Help Build Detrans Community on Women's Land

Howdy! My name is Sten, I am a lesbian and a desister, and I am thrilled to be leading a workshop for dysphoric women at the Michigan Framily Reunion this year! In addition, I'm very excited to announce that some of my other detrans/desister sisters and I would like to host the inaugural LIZARD LOUNGE at MFR. Unfortunately, as you may have guessed, money has gotten unexpectedly tight this year, and we need YOUR HELP to get us there and make it happen! We have some of the gear we need, but not everything, and we need to drive ourselves to Michigan from California.

For the past few years, I have been dedicated to creating and facilitating in-person female-only gatherings for women, particularly detransitioners and other re-identified women. This type of community is desperately needed. As you may know, the number of young women who report experiencing dysphoria and desiring sex reassignment has skyrocketed. Pharmaceutical companies and activist groups have been all-too-happy to capitalize on bodily distress and popularize extreme medical solutions, and many of these women and girls are realizing that what they've been sold is snake oil. As if that alone wasn't enough to deal with, as a result of that very realization, detrans women and girls often wind up rejected by their former communities.

I would like to do what I can to provide a safe place they can land and start processing their experiences. In particular, I think we need to prepare Female Spaces and Women's Lands to understand and meet the unique needs of this vulnerable-but-growing community. I have helped moderate or organize other detransition panels and workshops at Women's Festivals in the past year, including a very well-received workshop at last year's MFR—mad props to Rachel for sharing her story! —and I also co-founded DetransVoices.org (currently on hiatus). Picture the Lizard Lounge: a safe, chill, female-only hangout zone in the beautiful Michigan forest where detransitioners, desisters, re-identified, and dysphoric women can connect with one another in a non-obtrusive and non-judgmental space with others who Get It.

Here's what we already have:

Here's what we need help with:

We're trying really hard to raise at least $2000 to cover the above expenses. Any funds we raise beyond the above stated needs will go directly towards helping reimburse the tickets and travel expenses of any attending detransitioners with a financial need. I know that some are attending even though it is a financial struggle to do so, and I would like us to all help out if we can!

Please consider sharing this campaign with anyone you can think of who might want to help with these issues and support the detrans community, but isn't sure how. Thank you so much for helping to give dysphoric woman at least one safe place they can come together in person and share their stories and experiences.

(Big thank you to Elizabeth for helping me organize this fundraiser! )

Let's keep this momentum going!!!

Update #1: OMG, thank you sooooo much for the support we've received! We're a third of the way to our goal!!! We'll definitely be able to get the gear we need now, and we're well on our way to Michigan. Please share this campaign with anyone that you can think of who might want to support women creating alternative communities to the dysphoria-to-transition pipeline. Let's keep it going!

Update #2: Just bought the Lizard Lounge tent! It's happening, Sisters! We were able to take advantage of the holiday sales and save $100, too.

Update #3: We did it! Thanks to all of your generous donations, we were able to get to Michigan and conduct a gender dysphoria workshop at the Michigan Framily Reunion and host the first inaugural Lizard Lounge! We brought together detransitioned and desisted women from across the US to share their stories and connect with each other. This is just the start of our work to build detrans community. From the bottom of our hearts, thanks again!