Against Me! Lead Singer Comes Out as Trans
As a teenager, and even into the first half of my 20s, punk rock music and (life)style helped shaped a large part of my identity, but I have frequently noted the—visible—lack of queerness in the scene. It’s hard to name a male punk band with an outed queer member, making Against Me! singer Tom Gabel’s recent public announcement even more worth noting.
Gabel, who will take the name Laura Jane Grace, decided to come out to the band's fanbase and then some via an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine (in the July issue). Apparently, Grace has spent years privately struggling “with gender dysphoria” reports Rolling Stone and will soon “begin the process of transition.”
Against Me! began in 1997 in Naples, Florida, as a punk rock solo artist who sometimes performed with other musicians. Within a year two demos had been released and a drummer had been added to the act. But it wasn’t until 2002 that a full band had formed and a full-length album released.
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According to the short interview preview, Grace says that her wife, Heather, has been incredibly supportive. Grace is the first major rockstar to come out as trans, and she wants to talk about it openly.
"I'm going to have embarrassing moments," Grace told Rolling Stone. "And that won't be fun. But that's part of what talking to you is about—is hoping people will understand, and hoping they'll be fairly kind."
"It’s a pretty huge thing for a rock band of this magnitude," says Sarah Sample, the director of marketing for Fillmore Silver Spring. "The rock crowd is not necessarily the most accepting and the LGBTQ crowd isn’t always a dead sell for this type of music. But I think it should definitely be supported and it’s the week after Pride."
Grace will continue to front Against Me! In fact, the band is currently on tour and will open for the Cult tomorrow night at Fillmore Silver Spring at 8. Buy tickets here and catch an amazing performance by an awesome punk band and lend Grace some support!
Sarah is a fiction writer who moonlights as a freelance journalist. She’s been the Transgender Relationship Examiner for Examiner.com since May of 2009, and she helps keep DC classy via Meets Obsession Magazine. She can also be found at SarahMarloff.com. In the rare moments when she’s not writing she’s dancing, dying her hair, singing with her headphones on, or possibly climbing trees. She’d like to remind you all: only boring people are bored.