Laura Jane Grace, Transgender Punk, On Life In Transition
NPR Staff January 19, 2014
http://www.wbur.org/npr/263503567/laura-jane-grace-transgendered-punk-on-life-in-transition?ft=3&f=263503567 (http://www.wbur.org/npr/263503567/laura-jane-grace-transgendered-punk-on-life-in-transition?ft=3&f=263503567)
The new album from Florida punks Against Me! is titled Transgender Dysphoria Blues — and that's not just a metaphor. It's the first album the band has released since lead singer Laura Jane Grace went public with her transition from a man to a woman. Now, instead of hinting at feelings of gender dysphoria in her lyrics, they're all right there, front and center, beginning with her barked opening lines: "Your tells are so obvious: shoulders too broad for a girl."
Against Me! has been around more than 15 years, building significant success on the back of those growling, assertive vocals — and as Grace told Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin, her voice is one of many things about the band that haven't changed. Grace and guitarist James Bowman spoke with Martin this week from a tour stop in South Carolina, touching on the vital support of their fans, the lack of transgender representation in the media, and why it's so tough to be a songwriter with a secret. Hear the radio version at the audio link, and read more of their conversation below.
RACHEL MARTIN: Laura, I'd like to start with you. This has been a long time coming. What does it mean for you to be able to make your first album as a woman?
LAURA JANE GRACE: It's freeing. It's liberating. There were definitely songs in the past that were me dealing with living this gender dysphoria, and sometimes they were really direct and no one picked up on it — but oftentimes, they were more veiled in metaphor. Feeling that what you're doing is being misinterpreted by most people, because it's not being presented in the proper context, was something that built to a breaking point for me.