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Transition Radio Industries September 2012
Transition Radio Industries September 2012
Joel Nowak has been writing about his experiences of “retransitioning” back to his birth gender of male since 2013 at his blog retransition.org. Joel struggled with gender identity issues while growing up in California in the 70s and 80s and eventually transitioned to female in the mid 1990s, a transition made easier with access to resources and networking provided by the internet. Originally happy with transitioning and even completing gender reassignment surgery, by the late 2000s Joel realized that his journey still was still not complete. He began looking for resources and advice on how to “detransition” but could find very little information, save for a few small tidbits from religious groups. Sadly, when he did find mentions of people who had come realize that they wished to return to their birth gender after a gender reassignment, they were often dismissed as “lost causes” — viewed as a tragic but fortunately small minority for who no help could be provided.
Undaunted, Joel began the process of returning to his birth gender in 2007, a process that is still ongoing. Joel prefers to call the process “retransition” because “detransition” implies somehow going backwards whereas he views himself as moving forward. His main message is that there are always more options available to us than we realize. Although going back to one’s birth gender was a path he chose when he felt “stuck” in life, that was merely a path that worked for him. Everyone needs to find their own path, it is out there.
Joel is currently pursuing his Masters Degree in Social Work at San Diego State University. He is a very serious music geek.
Undaunted, Joel began the process of returning to his birth gender in 2007, a process that is still ongoing. Joel prefers to call the process “retransition” because “detransition” implies somehow going backwards whereas he views himself as moving forward. His main message is that there are always more options available to us than we realize. Although going back to one’s birth gender was a path he chose when he felt “stuck” in life, that was merely a path that worked for him. Everyone needs to find their own path, it is out there.
Joel is currently pursuing his Masters Degree in Social Work at San Diego State University. He is a very serious music geek.
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ABOUT JOEL NOWAK
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