Watch Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace In First On-Camera Interview As A Woman
Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace (formerly known as Tom Gabel) sat down with MTV for her first on-camera interview since coming out as transgender and announcing she'd begin living life as a woman in May. It was no holds barred as she touched on several sensitive topics, including realizing her gender dysphoria wasn't "going away," her female role models as a child and the overwhelming support she's recieved from fans since coming out.
Check out five of the most surprising things Laura Jane Grace revealed during her interview, then watch the full video over at MTV.com.
1. On realizing her desire to live as a woman wasn't "going away": "I'm 31 and you get to that point where you're like, 'This isn't something that's going away...' It becomes so apparent and crystal-clear that you'd be a fool to continue to deny it."
2. On her female role models Madonna and Mia Farrow: "One of my earliest memories is watching a live performance of Madonna [on TV] and seeing her playing and just thinking, 'That's me...' Watching Rosemary's Baby and seeing Mia Farrow with a boy's haricut... I was four or five years old and thinking, 'That's the kind of woman I'll be.'"
3. On learning to look in the mirror as a female: "Coming out with this has made me feel more accepting of myself. Every step I make, no matter how small or big, I feel that much better."
4. On coming out as transgender to her father: "[Coming out] has completely ended my relationship with my father... I wrote him a really long email... He wrote me back maybe a two- or three-sentence long email... And that's it."
5. On fan reactions to coming out as transgender: "People have been more than respectful and more than supportive, and it's been, for me, completely humbling."
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