Early Exposure to Sexualised Content Feels Unsafe
Many detransitioned adults recall attending Pride or “youth” events as teenagers and seeing naked adults, erotic dancing, and toddlers handing out condoms. The same events often featured drag performers whose acts were overtly sexual. “I stopped going…when I was 17…in the same span of a few minutes…saw the thonged/naked ass of a full-grown man…toddlers handed out free condoms to passers-by” – rotary_rip source [citation:8d930df1-7957-479c-8158-b1af0ad39431]
These memories lead them to oppose drag-queen story hours, because they now associate such performances with the same adult sexual themes they witnessed while still minors.

Rigid Gender Rules Pushed Them Toward Transition
Some say the only way they were allowed to express feminine interests as boys—or masculine interests as girls—was by claiming a new gender label. Drag, when it is treated as the only sanctioned space for boys to wear dresses, reinforced the idea that everyday femininity was off-limits. “If I wasn’t told it was wrong of me to want to wear pink or princess pyjamas as a young boy then maybe I wouldn’t have developed all those feelings that caused me to think I was somehow a girl” – bradx220 source [citation:f22aab3b-8ace-4d3f-861d-4e128b6b222c]
From this angle, drag queen story hours can unintentionally echo the very stereotypes that made them feel transition was the only escape.

Adult Authority Figures Silenced Discomfort
Several describe feeling unable to voice unease because every adult present celebrated the sexual atmosphere. “I felt uncomfortable but didn’t feel like I could say that I felt uncomfortable because all the adults and authority figures around me encouraged it” – rotary_rip source [citation:8d930df1-7957-479c-8158-b1af0ad39431]
That pressure to stay silent now fuels their belief that children need protection—not encouragement—when adults introduce sexualised or gender-focused material.

A Clear Boundary: Adult Entertainment vs. Children’s Spaces
While some detransitioners still enjoy adult drag parties, they insist the line must be drawn at childhood settings. They distinguish between theatrical exaggeration for grown-ups and the confusing messages sent to kids. “As long as you keep kids out of it, I don’t even care about the sexualised crap they wear” – OhStarlightEarnest source [citation:8b772560-c0c1-4d92-864d-106e04a6e043]

Conclusion
The common thread is a plea for open, non-medical gender non-conformity—letting boys enjoy sparkles and girls enjoy trucks without labels or sexual overtones—while keeping adult entertainment, including sexualised drag, firmly out of children’s spaces. Their stories remind us that true liberation comes from expanding every child’s freedom to be themselves, not narrowing their choices to medical or adult categories.