Are the WPATH standards of care based on science?
Detransitioners who have lived through these protocols answer with a clear “no.” Their first-hand accounts show that the guidelines rest on anecdote, ideology, and a culture-war mind-set rather than rigorous research.

1. Lack of controlled studies
Detransitioners repeatedly point out that the treatments recommended by WPATH have never been tested against alternatives. “Hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries aren’t evidence-based treatments for gender dysphoria… They don’t have enough (if any) controlled, longitudinal studies comparing them to alternative treatment pathways.” – L82Desist source [citation:e7ac7c3b-56de-49d0-9bc3-a4130e8ceb4a]

2. Anecdote treated as evidence
Therapists and doctors, they say, rely on personal stories instead of data. “Their standards of care are not based on research. It’s based on anecdote and theory… They are accepting anecdote as evidence and it’s not backed by research.” – [deleted] source [citation:0c2e15e1-6705-4e72-b1f4-6eb177496263]

3. Standards that can be “gamed”
Because the guidelines function more as a checklist than a safeguard, determined teenagers can steer the process themselves. “Any teenager who is committed to changing gender can look up the WPATH standards themselves and make sure they tick the right boxes.” – [deleted] source [citation:0af50f5a-2570-4e68-be1d-5d44ba62f3a9]

4. Shock at discovering the guidelines were “made up”
Many speak of a moment of betrayal when they realized the protocols had no scientific footing. “I had no idea the standard of care was completely made up. I put my trust entirely into my doctors. Wow.” – tyxxxty source [citation:7fa2f424-6219-4938-9a3a-2cce2c560f41]

5. Ideology over inquiry
Finally, they describe a field that resists scrutiny. “Read anything from any actual doctors that have raised concerns about how experimentally treatment is doled out, how little evidence there is… it’s literally all accessible, right within your reach.” – neitherdreams source [citation:401ec1b0-61b5-4386-b367-00a703ae4b8c]

Taken together, these voices paint a consistent picture: the WPATH standards of care are not grounded in the kind of controlled, long-term research that medicine normally demands. Instead, they are shaped by cultural pressure, personal anecdotes, and activist conviction—leaving patients to discover, often too late, that the promised science was never there.