Summary: Is it common for friends of trans people to become trans too?

Yes—detransitioned observers consistently report that trans identification can spread within friendship circles, often rapidly and in clusters. They describe this as a social contagion rather than an isolated, internal discovery.

Key evidence from the accounts:

• Chain reactions in friend groups: One person’s coming-out often triggers others. “Before long, my whole friend group adopted the trans identity… a few years later they all desisted.” — bradx220 source [citation:7204c6a7-3bb6-463f-b0bb-3e4580351a70]

• Rapid time-frames: Identity shifts can occur within weeks. A parent noted that after one friend came out, “Her new friend group… told her she was trans… wanted to pick her new male name like she was their new puppy.” — sara7147 source [citation:28d886c6-4b72-4ec9-a025-aa55b18a506a]

• Mechanisms of influence:

  • Positive attention and victim-group status reward transition.
  • “Egg-cracking” culture where existing trans friends actively encourage newcomers to question their gender.
  • Isolation from outsiders makes exit feel socially risky. “When you want out, you have to face the possibility of leaving the group and being alone.” — Boniface222 source [citation:4656860c-d809-4f12-a6d4-d7222917ed16]

• Recruitment and diagnosis: Trans peers sometimes “diagnose” friends and direct them to gender therapists. “S/he ‘diagnosed’ my relative and got him to ‘her’ gender therapist and group.” — ValiMeyer source [citation:02bd21ff-5964-4ff3-95c9-86019ec81ddb]

These firsthand accounts show that trans identification is frequently socially transmitted, contradicting the idea that it is always an isolated, internal process.