Against Me! lead singer Tom Gabel, 31, will soon be living life as a woman, Gabel told Rolling Stone in an interview.
Gabel has been struggling with gender identity (gender dysphoria) for years, but will soon start taking hormones and undergo electrolysis treatments to begin the transformation into becoming her true self.
Along with taking medicine and going through treatments, the Against Me! singer will eventually be changing her name from Tom Gabel to Laura Jane Grace. She is currently married, and Gabel’s wife Heather plans on staying in the marriage.
“For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news,” Gabel told Rolling Stone. “But she’s been super-amazing and understanding.”
He also reiterated to Rolling Stone that he was not attracted to men.
Before speaking to the mag, Gabel said she had only told a few close friends and family about her decision to transition. Gabel is the first well-known rock star to change genders and is trying to be as open as possible about her choice.
“I’m going to have embarrassing moments,” said Gabel, “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.”
Though Gabel has never publicly spoke about her gender dysphoria, fans noticed some strange lyrics in the band’s songs, the Guardian reports.
In a 2007 song by the band, “The Ocean,” Gabel sang: “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.”
The band’s fans took to their message board, some confused and some proud.
One fan said, “Has this been completely ruled out as being some kind of joke? I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to say,” and another, “I am so so so proud of her. As soon as I read the article I ran downstairs and told my transgender sibling to Google the article, and then we hugged and yelled (because this is so fantastic and yaaay).”
