About 2 weeks about, Tom Gabel, lead singer of the Florida punk rock band, Against Me!, came out that he was transgender. The 31-year-old singer will be taking the name Laura Grace and will be undergoing changes to be a woman. He/she will soon begin the physical treatment consisting of hormones and electrolysis and potentially gender reassignment. According to the Rolling Stone, Gabel has dealt with gender dysphoria since a young age. Gabel, who is married and has two kids, isn’t attracted to men and will remain married to his wife. To get more details, read the Rolling Stone article
here.
At first, being a fan of Against Me!, I was shocked to hear this news. After reading some more about it, I didn’t think of Tom/Laura any differently. I actually felt happy for him/her because he/she was able to come up with the courage to come out and say he/she wasn’t comfortable in the body he/she was in. It takes a lot of nerve to come out with that kind of news being at the profession he/she is in. The rest of the music community is supporting Tom’s decision as well. For instance, Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem wrote on his blog about how people shouldn’t be trashing Tom/Laura for his choice. You can read that
here.
Unlike the numerous musicians supporting Tom/Laura, there have been multiple music forums blowing up with harsh and rude statements on the subject. To this I say people shouldn’t be so insensitive to such a serious decision. In my opinion, if it doesn’t affect you, don’t get involved. If anything be positive and in this case, be supportive.
