Elie Vandenbussche and transgender people

by Andrea James Reviewed September 8, 2026 3 min read

Elie Vandenbussche is an ex-transgender activist. Vandenbussche co-founded ex-trans project Post Trans with Nele Jongeling and has published papers on the ex-trans movement.

Background

Vandenbussche reportedly made a gender transition around age 16, taking testosterone, followed by top surgery at 17. Vandenbussche made additional gender changes at 20.

Vandenbussche earned a bachelor’s degree from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

Ex-trans activism

Vandenbussche and Nele Jongeling launched Post Trans in 2019. In 2021, they released an illustrated booklet titled “Gender Detransition: A path toward self-acceptance.”

In 2021, Vandenbussche published results of an online survey of people who made additional gender changes.

Researcher Kinnon MacKinnon noted Vandenbussche’s role in the history of the ex-trans movement:

“Also in 2021, Elie Vandenbussche published a cross-sectional online survey of 237 individuals who identified as detransitioners. This study was pioneering because it was the first to examine the (unmet) social, psychological, medical, and legal needs of this population. It was also one of the first community-led studies on detransition, as Vandenbussche is a detransitioner herself. […] Additionally, Vandenbussche reached a geographically diverse sample, though most participants were from North America and Europe. A key aspect of the study is that participants were recruited through social media, and its dissemination targeted mainly female detransitioner networks online.”

Vandenbussche’s paper is frequently cited in legal filings opposing trans healthcare for minors and opposing conversion therapy bans.

References

MacKinnon, Kinnon; Expósito-Campos, Pablo (May 14, 2026). Ex-patient politics in the age of iatrogenesis. The One Percent https://theonepercentdetrans.substack.com/p/ex-patient-politics-in-the-age-of

[MacKinnon, Kinnon] (August 1, 2025). Presenting the key findings from two new detransition/retransition papers. The One Percent https://theonepercentdetrans.substack.com/p/presenting-the-key-findings-from

Bennett, C. (2025). Detransitioning. In The Sage International Encyclopedia of Politics and Gender. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071918494.n70

McCall, Becky (June 2, 2021). Medical and Mental Health Needs of ‘Detransitioners’ Largely Unmet. MedScape https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/952296

Anti-trans coverage

Gunn Alasdair [as “Angus Fox”] (September 22, 2021). Open letter [to Shashank V. Joshi by Sinéad Watson, Keira Bell, Rachel Marie Foster, and Carol Freitas]. https://genspect.org/an-open-letter/

Bunt, Andrew (August 9, 2019). Recommended Resources on Transgender. Think Theology https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/recommended_resources_on_transgender

Brief of Amicus Curiae Dr. Erica E. Anderson in Support of Petitioner, Rocklin Unified Sch. Dist. v. Pub. Emp. Rels. Bd., No. 25-1189 (U.S. filed May 18, 2026), https://libertyjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Amicus-Brief-of-Dr.-Erica-E.-Anderson.pdf.

Brief of Amici Curiae Advocates Protecting Children, Billy Burleigh, KathyGrace Duncan, and Laura Perry Smalts in Support of Plaintiff-Appellant Seeking Reversal, Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corp., No. 24-1942 (7th Cir. July 17, 2024), https://assets.adflegal.org/archive/adfm/KlugeAppellateAmicusAPC.pdf

Brief of Amici Curiae the Liberty Justice Center, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, and Dr. Erica Anderson in Support of Petitioner, John & Jane Parents 1 v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Educ., No. 23-601 (U.S. Jan. 4, 2024), https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-601/294889/20240104131430005_23-601%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

Brief of Amici Curiae Keira Bell, Laura Becker, Sinead Watson, Kathy Grace
Duncan, Laura Reynolds, and Carol Freitas in Support of Defendants-Appellants, Brandt v. Rutledge, No. 21-2875 (8th Cir. Nov. 19, 2021), https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/legal-documents/013_Amicus_Brief_of_Keira_Bell_et_al_ISO_Defenfants-Appellants.pdf.

Respaut, Robin; Terhune, Chad; Conlin, Michelle (December 22, 2022). Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/youth-in-transition/

Selected work by Vandenbussche

Vandenbussche, E. (2021). Detransition-Related Needs and Support: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey. Journal of Homosexuality, 69(9), 1602–1620. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2021.1919479

Vandenbussche, E. (2026). Correction. Journal of Homosexuality. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2026.2684869

Vandenbussche, Elie; Jongeling, Nele (March 2021). Gender Detransition: A path toward self-acceptance. Post Trans https://files.cargocollective.com/c523136/01_Post-Trans_Booklet_EN.pdf

Vandenbussche, Elie (November 25, 2019). Detransitioning: Starting the Conversation with Ellie [sic]. https://www.lgbt.ee/post/detransitioning-starting-the-conversation-with-ellie

Media

L-Tour (August 4, 2021). Ces femmes (trop méconnues) qui changent le monde – Webinaire de L-Tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zU20ZtlLQc

Nelemil with Elie Vandenbussche and Nele Jongeling (March 12, 2021). Launching: We Created a New Resource on Detransition – Post Trans Booklet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRJE9VueuPs

Nelemil with Elie Vandenbussche and Nele Jongeling (October 6, 2020). Post Trans: Who We Are, Our Projects, Patreon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIRsbxALmw4