A lesbian mother says she regrets taking steps to transition her four-year-old son. She has since worked to reverse the mistake and said the process has been like “leaving a cult”.

Rose, who wishes to stay anonymous, raised her two sons as gender neutral with her wife, which was reflected in their clothes, toys and language.

When her four-year-old son said he felt like a girl, the mother encouraged him in his new identity - which she has now admitted was a 'mistake' that 'haunts' her.

Previously she described herself as an activist but now says she is a sceptic. She has written an essay published by Parents With Inconvenient Truth About Trans (PITT) called, “I am no longer a true believer”:

'This experience for me has felt like leaving a cult, a cult that would have me sacrifice my child to the gods of gender ideology, in the name of social justice and collective liberation. I have left this cult, and I am never turning back.'

When her older son - who had always gravitated more towards women and had an affinity for feminine things - asked if he was a boy or a girl, she told him that he could choose.  

She said: 'I was leading my innocent, sensitive child down a path of lies that were a direct on-ramp to psychological damage and life-long irreversible medical intervention. All in the name of love, acceptance, and liberation.'

Her sons are now eight and nine years of age and live as boys. She had encouraged her eldest son to appear as a girl by changing his name, using female pronouns and female costumes. The social transition was met with praise by her peers.

A gender therapist also encouraged her to break contact with anyone who refused to affirm her son as a girl.

When her younger son, who was three at the time, said he wanted to be a girl like his brother, the mother realised she had made a mistake.

'Our sons weren't actually trans. It was something else,' Rose said. 'I had led my child into it. All I wanted was to go back in time and undo what I had done'.

Just before her son's eighth birthday she told him that 'males cannot be females' - to which he at first was 'mad and sad'. But the following day she said he felt 'incredible relief' at the revelation.

Now, she says her sons are both 'blossoming and growing' as boys - but that her mistake will be one that 'haunts' her forever.

She said: 'The grief and the shock of what we did is so deep, so wide, so sharp and penetrating. How could a mother do this to her child? To her children?'

She added that she only realized her former beliefs were part of a 'system' now that she is out of it.

Binary spokeswoman Kirralie Smith said the trans cult is based on lies.

“No one can change their sex. It is impossible,” she said.

“It is a lie to entice children, or anyone, to believe they can be something they are not.

“It is cruel and unkind to put children on a pathway of transitioning that can never be realised.

“Thankfully this mother realised her mistake and took steps to rectify it.”