Sophie, 17, from Folkestone, came out and socially identified as male when she was 15 but has recently come to the conclusion she identifies as her birth sex. She has gone through a journey of questioning her gender to find her true identity. She explains why she felt this way and the part ‘social norms’ played in this.
In an interview with Sophie upon asking why she felt she identified as male, she recalled how she always had ‘masculine’ qualities which led to her questioning her gender. Sophie cut her hair and changed her name, to shape her identity of being male.
She also explained,
“I must have subconsciously thought that if was attracted to girls, I had to be a boy, to make me straight. We live in such a heteronormative world and I hate that I fell into such a deep trap.”
A couple of years later and Sophie started to miss having long hair and how she used to look; she feels the ‘dysphoria’ she felt towards her gender, may have instead been dysphoria she felt towards her body from feeling insecure about her appearance.
There is currently a lack of studies on how many people de-transition, but some say it is less than 2%, whilst others disagree and say it is much higher. However, something that has been noted is that 75% of people who de-transition, are female at birth. The reason for this is not currently explained, however, studies are currently being carried out as to why this is.
A campaigner for de-transitioners said,
“I fear that young lesbian girls are being mis-diagnosed with gender dysphoria when they’re actually gay.”
She also recently marched at gay pride holding a sign which said, ‘gender ideology harms lesbians.’ Responding to the challenges they face in regards to the view that de-transitioners deny trans people the care they need, she said,
“This shouldn’t be used in a way to tell people who are trans that they are wrong, it’s about creating a system which makes everyone feel validated.” She reinstated, “I am not advocating de-transitioning but advocating for de-transitioners.”
Sophie, says she was always genuine towards the gender she wanted to identify as, due to her feeling more ‘masculine’ this made her feel she was a man, however, now reveals she thinks she blew this out of proportion. Sophie is now comfortable with identifying as a female but still says she feels insecure about her own body.
Sophie also changed back to her birth name when she told her friends and family she identified as cisgender. In a recent instagram post, she apologised to friends and family for having to call her different names and reassured them that this was the last time they would have to call her by a different name. She also told her Instagram followers, she did not do this “to be cool,” all her feelings were genuine.
She spoke about how her school was accommodating to everything she needed, she felt safe at school and at home. In She also thanked everyone that supports her and is continuing to support her.
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