Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, Vol 66(2), May 2025, 90-102; doi:10.1037/cap0000425
This article examined the growing polarization, misinformation, and disinformation surrounding gender diversity, with a focus on detransition. In the current sociopolitical climate of divisiveness, the misrepresentation of detransition experiences fuels moral panic, negatively affecting social attitudes towards detransitioners and gender-diverse individuals while being weaponized to restrict access to gender-affirming care. In response, this article seeks to offer a more accurate and nuanced understanding of detransition, challenge disinformation-driven panic, and reduce stigma experienced by detransitioners. Drawing from multiple sources of knowledge, the article meticulously dissects the underpinnings of disinformation-fuelled detransition panic, revealing an interplay of cisnormative and transnormative biases. By exposing these biases, the article encourages a more open and reflective approach to understanding gender and nonlinear gender trajectories, highlighting the multiplicity of factors contributing to detransition as well as the diversity of detransition experiences. It concludes with recommendations and invitations for readers to expand their perspectives on gender towards one that depathologizes detransition and nonlinear gender trajectories and moves beyond the trans–cis binary. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)