Ash Eskridge, a biological female who transitioned to male at the age of 16, only to re-embrace her female identity earlier this year, holds TikTok and the COVID-19 pandemic largely responsible for the prevailing trend of transgenderism amongst teenagers, according to a recent interview with the New York Post.
Eskridge, who resumed her female identity in April, opened up about how she believes popular content creators on the widely-used social platform mistakenly led her to identify as transgender.
“I saw TikTok videos by influencers saying how that transitioning saved their life.” She admitted that she had been dealing with depression since the age of 12 and started using the platform as a form of escapism.
“I was struggling and wanted it to save my life, too,” Eskridge confessed to the South West News Service.
As the New York Post noted, Eskridge devoted substantial amounts of time to social media during the lockdowns, joining countless others in consuming viral content under hashtags like #transgender and #trans.
These tags have since accumulated an eye-opening 21.5 billion and 59.6 billion views, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, the onslaught of this media exposure takes a toll on impressionable youth.
“Being transgender is definitely a TikTok trend that all began around 2020,” Eskridge said. “I notice that the demographic it most affects is teen girls around 12 to 14, as they’re the most vulnerable since they aren’t matured yet.”
Offering her perspective, Eskridge estimates that merely 1% of trans teens on TikTok are genuinely transgender, while the remainder are simply being “influenced.”
Ignoring her parents’ apprehensions, Eskridge legally modified her name to “Greysen”, embarked on testosterone therapy, and adopted male attire.
As her voice began to alter and body hair started to develop, she felt an increasing sense of discomfort.
“My breaking point was when I had a dream that I was a girl,” she said. “I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore.'”
This past April, Eskridge made the decision to de-transition, reclaiming her female identity with the backing of her supportive parents.
Acknowledging her mental health struggles during her brief transgender period, Eskridge noted that upon reverting to her biological gender, her mental health issues “were gone.”
The Eskridge family has since become vocal proponents of improved mental healthcare for teenagers.
They are simultaneously urging legislators to impose a minimum age requirement of 18 for access to sex change operations
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“Through her journey, [Ash] has come to realize the dangers of having chemical or surgical intervention as an adolescent,” her parents shared with the Post.
Not long after de-transitioning, Eskridge took to TikTok to share her narrative, aiming to counteract the prevailing trend.
Her candid recounting of her personal experience has drawn over 2 million views.
In her post, she honestly speaks about her struggle with substance abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts, before ultimately acknowledging that her transition had been an error.
“Once I de-transitioned, all my mental problems were gone,” she concluded in her now-viral post.
