Joshua McParland, a young man from Belfast, Northern Ireland, has spoken publicly about his decision to detransition and the Christian faith he says transformed the direction of his life.
McParland said questions about his identity began in childhood, when people often mistook him for a girl because of his appearance and high-pitched voice.
“You’re like a sponge as a child, absorbing people’s opinions,” he recalled.
At 17, he began taking cross-sex hormones and later travelled to Turkey in January 2024 for breast implants. He has also spoken about a difficult period involving partying and drug use.
McParland eventually began reconsidering the direction he was taking.
He said that as he contemplated further surgery, embracing Christianity became a major turning point.
In a 2026 interview, he described his story as moving from living as a transgender woman to encountering Jesus and eventually abandoning his transition.
He stopped taking hormones and later had his breast implants removed.
McParland has said his faith caused him to rethink how he understood his body, future and identity.
“You can’t change how God created you,” he said while describing his own convictions.
His experience is his personal testimony. Other transgender and detransitioned people report different experiences, and decisions involving gender dysphoria and medical care are highly individual.
For McParland, however, the change is inseparable from his Christian faith.
He now says he wants his identity to be rooted in Christ and hopes his story encourages others who feel confused, ashamed or uncertain about their future.
His message is ultimately one of redemption: he believes encountering Jesus gave him a new direction and a new understanding of who he is.