1. Non-Binary as a New Box for Old Stereotypes
Many detransitioned women and men describe “non-binary” as a label that simply repackages the very stereotypes it claims to escape. Instead of widening the definition of “woman” or “man,” the identity tells people that if they do not fit narrow expectations they must belong to a third category. “Non-binary identity itself is also regressive as it reaffirms the idea that there’s certain things you can and can’t do as your birth gender… I see it now as a sort of cowardly move away from womanhood — when I could’ve instead embraced being a gender-non-conforming woman and expand the scope of what a woman can be.” – kitwid source [citation:8a435570-cb97-4861-9524-821de8d38f6c]

2. Personality Traits Re-labelled as Gender
Detransitioners repeatedly notice that ordinary personality differences—liking baggy clothes, enjoying cooking, or crying at movies—are now treated as proof of a separate gender rather than simple human variety. This shift, they say, undoes decades of work arguing that interests and emotions are not sex-determined. “These terms like non-binary, in my opinion, have come back to force gender roles under labels and what used to just casually be considered a personality type is now thought of as a separate gender.” – hollywood326 source [citation:3d10f06f-5a80-404e-9d23-e859a1bb0255]

3. Clothing and Mood Framed as Proof of Identity
Some share that, while identifying as non-binary, they began describing days of wearing skirts as “feminine days” and days of wearing trousers as “masculine days,” unintentionally reinforcing the idea that fabric choices carry gendered meaning. “Non-binary people say they’re neither male nor female, yet… they have a tendency to claim they have feminine days and masculine days, depending only on what they want to wear… people who liked to dress more feminine/masculine never said, ‘Oh, I’m non-binary and today I feel more masc/fem.’ No, they were just people who knew their body was right and that they just liked to dress in certain ways.” – LostSoul1911 source [citation:57c79168-6111-48db-8ef0-e37c9538b22d]

4. A Catch-All for Escaping Social Expectations
Several describe “non-binary” as a refuge for anyone who dislikes the rules attached to their sex, but note that the label still keeps those rules intact by implying that only “non-binary” people can deviate. “‘Nonbinary’ is just a catch-all term for anyone who does not want to be subjugated to the expectations placed upon their sex… It is sexism rebranded.” – Soggy_Agency_7062 source [citation:a04931ad-cbac-43d6-80da-3216cd1e37e9]

Conclusion: Reclaiming the Full Range of Being Human
Taken together, these voices show that when society turns ordinary non-conformity into a new gender category, it narrows rather than widens the space for authentic self-expression. The path they found healthier was to reject the idea that clothing, hobbies, or emotions determine gender at all. By embracing gender non-conformity within their own sex, they discovered freedom without medical intervention and reclaimed the full, messy, beautiful range of what it means to be human.