Ritchie Herron, also known as TullipR on Twitter, is a 35-year-old detransitioning male who spent almost a decade living as a trans woman. Before his fixation on gender, Ritchie had spent most of his life struggling with debilitating anxiety and obsessional OCD thoughts. As you’ll hear, he is brilliant, articulate, and compelling. But in his teens and young adult life, he forced his big personality into submission. He was terrified of the truth: that he was gay.  Internalized shame, body hatred, and extreme isolation only fed into his OCD. In the throes of all this, he found an online forum about gender dysphoria, and everything changed in an instant, as Ritchie had a new goal and a new OCD obsession. In this interview, he delivers a moving and powerful account of what happened next. And keep in mind, this is the story of a vulnerable adult, well over 18, but still the victim of a system that missed red flags over and over again. In 2018, after much coaxing from the professionals, he underwent a procedure under the UK’s National Health Service which removed his genitals. The regret set in almost immediately. Ritchie is now working towards suing the NHS for failing to address serious mental health issues during the diagnostic process. He is active on Twitter, and his brilliant substack, promoting and reposting stories of detransitioners, particularly highlighting the hidden stories of men, bringing awareness to the public about what he calls “the medical scandal of our time.” Links & Resources: Ritchie’s Substack — TullipR: https://tullipr.substack.com/ (https://tullipr.substack.com/) Ritchie’s harrowing tweet thread on being a detransitioner:  https://twitter.com/TullipR/status/1536422533230206976?t=QXFZlhxy7GKaTd812rAlTA&s=08 (https://twitter.com/TullipR/status/1536422533230206976?t=QXFZlhxy7GKaTd812rAlTA&s=08) Twitter: https://twitter.com/TullipR (https://twitter.com/TullipR) Extended Notes Ritchie didn’t set out to be a mouthpiece for male detransitioners. Most people don’t understand the pressures associated with gender clinics and therapy. He longed to express himself as a child but he held it in which caused anxiety and OCD. During his teens and as his parents went through a divorce, Ritchie suffered in silence. He began SSRIs in his early 20s. He hated his body. When Ritchie told his psychologist he was trans, it was noted but not worked through. The gender clinic knew Ritchie was OCD. Forums helped implant the idea that Ritchie could be a woman who is loved by men. Paying the gender clinic with a PayDay loan, Ritchie had his transsexual diagnosis within two days. Estrogen tablets didn’t block Ritchie’s testosterone levels. Ritchie embodied a character of who he thought he should be instead of who he was. Pre-gender reassignment surgery, Ritchie’s mother attempted to warn the medical staff of his mental issues. When Ritchie discovered the waitlist for surgery was over four years, he decided to reaffirm and have the surgery. Shame and regret kicked in almost immediately after the surgery. Ritchie felt the anti-antigen was a big part in inducing his psychotic state. When Ritchie first found the detrans community he was angry but then realized he needed to talk. In trans discourse, males are regarded less than females. Vulnerability doesn’t have an age limit. Ritchie shares some of the physical repercussions of gender reassignment surgery. Ritchie’s advice to others is to avoid surgery at all costs. This podcast is sponsored by ReIME and Genspect. Visit https://rethinkime.org/ (https://rethinkime.org/) and https://genspect.org/ (https://genspect.org/) to learn more. For more about our show: https://linktr.ee/WiderLensPod (https://linktr.ee/WiderLensPod).