Detransition Awareness Day - March 12, 2024

Make Reasonable Choices

Imagine the worst decision you made as a teenager or young adult. Maybe you turned down a scholarship at an out of state school because you were reluctant to leave home. Maybe you took some bad drugs. Maybe you stole something. Maybe you got a large tattoo. On your neck.

Now imagine you were cheered on in that decision by the adults and institutions in your life. Your teachers, doctors, maybe even your parents, celebrated you for making that decision. They celebrated you, not in spite of that decision, but because of it.

And then you grew older and wiser and came to regret your decision. You now see it as a huge mistake. This time, instead of being supported for having the maturity to recognize your mistake, you are pilloried. People who wanted to hear how damaged and self-loathing you felt no longer have any interest or patience in hearing how you are becoming healthier. In fact, they resent you for it. They wanted you when you were hurt and down. They want nothing to do with you when you show agency, own your mistake, and change course.

Most of us can move on from our worst decisions. It’s much tougher for detransistioners. So, today, Detransistion Awareness Day, we celebrate them today.

If you are on PITT, you probably are the parent of a child suffering from the delusion that they can be born in the wrong body. And that child is probably hectoring you to approve/pay for the drugs and surgery which will irrevocably alter their bodies. You may not be able to voice your fears for them because you fear alienation or estrangement.

So, we parents are especially grateful to the detransistioners. We thank them for bringing awareness to a topic that many people don’t want to face and for helping PITT parents navigate the many perils of gender “affirmation”. The decision some detransistioners have made to speak up, to testify, to put their names and faces out their shows their bravery, altruism and maturity. If this decision defines them, they are heroes to us.  

The Editors of PITT

P.S. Yes, we included a photo of Will Farrell with a neck tattoo that reads “Make Reasonable Choices” in Sanskrit. And yes, we know Will Ferrell has a new film out where he and his longtime friend, who recently came out as trans-identified woman, take a cross country trip. We’re asked to respect the rights and decisions of mature, mentally-balanced adults. We ask only that detransitioners are extended that same respect.