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We asked our interview participants to tell us why they took part in the DARE study.
Here’s what they shared:
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity to put my voice out there because I've never been given that before... I know that people are scared to mention it.
I know that people are scared of sounding not politically correct, almost.”
– Participant 5
Age 26, bisexual trans man
“I think especially when detransitioning, I realized there had been a lot of lack of information, I guess. So I am interested in the study just to like, get more accurate information for other people…”
– Participant 2
Age 21, lesbian detrans woman
“Well, I think that having like an actual, like, an actual scientific study of detransition without any of the um... How to say it politely... preloaded conclusions, foregone conclusions already defining the scope of the study is nice, and I'm really curious to see what kind of data, what kind of trends emerge from the results. And in, as somebody who is a later life transitioner who was forced to desist at a very young age, I think that I have a story that's worth telling, and even if I'm an outlier who gets a, you know, just kind of put aside in terms of population level results, I still think that what I have to say is worthwhile.”
– Participant 14
Age 50, queer trans woman
“What interested me is, it sort of arose out of frustrations that I have had with what I perceive as wedges being driven between communities that I think are natural allies. Trans people and, and people… detransitioning. I feel that there should not be such a gulf between us… Whether it's individuals or groups who are sort of acting in bad faith or sort of stealing our narratives from us, I feel that it's important for the voices of the people who have had the experiences to be heard rather than to have things said about us, have our stories twisted just to serve someone else's agenda”
– Participant 15
Age 34, bisexual genderqueer person
"When I transitioned and detransitioned there was just like a lack of information online and it was very politicized. And I think that's a shame, so I wanted to sort of contribute to knowledge about it from, like, a non-political standpoint.”
– Participant 3
Age 28, bisexual woman
“Hopefully you know, I ideally contribute to there being a better assessment and discernment process so that people are better supported and that there's critical thinking involved”
– Participant 7
Age 39, lesbian woman
“Well, I just wanted to show that there are many ways of like, or many diverse stories of detransitioning, because I don't really see stories like mine about detransitioning in the current – the most, I guess you could say stereotypical ones I don't relate to it all, so I thought maybe I’ll throw myself in and show, you know, show my side of detransitioning.”
– Participant 11
Age 32, queer nonbinary person
“I think it's an important topic that there's not enough information and knowledge on in the scientific community. I've experienced the repercussions of there not being that much understanding among doctors and such. So, I'd like to participate in the furthering of that information.”
– Participant 4
Age 19, bisexual detrans woman
“There's not a lot of people researching this stuff, and you know, there's not a lot of chances to… I don't know, tell your side of the story, I guess.”
– Participant 13
Age 30, straight detrans man
“More research in general about trans people in Canada and across North America is always good. And then I kind of delved into it a little deeper, didn't find any like, freaky religious ties – I was really happy about that. I actually spoke to my counselor, who identifies as a queer, and she's like, ‘I'm actually kind of aware of who this person is’. So it was like, she'd heard of Kinnon [study investigator], yeah. It's like the grapevine.”
– Participant 571
Age 29, bisexual two-spirit person
“Well, I saw the TikTok about it and I felt like it applied to me, and I felt that maybe that, you know, my input or my experience could be useful.”
– Participant 10
Age 31, queer nonbinary person
“Well, I feel like there has been a really, really polarized discussion on detransition – and transition in general – but I detransitioned about three and a half years ago, and at that point it was really just starting to get media attention. Like, I think that was, there was a few spare articles in the years before then, but it was starting to get media attention late 2020, and I thought, you know, maybe there's going to be a nuanced discussion about this. And I found that like, there were individual people willing to have that discussion, but the media in general was just so polarized. And so, anywhere where I can like, bring my voice and my experience and like, come at it from a place of compassion for trans people and for detrans people and just everyone in general, I want to use my voice to, you know, share my opinions on that.”
– Participant 8
Age 27, lesbian gender nonconforming woman
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