On the heels of Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama both fully endorsing marriage equality, Against Me!'s frontman Tom Gabel has come out as transgender in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
Against Me! singer Tom Gabel reveals plans to begin living as a woman in the new issue of Rolling Stone. Gabel, who has dealt privately with gender dysphoria for years, will soon begin the process of transition, by taking hormones and undergoing electrolysis treatments.
Gabel will eventually take the name Laura Jane Grace, and will remain married to her wife Heather. "For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news," says Gabel. "But she's been super-amazing and understanding."
MTV News's James Montgomery
also has more details:
Gabel said that she took inspiration from a transgender Against Me! fan named January Hunt — the feature opens with the two meeting in New York City — to finally begin transitioning from male to female, and has begun the process by undergoing electrolysis treatments (she'll also soon begin taking hormones). She says she plans on living life as Laura for a full year before thinking about having sexual-reassignment surgery, and that she's given up drinking alcohol, because she wants to be totally present for the transition process.
And though much of the Rolling Stone feature focuses on Gabel's journey, Eells also spoke at length with Gabel's wife, Heather, who admitted to being a bit thrown by her husband's revelations, but ultimately decided that she wanted to stand by her side during the transition ... and beyond.