Laura Jane Grace Discusses Her First Year As A Woman

Against Me!‘s Laura Jane Grace was recently featured in an issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine discussing her first year as a woman. Laura was known originally as Tom Gabel until last year.

Please check out a small piece of the article right here and click here for the entire read.

In high school, Tommy dated girls. “I was always attracted to women. It was never a sexuality issue. I just knew that if I could make a wish to change into a woman myself, I would have made it 100 times every day. It became so stressful that I’d reach these points where I’d throw all my women’s clothes in a dumpster and swear, ‘Never again will I do this!’” Tommy left high school early to perform with his band, Against Me!, and began a punishing tour schedule—9 or 10 months out of the year. But the music couldn’t drown out the feelings, and he planted clues deep in the band’s song lyrics: “If I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman / My mother once told me she would have named me Laura / I would grow up to be strong and beautiful like her.”

Then Tommy met and fell in love with Heather Hannoura—an artist and band-merchandise designer (they would later marry and have a daughter)—and fully committed to living as a man. The stress of a disillusioning experience with a major record label and Heather’s pregnancy sent Tommy into a tailspin of alcohol and drug abuse. “I was numb. I couldn’t write; I couldn’t function. The feelings were totally consuming. I couldn’t live the lie anymore.” Two years went by in a blur of secret research and reading blogs written by trans women. Things finally became clear. At 31, he decided to say good-bye to Tommy Gabel and live as Laura Jane Grace, thinking, I can do this. I’m going to do this.

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