to detransition and the efficacy of managing dysphoria without transition. This survey is short due to surveymonkey’s question limit, and not very scientific, however I may create a longer and more controlled one in the future, should there be interest in that.
Reblogged this on There Are So Many Things Wrong With This.
Kat of ‘Destroy your binder’ has also written an incisive and very thought-provoking post in answer to Serano: A Reply to Julia Serano: Desistance, Homophobia, and the Medical Treatment of Gender Dysphoria.
I know I’m blocked here, but I just wanna say I think this important considerations and I’ve linked it in my trans group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/traNZgender/permalink/1718097661775218/
Love from Angelica :o)
Angelica, I applaud you for realizing that this is an important topic and for linking to it on your Facebook page. But introducing it with “So here I’m linking a TERF site, not because I wish to join them in hating on trans people….” Sorry, I’ve stopped applauding.
Fair enough… I’ve been ostracized by the local trans community too. I can’t please e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ I mean anyone, but I spent enough years hating myself, and I just not going to do that any more… I just thought it was only fair to let you know I don’t disagree with some of the things you say, but not necessarily for the same reason. ;o)
You know what would be great — if the middle-aged trans-self-identified (especially transwomen) would realize that none of what we’re doing is about them,. How about that, Angelica? This has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU.
This is about kids and teens and, mostly, our daughters, who are having a common female experience in feeling as if they’re not like “all the other girls.” But, see, they ARE girls. They are biologically, physically female. And as parents, we want the medical and psychiatric and educational communities to do their jobs and stop trying to change kids’ bodies and instead look into WHY they feel the way they do and promote other treatments for dysphoria and also look at other issues which could cause girls and young women to feel as if they need to not identify with their bodies.
And, just as a side note, we aren’t doing this to please anyone. We’re doing this as parents, fighting for our children’s health. And here you are, trying to get positive strokes and making it all about you. Pathetic.
My concern is that our trans lobby is misleading young children to believe they will need a sex change rather than letting them explore their gender identity without such expectation.
My concern is that they are pumping pre-pubescent children full of hormones and puberty blockers, while filling them with fear that otherwise they may not “pass”, if and when they do transition.
My concern is that our trans advocates don’t give them a chance to experience their natural puberty, which I gather often clears up the adolescent’s gender confusion.
My concern is for those who discover this was wrong for them and then go through the trauma of detransitioning.
My concern is that this is what our trans lobby is inflicting on them… not you. Can’t I even agree with you without attracting major hostility for some insignificant difference?
How can you say that I’m making it about me? I’m really happy as a transgirl and I have no desire to change that what-so-ever. ;o)
My concern, is that we will go from one extreme of treatment to the other. Treating people with gid is not a one size fits all problem. As with any choice in life, you need to know or research all the available options to see what is right for you. What’s right for me maybe totally wrong for someone else and vice versa.
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Thank you for taking this on, Cari. Good luck to you!
Cari is a brilliant woman, she should have a transcript of her videos, a summary for reference in blogs with the main points or, perhaps, have a blog herself.
I believe it’s better for the general debate about the ‘trans-trend’ to have also written ideas on the subject, not only videos.
She does have her own blog, but transcripts are a great idea. Her Tumblr blog is here:
http://guideonragingstars.tumblr.com/
Cari, thank you for all you are doing. Would you consider making a video geared toward our self- diagnosed teenage daughters to caution against medically transitioning? I keep pleading with my 16 yr old to slow down, figure out her sexual orientation and allow her brain to mature before trying to quickly erase herself. Unfortunately, such caring, common sense advice only produces resentment and her threatiing to leave at 18 to never come back home.
Great idea, spinning brain.
Yes, thank you, Cari, for collecting this data when no professional seems willing to do so. I very much admire you and wish you the best.
So we’re supposed to believe that it’s totally plausible for people who claim an identity opposite of every cell of their physical body and take that identity as a “given”. But if someone decides that they are actually more in tune with their physical reality than being absolute opposite of their physical reality, that is to be rejected, and the opposite-of-physical reality “identity” must be maintained in spite of the person’s own decision?
And we are supposed to accept this at face value as any questions would be undermining someone’s identity or something?
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The problem is that people like this Jenn Burleton, and other leaders, spokepersons, like Sophie Labelle… Their goal is to, somehow, make it so being trans is normal. That it’s either a choice one can make for any reason: Esthetic, ideological, or dysphoria.
If being trans is common and normal, they will be normal themselves, which is what they want. By forcefully, artificially, increasing the amount of existing trans people, they march toward that goal, slowly.
Little off topic but I don’t know where else to ask this question to the moms here with daughters claiming to be “gay men”…. But did any of them watch or get obsessed with the Dan and Phil youtubers? My daughter has literally modeled herself now after this Dan person… She had been obsessed with the Phan art on tumblr depicting the gay boys on boys. Just wondering if this is part of that trend and could be a starting point.
My 16 yr old gay guy gal watched Benton Sorenson vids. His clothes and hairstyle are her taste and his eye and hair color are similar to hers- all very seductive. She probably hopes to look like him if she medically transitions which we parents are not supportive of. Just curious, does your daughter resemble Dan in looks?
Yes she does. Same hair same clothing everything.
Terrific new post by crashchaoscats. Here’s a sample:
The specter of the disobedient woman is neutralized by explaining her existence as a medical anomaly and convincing her that she is not a woman after all. Trans theory and health care providers present her with a way to understand her suffering and a way to ease it. In exchange, she must put her body under the care and control of the medical establishment and pay for their services. Doctors, surgeons and pharmaceutical companies have stepped in to regulate this female strategy and profit from it. They turn our attempts at survival into a commodity they sell back to us. Such is life in a consumer-capitalist patriarchy.