Four women who formerly identified as transgender men are speaking out, saying influence from social media and friends led them to transition as teens.
Their condition, known as “rapid-onset gender dysphoria,” is controversial in the transgender community because it implies transgenderism can be a fad, and not something born solely from internal feelings. In rapid-onset gender dysphoria, teens transition quickly due to influence from friends and social media.
The four women are part of the Pique Resilience Project.
“All four of us experienced Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) and subsequently identified as trans men for several of our teenage years,” their website says. “We have all since detransitioned/desisted and have been able to explore other individual factors that may have caused or exacerbated our dysphoria.”
National Review interviewed three of them. The women don’t use their last names.
“It was very much the ‘in’ thing to do,” Helena said of transitioning.
She was, she said, “very confused about life.”
“When I found this trans stuff online I felt it explained everything: why I didn’t like my body, why I was bullied, why I didn’t fit in,” Helena told National Review. “Just every question and problem that I had I just felt it was automatically answered. Explained by this trans thing. But not only was it explained it also offered me a solution.”
Chiara said the four were “socially isolated” and looking for community.
“Social contagion is a big factor,” she said of influence media and friends.
Jesse had similar feelings.
“As a teenager, I was really involved in online activism and the rise of what people now call social justice warriors,” Jesse said. “I thought that was a very righteous cause to be a part of as a young person. So that eventually led to me adopting more and more facets of gender ideology into how I perceived myself and others in the world.”
Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.
Photo courtesy: Jorge Saavedra/Unsplash
