‘I spent a decade going down the wrong path’: Mel’s regret after transition

After ‘gender affirming’ surgery and cross sex hormones forever changed the shape of her body and the sound of her voice - Mel Jefferies fears she will never be the woman she once was. But she’s not done trying.

After ‘gender affirming’ surgery and cross sex hormones forever changed the shape of her body and the sound of her voice - Mel Jefferies fears she will never be the woman she once was. But she’s not done trying.

The Melbourne woman spent over a decade as ‘Mason’ after she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in her late teens, accessing testosterone to deepen her voice, grow facial hair and form muscles, and undergoing a double mastectomy at 25.

For a time it felt right - but often it didn’t - and for the past three years she’s been ‘detransitioning’ which, she says, is proving harder than her initial transition.

Now 33, she’s one of the detransitioners who added their name to an open letter this week calling for a national independent inquiry into gender-affirming care for children.

Melbourne woman Mel Jefferies who had a double mastectomy and took hormone therapy to transition from a woman to a man, and has now transitioned back.

The response from the federal government was swift, with Health Minister Mark Butler on Friday announcing that a medical inquiry would be held into the safety and effectiveness of the treatments for children with gender dysphoria - with national guidelines to be developed.

Ms Jefferies feels strongly that medical protocols have made it too simple for young people to access the life-altering hormones and surgery., and hopes the inquiry listens to “key stakeholders like detransitioners”.

Melbourne woman Mel Jefferies who had a double mastectomy and took hormone therapy to transition from a woman to a man, and has now transitioned back.

“I was diagnosed with gender dysphoria yet I felt my childhood trauma, and other issues, weren’t factored in when it came to my assessment and healthcare,” she said.

“I grew up in a cult, I had a strained relationship with my family and was sexually assaulted in my teens. I didn’t necessarily want to be a man, I just wanted to escape the reality of who I was.

“In the end, I spent a decade going down the wrong path, and now I’m trying to recover from the trauma of that.

“I was failed as a young person so I have great concerns regarding both informed consent and affirmation only model of care.

“I hope (Butler) is serious (about the inquiry) .. until I see actions, these are empty words said in an attempt to satiate hunger for real change.”

Ms Jefferies has trans friends who’ve transitioned well, she’s happy for them, but speaking out about her experience is important too.

“It’s why I signed the letter - it’s so important to highlight the need for support for young people, so they don’t go through the same traumatic experience I’m still going through,” she said.

“I once wanted to get every aspect of me as a female removed but now I want to have kids and a family and I don’t even know if I’m fertile - gender reversal is not a simple solution; there’s parts that can never be undone.”

In Perth, Courtney Coulson is also detransitioning. She said she’s one of the “lucky ones” - she has no regret over taking hormone therapy but she’s happy she decided five years ago not to continue her transition nor undertake surgery.

Perth woman Courtney Coulson has transitioned from a woman to a man and then transitioned back to a woman.

Courtney Coulson, who transitioned from a woman to a man and then transitioned back to a woman, is calling for a national independent inquiry into gender-affirming care for children.

“I think there needs to be a thorough investigation of someone’s back story - I was the oldest and only daughter and I was treated very differently to my brothers,” she said.

“I always felt that, and when I was 21 I started taking testosterone, and very quickly my voice deepened and I gained muscle mass.

“I still feel very comfortable with a more masculine physique and voice, but I wonder if all my gender issues had been handled through talk therapy when I was younger whether I would still feel that way.”

In 2020, Ms Coulson started detransitioning - ceasing testosterone, taking back her name and changing her pronouns back to she/ her. “I accepted my biological reality and the fact that I was a butch woman and that was ok.”

The 33-year-old said the support that had been there - from friends and professionals - to help her transition from a woman to a man dropped away once she opted for the reverse.

“Detransitioning was very lonely,” she said.

She described the government’s medical inquiry as “too little, too late”. “It was entirely unethical to approve any treatment without sufficient evidence for its efficacy and safety,” she said. “It’s only now after countless children have had their lives needlessly ruined by harmful treatment that a medical inquiry is being launched.”

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler on Friday announced a fresh and independent review into healthcare for trans and gender diverse Australians. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Sydney psychologist Professor Dianna Kenny was one of the more than 100 Australians who signed this week’s letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Professor Kenny believes there are three groups of young people presenting with gender dysphoria and wishing to transition - those with unresolved trauma; those with learning difficulties or social deficits; and those searching for peer connectedness or struggling with sexual orientation. None of these were best served by medical or surgical transition, she said.

“Prior to this massive social contagion gender dysphoria was extremely rare, but in the last 15 years or so there’s been a huge increase,” she said.

“We are all cautiously excited about the announcement, but we must be mindful that a review can only ever be as good as the reviewers chosen to undertake it, the terms of reference selected, and the scientific quality of the inquiry.

“We need a panel that is fair and objective, and includes clinicians, researchers, skilled methodologists and statisticians, as well as people with ‘lived experience’.

“Of course, this category should include desisters, regretters, and detransitioners and parents of transgendered children.”

Women’s Forum CEO Rachael Wong, helped drafted the open letter with legal and medical professionals.

Women's Forum chief executive Rachael Wong said there were serious concerns over medical transition interventions for children.

“There are serious concerns over medical transition interventions for children and young people, who cannot consent to the life-altering harms involved, and whose underlying health issues are often left unresolved,” she said.

“There are significant, and often irreversible health risks associated with such interventions, including reduced bone density, infertility, sexual dysfunction, increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, negative impacts on brain development, lifelong medical dependence, and psychological effects like increased distress or regret.”

However she said aspects of the new review - which will release interim findings mid next year - “erode confidence” it would be an independent review to improve health care for young people with gender distress.

“The 2026 timeline shows they are not taking this seriously, and if anything, it seems like a ploy to block the Queensland review and make the issue go away before the federal election.

“It only confirms the urgent need for a truly independent national inquiry and a halt on all gender interventions for children and young people until it’s complete.”

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