Woman Backed After Ending Relationship When Partner Came Out As Trans
Reddit post, 23-year-old woman shared that her partner, a 22-year-old trans woman, came out during their relationship. The original poster (OP), who identifies as straight, broke up with her partner, citing her lack of attraction to women.
Since the post was published, it has received over 9,000 upvotes and nearly 5,000 comments.Newsweek spoke to psychotherapist Renee Zavislak about the break-up—which wasn't completely amicable."My ex got extremely mad and said we are too far into the relationship to break up and she wanted to continue dating," the OP, u/GuiltyProgrammer4252, wrote in the post. "I'm just not attracted to her anymore."Zavislak, a psychotherapist and trauma specialist, spoke to Newsweek about the importance of first distinguishing between biological sex, gender identity, gender presentation and sexual orientation in such discussions.She explained that sexual attraction is a foundational element of romantic relationships and that it's natural for someone to reevaluate their relationship when a partner's gender identity shifts."If OP is heterosexual, she is not attracted to women; now that her ex is a woman, it is understandable that she is no longer attracted to her," she said. "OP should not be vilified for honoring her sexual orientation, nor is it wrong to end a romantic relationship when she no longer experiences sexual attraction to her partner."However, Zavislak also pointed out the need for compassion during such transitions."There does seem to be a general lack of compassion in the tone of OP's post," she added. "Ideally, she would be able to offer support to her ex-partner, who is navigating an incredibly challenging transition that is now intensified by a break-up."The Reddit post highlights the challenges transgender people face when coming out, particularly in relationships.
