Tom Gabel, lead singer of the punk band Against Me!, reveals plans in a recent issue of Rolling Stone to begin living as a woman, having privately dealt with gender dysphoria for years.
The 31-year-old rock star told the magazine she will soon begin taking female hormones and is considering gender reassignment surgery. Gabel has a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, and plans to remain married but will change her name to Laura Jane Grace.
“For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news,” she told Rolling Stone about her wife, Heather. “But she’s been super-amazing and understanding.”
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Gabel is aware she is the first major rock star to come out as transgender, but rather than shying away from the spotlight, has chosen to openly discuss it. She hopes “people will understand and be fairly kind.”
Many may wonder what this means for the future of Against Me!, the band formed by Gabel in the late ‘90s and scheduled to go on tour with The Cult starting May 31st. Those details will be addressed in the next issue of Rolling Stone.