Detransition:

An Evidence-Based Understanding

Gender detransition (more accurately referred to as retransition or secondary transition) refers to any significant change in a person’s gender-related social, medical, or legal transition after they have previously transitioned from their assigned gender role at birth to another gender identity. It is an umbrella term—people use it in different ways—so it’s helpful to break it down clearly.

What retransition is...

What retransition is not...

Support & Resources

Many people who retransition state that they are making a choice that better aligns with their genuine sense of self at that time.

Detransition Ideology has no interest in patient well-being or autonomy.
It promotes a singular, genocidal, Christian Nationalist moral conclusion:

MEDICAL TRANSITION SHOULD BE DISCOURAGED or PREVENTED.

(This link contains disinformation and hate speech. View Discretion Advised.)

How common is retransition?

Retransition: Population Estimates

POPULATION SURVEYS
StudySample Size/TypeWhat Was MeasuredRetransition RateMain Reasons ReportedNotes
U.S. Transgender Survey (2022) (early reports)~92,000 participantsUpdated measures (partial data available publicly)Final % pending publicationSocial pressure and safety are leading factorsFull peer-reviewed results are pending
Turban et. al., (2021) (Pediatrics)20,619Detransition (retransition) after starting hormones as minors~13% experienced temporary detransition; permanent transition rareFamily pressure, harassment, employment/community safetyNot all participants medically transitioned - more social detransition

Retransition: Clinical Cohorts

CLINICAL COHORTS (Most Reliable for Medical Transition Rates)
StudyPopulationMedical Adjustment MeasuredRate of Medical Detransition/RegretFollow-Up DurationNotes
Wiepjes et.al., (2018) (Amsterdam Gender Clinic)6,973 transgender adults (1972-2015)Regret after hormones + surgery0.6% (trans women)
0.3% (trans men)
Median follow up:
10+ years
Gold-standard long-term cohort
KR Olson et. al., (2022) (Pediatrics)317 initially transgender youth5 years after initial social transition, 7.3% retransitioned at least once. 94% of youth identified as binary transgender, incl. 1.3% who transitioned to another identity before returning to their binary transgender identity. 2.5% identified as cisgender (not necessarily evidence of "detransition"), and 3.5% as nonbinaryRetransitions often occurred before age 10These results suggest that retransitions are infrequent. More commonly, transgender youth who socially transitioned at early ages continued to identify that way. Nonetheless, understanding retransitions is crucial for clinicians and families to help make retransitions as smooth as possible for youth.
Olson-Kennedy et. al., (2022)300+ U.S. youth receiving gender-affirming careStopped/reversed hormones due to regret<1%Several yearsLargest U.S. longitudinal study of youth in gender clinics
Bränström & Pachakis (2020) (Sweden)National registry (Number approx. 2,679)End of legal gender incongruence diagnosis (possible detransition proxy)Very low, not directly measured10+ yearsRegistry data lacks nuance but show stability.
There was a study correction issued.

Summary

  • Most people who transition do not retransition.

  • Retransition rates in clinical samples are generally <1–2% for medical transition.

  • Life-event or social-pressure-related pauses are more common than identity-change detransitions.

  • Permanent regret is rare, consistently <1% in long-term clinical studies of gender-affirming surgery.

Why is it important to use the term carefully?

  • “Retransition” is sometimes used inaccurately (called “detransition” or “transition regret”) in political or ideological arguments.
  • In actual clinical and community contexts, the word simply refers to any shift in transition trajectory, without moral judgment.