Frontman of Against Me! comes out as transgender
Tom Gabel will now live and perform as Laura Jane Grace
It's a great sign for the future of queer folk in this country when the lead singer of one of the most high-profile punk bands can come out publicly as transgender without anyone getting angry. This month's issue of Rolling Stone revealed that Against Me!'s frontman Tom Gabel is now frontwoman Laura Jane Grace.
Grace played her first show as a woman last week to exuberant fan support. When she first confided her true gender identity to Rolling Stone, she wasn't sure what the public reaction would be like. Understandably so; when she was known as Tom Gabel, she always seemed to wear the hypermasculine visage associated with punk rock. Decked out in tattoos with bristly short hair, she's been belting out her trademark growls since 1997. Grace's rough edges haven't gone away with her transition, though. She still shows off her many tattoos and she still favors wearing the color black. She's just putting on a little more eyeliner now.