Against Me! Sing comes out as Transgendered

[lekate]

I don't know if anyone else on here listens to them, but one of my top favorite bands. The singer today, came out as transgendered and will be moving forward as a woman and eventually getting SRS. He will stay married to his wife, with whom he has a 2 yo daughter

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...#disqus_thread

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked. But that doesn't matter. When I read what name he was going to go by, I put the pieces together. And this song makes more sense now:

[Snow Queen]

I don't know them but I am glad to hear he is comftorable in his own skin to come out and say that! Kudos!

[lekate]

I don't know them but I am glad to hear he is comftorable in his own skin to come out and say that! Kudos!

I had a teen girl crush on him <3

[carma_bee]

Just want to point out that the pronouns used should be 'she'. She has decided to live as a woman now.

Anyway, good for her, and for being able to come out and tell everyone. I hope everything works out for her.

[frugal50]

why would he choose to be a women so late in life?

[carma_bee]

I'm not sure about her situation, maybe there'll be more information in the full article, but for anyone if could be that they took time to come out to their family, or even themselves for whatever reason. Maybe Laura had to think about how it would affect the band. I'm by no means an expert, but there are lots of reasons, and it's something she undoubtedly thought about for a long time.

[DaveP]

At the call center I used to work at I was friends with a lady who was in a committed relationship with another woman. She told me of a friend of hers, male originally, who had gender reassignment surgery to become female. But she liked women. She wanted to become female in order to become a lesbian. I just found that astounding. I guess the world would be a boring place if we were all the same. Vive les differences!

[lekate]

why would he choose to be a women so late in life?

She's probably been struggling with this for years. The song I posted was released on their 2007 album, so it shows at least 5 years of struggle. If you listen to the song, you can tell in the third part. "There is an ocean, in my soul, where the waters do not curve"

There's also the 2005 song, Searching For a Former Clarity "Confessing childhood secrets of dressing up in women's clothes"

"This song is about Tom's (ahem...Laura's) gender dysphoria. Dying by AIDS (as previously mentioned) is irrelevant. The "lethal disease" is just a device used for the true feelings of the singer to manifest themselves. The subject of the song is faced with his own mortality, and as such realizes that no one he loves or cares about has ever met the real "him" (which in this case is a "her"). Instead of embracing this knowledge and sharing it with his loved ones, he clams up and remains distant. Via a journal, he reveals controlled bursts of information as memoirs that carefully construct an image he wants people to remember him as (so as not to disappoint his loved ones, since he himself has not yet come to terms with who "he" is.) This is further outlined in the lines where he expresses anxiety over losing his mental faculties. He needs to be alert and focused to keep up the charade life he has chosen. Until he dies.

It's interesting, because Laura only recently made her gender dysphoria public, so when this song was written, it is absolutely fascinating to see how cleverly she disguised her true feelings. She was very confused when she wrote this and obviously hadn't come to terms with herself yet or her feelings, but they were there all along!!! I figured you out, lead singer of Against Me!

Read more at http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/vi...EUKwCY2tCfv.99" - someone on the internet

I wouldn't say 31 is particularly late, considering the identity she had formed as a teenager (started the band at 16ish) and into her music career. They're a very 'masculine' band, from the way they present themselves (dress) and the sound. (Unless she gets trachea surgery her voice won't change).

[DaveP]

They're a very 'masculine' band, from the way they present themselves (dress) and the sound. (Unless she gets trachea surgery her voice won't change).

I could be mistaken, but I believe hormone therapy changes ones voice as well.

[DaveP]

I could be mistaken, but I believe hormone therapy changes ones voice as well.

I am mistaken, just spent a few minutes with the great God google. As you said, surgery and also voice therapy to mimick female speech patterns are required.

[frugal50]

I could be mistaken, but I believe hormone therapy changes ones voice as well.

estrogen does not change a mans voice to sound female
they have to practice to speak using their upper throat
or go to a speech specialist, i did my google search too................

[frugal50]

i read on the toronto star yesterday, that a guard also came out as a trans at the don jail.

[Patty Smyth]

Chaz Bono's voice changed, guess it only works one way.

[DaveP]

Chaz Bono's voice changed, guess it only works one way.

Yeah I know testosterone deepens the voice, I thought estrogen would have the opposite effect. Apparently not.

Don't you love the internet? You can find the answers to almost anything immediately. When I was my kids age I had to go to a library and find the right book.

[frugal50]

Chaz Bono's voice changed, guess it only works one way.

yes........ the hormone testosterone can lower the voice.