See also "Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell Comments on Tom Gabel's Transgender Announcement."
Wearing a low-cut dress and a matching black head wrap, Against Me! singer Tom Gabel looks remarkably feminine in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine.
Soon, the 31-year-old punk rocker will begin taking hormones and undergo electrolysis procedures that'll help Tom become Laura.
After years of dealing with gender dysphoria, Gabel will begin to live her life as a woman, Laura Jane Grace.
Gabel hopes that opening up about her decision will help people to better understand the transgender community.
"I'm going to have embarrassing moments," Gabel tells the magazine, "and that won't be fun. But that's part of what talking to you is about -- is hoping people will understand, and hoping they'll be fairly kind."
For Against Me! fans, Gabel's decision to take on the name Laura shouldn't come as a surprise.
In 2007, Against Me! released New Wave, their critically acclaimed fourth studio record. Spin Magazine named it their album of the year and Rolling Stone ranked it among their top 10 of that year.
On "The Ocean," New Wave's closing track, Gabel sings, "And if I could have chosen/I would have been born a woman/My mother once told me she would have named me Laura/ I'd grow up to be strong and beautiful like her."
Against Me! is set to release Transgender Dysphoria Blues later this year.
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