As you've probably heard by now, 31-year-old Against Me! singer Tom Gabel has bravely revealed in a new interview with Rolling Stone that he has been suffering from gender dysphoria and plans to undergo hormone and electrolysis treatments in order to live comfortably as a woman, taking the name Laura Jane Grace. The very first mainstream openly transgender rock star, Gabel admits to Rolling Stone that there will be difficult times ahead, saying: "I'm going to have embarrassing moments, 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."
Some of the very first kind words arrived this morning from fellow punk rock band The Gaslight Anthem, who posted the following message of support on their Tumblr earlier today:
So Tom’s gonna be Laura now… and in 2012 I still find people on the internet commenting on another persons life how they insult and condemn a person for his choices. How about the people who go through this and never find peace and end up committing suicide? Would you rather that? Or maybe he could become a raging drug addict and ruin his life and family? Would you rather that? Or maybe we could have rules from a dictator where everyone gets killed for anything they believe against the government, oh wait that doesn’t work… How about you leave the guy alone. How about you let another human being make a decision about their lives without your snide prejudices and bigotry? This is one of the hardest decisions a person can make. From my limited understanding of the subject, it means feeling your whole life like you were born in the wrong skin. That’s something that 99% of us can’t understand. Whether you agree or don’t, it’s not your life. It’s not your family. It’s not your band, it’s theirs.
"Tom's decision to live life authentically is a not only a personal step forward, but one that will advance the national discussion about treating transgender people with fairness," adds GLAAD president Herndon Graddick, speaking with Rolling Stone. "Tom is displaying extraordinary courage by coming out as transgender after already establishing herself as a rock star. For many of the band's fans, this may be the first time they're actually thinking about transgender people and the bravery it sometimes takes in order to be true to yourself. We've seen nothing but support from Tom's fanbase online, and we hope her story will help countless transgender youth who have not had someone like her to relate to before."
You can read more about Tom Gabel's announcement and gender transition (including what it will mean for the future of Against Me!) in the new issue of Rolling Stone, on news stands this Friday.
Against Me! fans—how are you guys reacting to the news? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Follow Brett Warner on Twitter: @Erasurehead
[Gaslight Anthem, GLAAD Support Tom Gabel Coming Out as Transgender]
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