A young New Zealander, Issy, recently went public to tell her story of growing up with sexual identity confusion and being irreparably damaged by “transgender” ideology and medical procedures.
Only when she turned to God, learning that He loved and accepted her, and embraced her true identity as a woman, did she find peace and healing.
Issy recounted her story in a video from Family First New Zealand, “The Untold Stories of Kiwi ‘Detransitioners’ – Meet Issy.”
It’s a powerful story of a troubled girl’s journey toward grace and redemption.
Family First NZ, led by Bob McCoskrie, is a fierce advocate for families, marriage, life and freedom. The Christian organization proclaims the truth that there are only two sexes, male and female, and transgender ideology and medical procedures have brought terrible harms to many young people.
Issy is one of the first young women in New Zealand to publicly share her journey into the darkness of transgenderism – and out again, through faith in God.
In the video, Issy described what it was like growing up and thinking of herself as a boy.
“I always had friends that were boys, and I did all the boy things. It wasn’t until I was age 11, when I started going through puberty, that I realized that I wasn’t, and I faced the reality of what my gender was, and I played the part and just became as feminine as possible,” she said.
In high school, Issy became a satanist. She struggled with anxiety, self-hatred and clinical depression.
Then, in college, she joined an LGBT club, meeting “people who were living as transgender.”
She attempted to make herself look more masculine. After one visit to a doctor, another visit to an endocrinologist and a third visit to a psychologist, Issy was prescribed testosterone.
Not one doctor told her that hating her femininity and longing to be male were not normal or healthy.
“I grew a beard; I got a deep voice. My period stopped. There was more sweat. I could make muscle easily. All the stuff I wanted,” Issy told McCoskrie.
But this didn’t help the underlying issues – her depression remained.
Issy explained that in New Zealand, the process of receiving damaging transgender medical interventions happened very quickly.
“I transitioned at 19, going on 20, and then I had top surgery when I was 21 and a hysterectomy when I was 22.”
Doctors removed perfectly healthy organs from her body.
Her decision to try to live as a man led to conflict with her family and LGBT activists encouraged her to cut off her family if they wouldn’t accept and celebrate her “transition.”
But, as she explained to McCoskrie, that’s not the whole story.
I failed to be understanding about how they would have been feeling. I was just told by the queer community I was part of, that they don’t accept me, so you must cut them off. They can’t be in your life anymore.
But looking back, … I believe that was a failure on my part. I should have been understanding with my family. They were grieving the loss of a daughter. I just should have been more understanding in how they would have been feeling in that, which I didn’t.
She realized the injurious chemical and surgical interventions didn’t bring peace or help her build lasting, healthy relationships.
A turning point came when Issy found faith and recognized, “I will never be a male. I will always be female.”
“And there was power in acknowledging it and accepting that. And I came to this realization with peace and love. It was then when I decided that I should detransition. It’s like my mind and my feelings finally agreed with my biology,” she added.
At one point, she doubted whether God would accept her. But she asked Him to “send someone to me.”
God intervened in a powerful, miraculous way at a Christian rally.
“I saw this butch looking woman … in the prayer and worship area, and I just found it curious, and I wondered if she was Christian or whatever. … I was literally leaving and then she was standing right in front of me.”
She handed Issy a book and said, “It’s my testimony. I want you to read it.”
The woman asked if she could tell Issy something, and then whispered in her ear, “Come as you are.”
All my fears, worries, concerns dropped to the ground in that moment. And I just started crying because that’s exactly what I needed, exactly what I was like looking for.
And I told her as I was crying, “I’m a transgender. I’ve been like thinking about this, worrying about this.”
And she points to her book and says, “Look, gender confusion.”
And literally on the title of her book, it said Gender Confusion.
“It’s been a healing journey. My life has been a healing journey. And I feel like I’ve finally reached the point of fully loving myself, my true self, loving the way I am, for me,” Issy described the road she traveled.
Issy found that the Gospel offers what we long for: God loves and accepts us as just as we are.
But at the same time, we are all desperately broken sinners. And the Gospel also offers what we need: God’s grace and power bring forgiveness for our sins, healing to our brokenness, and transformation of our lives.
Focus on the Family exists to help families, and that includes help navigating transgenderism. Focus offers a free, one-time counseling consultation with a licensed or pastoral counselor. To request a counseling consultation, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) or fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.
Related Articles and Resources
Family First: “The Untold Stories of Kiwi ‘Detransitioners’ – Meet Issy”
Chloe Cole: Good News in the Fight Against Transgender Mutilation of Children
Chloe Cole: Gender Reassignment Surgery Regret
Do Not Fall for the ‘Affirm Them or They Will Die’ Lie
Expert in ‘Transitioning’ Children Admits ‘We Were Wrong’ About Puberty Blockers
Important New Journal Article Calls Out Doctors for Harming Youth with Medicalized Gender Ideology
God’s Amazing Grace in a Transgendered Person’s Life
Support for Parent Whose Adult Child Identifies as Transgender
Teenager Identifies as Transgender
Transgender Ideology is Inherently Destructive
Transgenderism and Minors: What Does the Research Really Show?
Image credit: Family First NZ
