Anti-transgender activists are making a lot of noise about trans people regretting transitioning and detransition rates. The fact is that only a tiny minority of trans people who have transitioned regret their decision, and most of those who do express regret do so because of social harassment.
Indeed, evidence suggests that less than 1% of transgender people who undergo gender-affirming surgery report regret. Keep in mind that 14.4% of the broader regret similar surgeries.
A meta-study of existing research gave the following summary back in 2021:
“A total of 27 studies, pooling 7928 transgender patients who underwent any type of GAS [gender-affirmation surgeries], were included. The pooled prevalence of regret after GAS was 1% (95% CI <1%–2%). Overall, 33% underwent transmasculine procedures and 67% transfemenine procedures. The prevalence of regret among patients undergoing transmasculine and transfemenine surgeries was <1% (IC <1%–<1%) and 1% (CI <1%–2%), respectively.”
We have collected some must read resources documenting what we know about regret rates. The links are gathered from our Essential Transgender Reading Flipboard Magazine.
Not all who transition do get gender-affirming surgeries, so keep that in mind when you look at the following articles and papers. The numbers are not always directly comparable.
Transgender regret is very rare, indeed
More people regret having children than having gender-affirming care, study finds.
Landmark Systematic Review Of Trans Surgery: Regret Rate “Remarkably Low”.
A thematic analysis of disinformation in gender-affirming healthcare bans in the United States.
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