Against Me! and Laura Jane Grace

Against Me! is my best friend's favorite band, and I had heard of them before, but had never given the band much thought until the aforementioned friend starred in a short film, the background music being Against Me!'s "Teenage Anarchist". Immediately I was interested in what else the band had to offer, so I asked my friend if he recommended for me to listen to them, and he said "absolutely"!

Against Me!

Against Me! is a punk band formed in 1997. Much of the band's songs are about social justice, equality, and destroying the status quo, which are all things that I am very interested in.

In 2012, the band's singer and guitarist, Laura Jane Grace, publicly came out as transgender. Laura destroys the idea that trans women have to be soft, petite, and delicate to pass as women. Laura is a trans lesbian in a punk scene that is currently dominated by aggressive cis, straight white men- and she's rocking it. Grace has written songs about her gender and how it's affecter her life, including "True Trans Soul Rebel", "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" (also the name of Against Me!'s 2012 album), and more.

Laura Jane Grace

In 2016, Grace burned her birth certificate onstage in North Carolina- the home state of HB2 (aka the Anti-transgender bathroom law)- saying "Goodbye, gender!"
I think that Grace embodies everything the punk scene is supposed to - defying the status quo, not being afraid of what others think, being your true self, and fighting for what you believe in. Laura Jane Grace is, honestly, a true trans soul rebel.

Creep it real!