Why Wouldn’t I Want That?

A caption reads, “why wouldn’t I want that?” Below, teen Al looks in the mirror with a worn-down expression.

 

 

“Why Wouldn’t I Want That?” is a vertical-scroll comic about my experience of being prescribed Spironolactone as a teen, over the backdrop of the ongoing debate over gender-affirming care for teens in the United States. This comic was originally published by Crucial Comix in May 2025.

Why Wouldn’t I Want That? By Al Benbow. 38-Panel comic that consists of black lineart and watercolor shading in different tones of blue. Panel 1. Caption reads, “On December 4, 2024, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti…” Below is a close-up of a phone screen. A video of Chase Strangio being interviewed plays onscreen. Chase says, “So if you take, for example, a transgender adolescent boy, he cannot receive testosterone to live consistent with his male identity because he was assigned female at birth.” Panel 2. The thumb on the hand holding the phone scrolls down to look at the comments under the video. Chase continues, “Had he been assigned male at birth, he could receive that same medication for that same purpose.” Below, the caption reads, “...a case that will decide whether states can ban gender affirming care (puberty blockers, hormone therapy, surgery, etc) for minors.” Panel 3. The comments under the video read as follows: @wokeisweak: This lawyer is strange indeed. @georgiaboy30324: This case will get booted out, as it should. @biscottaish: Fighting the good fight, good luck to him! @MackDoza: Freak shows lets not recreate the weimar republic…thanks. Below the comment’s chase concludes, “...that is sex discrimination.” Below, the caption reads, “It’s gotten me thinking a lot about all the ways gender affirming care is really normalized for cis people.”

Panel 4. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “So normalized, in fact, that it isn’t even called ‘gender affirming care’ –” Below, two people (Lo and Al) sit on a couch and scroll on their phones while watching TV. Lo has long, mid-toned hair, light skin, and wears a tank top. Al has short, dark hair, light skin and freckles, and wears a dark t-shirt. An ad on the TV says, “Lot’s of men have trouble performing in bed. For some, it’s issues getting hard.” Beow, a caption reads, “it’s just called healthcare!” Panel 5. Lo and Al look at eachother, each of them raising an eyebrow. The TV in the background continues, “For others, it’s finishing too quickly. Either way, Hims can help.” Al asks, “...what did we do to make Hulu think this ad applies to us?” An arrow below Al points downward to their younger self on the next panel, with a caption that says “~10 years ago.” Panel 6. A teenage version of Al with slightly longer hair and more visible acne shakes a pill out of a prescription bottle. A caption next to them reads, “I experienced this type of healthcare firsthand (and unknowingly), Panel 7. Teen Al takes the pill. The caption next to them reads, “when the adults in my life assumed I was a cis teenage girl.” Panel 8. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “My partner and I like to joke that I’m ‘biologically butch.’”* The asterisk links to another at the bottom of the page next to the caption, “Disclaimer that butches come in all shapes and sizes!” In the center of the panel, adult Al stands with one hand in their pocket. They use the other to wave at the viewer and say, “Hi!” They are wearing a dark t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. Captions float around them next to arrows that point to various parts of their body. The captions read, “I’ve always had more facial and body hair than most of my female peers, a slightly deeper voice, a body shaped like a cereal box, and a generally more androgynous appearance.”

Panel 9. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “I’ve also always had really bad acne. It started around 4th grade.” Below, a group of young girls gather around a child version of Al, who faces away from the viewer. One girl says, “Oh my gosh, what happened to your face?” Al replies, “Huh?” Panel 10. Child Al rubs their neck self-consciously, still away from the viewer. They say, “I, uh… fell off my skateboard.” Panel 11. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “Consequently, I was prescribed Spironolactone as a teen.. Below, a dermatologist with light skin, and mid-length, mid-toned straight hair looks down at a clipboard. She says, “Your acne might be hormonal... if none of the topical treatments are working, this should help.” Panel 12. Teen Al sits next to their mom, who has dark, mid-length hair and pale skin. She holds her purse on her lap in front of her, and wears a cardigan and glasses. She nods at the dermatologist’s words. Next to her, Al folds their arms across their chest self-consciously. They say, “Uh, okay.” A thought bubble below their speech says, “Anything to make my face stop hurting every day.” Panel 13. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “(It didn’t really work.)” Below, teen Al looks in a bathroom mirror tiredly. They think, “Hmm… now I have acne AND feel increasingly weird about my body in a way that I can’t quite articulate.”

Panel 14. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “Years later in college, I started coming to terms with being trans.” Below, Al makes a surprised exclamation while looking at their phone, their eyes bugging out of their head. A caption next to them reads, “While browsing in trans spaces online, I discovered that Spironolactone is often prescribed to trans women.” Panel 15. Close-up of a phone screen that displays a post in a forum called “Ask Anything.” An ask says, “Is Spironolactone effective for MTF transition?” Below, the answer reads, “It’s often used as an anti-androgen in an HRT regimen. Spiro on its own may give you some feminizing effects, but you don’t usually transition on just Spiro.” Panel 16. Al looks up from the phone with a dazed expression. They say shakily, “Wait a second, that’s what I take…” Panel 17. A frustrated Al looks down at a prescription bottle with a black scribble above their head. They think, “It’s barely even helping my acne, anyway.” Next to them a caption reads, “I’d been having more and more other adverse side effects already, so this discovery only sealed the deal. I stopped taking it shortly thereafter.” Panel 18. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “After I quit taking it, I found that my hips and chest got smaller, and more of my facial and body hair came back.” Below, a relieved-looking Al closes their eyes and thinks, “Never thought I’d be grateful for stomach hair…” Panel 19. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “Sure enough, I still had terrible acne with or without Spiro.” Below, a pair of hands take a pill out of an Accutane blister pack. The caption continues below, “I ended up finally resorting to Isotretinoin while I was in college.”

Panel 20. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “Before Spironolactone, I’d been prescribed hormonal birth control as a teen,” Below, a pair of hands take a pill out of a birth control blister pack. The caption continues, “also with the goal of controlling my acne.” Panel 21. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “I was required to stay on it while taking Isotretinoin, despite my insistence that there was zero chance of me getting pregnant.” Below, Al is sitting in a different doctor’s office with an irritated expression. Another doctor shrugs and smiles while saying, “Sorry, haha! It’s an outdated system.” Panel 22. A caption says, “I stopped taking it after finishing Isotretinoin, and noticed yet more facial and body hair returning.” Below, Al flexes their bicep with a surprised expression and says, “I swear I’m gaining more muscle when I work out now, too!” Panel 23. Close-up of Al looking a little frazzled and neurotic. They say, “This is insane… I feel like I’m DETRANSITIONING after being forcibly FEMINIZED!!!”

Panel 24. A woman with dark skin and long, dark curly hair holds an unfolded piece of paper that cascades down to her feet. She’s wearing a dark shirt and form-fitting pants. A caption next to her reads, “In contrast, adult trans women who want to take Spironolactone have to, at minimum, sign a consent form that contains a detailed list of all of the possible risks and side effects. (Which are the same regardless of whether a person was assigned male or female at birth.) Panel 25. Teen Al stands at the sink in a public bathroom. Two girls next to them talk to each other. A girl with light skin and long, mid-toned hair pulled back into a ponytail has some scabbing next to her ear. She says, “They said it usually takes a couple of different sessions…” Below, a caption reads, “From girls in high school getting laser hair removal treatments on their face and body…” Panel 26. A digital ad on a phone screen contains an image of a bottle of Testosterone and the following text: What James Offers: Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is a good option for treating men with hypogonadism (low-testosterone).” Next to it, a caption reads, “…to testosterone therapy for cisgender men with ‘low-T’…”

Panels 27-31. Ads for breast augmentation and reconstruction, hair transplants, body contouring, viagra, and male gynecomastia surgery intermingle with the caption, “I think a lot of cisgender people / seem to be completely unaware / that they’re readily provided / with options for gender-affirming care / ALL. THE. TIME.” Panel 32. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “When I see new legislation and hear endless comments supporting bans on gender affirming care for minors,” Below, social media comments read, “Kids are too young to make their own decisions… / Just parents chemically and surgically mutilating their children / stop this child abuse / Giving kids hormones is abuse. Plain and simple.” The caption continues at the bottom of the panel: “I can’t stop thinking about how as a teen, I was assumed to be a cisgender girl by the adults around me…” Panel 33. Close-up of a pharmacist’s hand passing a brown paper bag to a customer. Off-panel, the pharmacist says, “Have a good day!” Below, a caption reads, “…and was prescribed hormones that further feminized my body without hesitation.” Panel 34. A caption at the top of the panel reads, “In fact, it was such a nonissue…” Below, teenage Al sits in the car with their mom. She hands them the paper bag without looking at it, saying, “Thanks, you too.” The caption continues, “that nobody even bothered to explain to me what this medication actually does – including its long and short term side effects.”

Panel 35. Teenage Al stands alone in front of a single bathroom mirror. They look down at a pill they’ve taken out of a prescription bottle. Below them, a caption reads, “So what if it made my hips bigger and made my body hair disappear?” Panel 36. Same shot as the previous panel. Al tips their head back as they take the medication. A caption appears over the mirror, “After all, / if I’m a girl”. Panel 37. The caption concludes, “why wouldn’t I want that?” Below, teen Al looks in the mirror with a worn-down expression. Panel 38. Citations. Panels 1-3: Democracy Now! (2024, December). Chase Strangio will be the first openly transgender lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE4W09VWCZU Panel 3: Comments from Wokeisweak, Georgiaboy30324, Biscottaish, MackDoza. (2024). Re: Chase Strangio will be the first openly transgender lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE4W09VWCZU&lc=UgwCbpkaL-xkYWh1QMJ4AaABAg Panels 4-5: Everysadscommercialsandtvstuff. (2023a). For Hims Commercial. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsWtv5eqxgI You can read more about feminizing hormone therapy and the effects of Spironolactone here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/feminizing-hormone-therapy/about/pac-20385096 https://www.midlandskin.co.uk/treatments/spironolactone-acne/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Spironolactone/comments/17y9pau/what_feminizing_features_have_you_guys_noticed/ At the bottom of the final panel is a prescription bottle with a few pills sitting next to it.