Given yesterday's news that Tom Gabel of Against Me is in transition to become a woman named Laura Jane Grace, this line in the song "Ocean" has become especially poignant:
"If I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman / My mother once told me she would have named me Laura."
Surprisingly and awesomely, the YouTube comments on the song are supportive and celebratory, praising Laura for being brave and wishing her all the best:
Seeing the enormous amount of support for her on Facebook, Twitter, in the Rolling Stone comments and even YouTube comments (which is usually the bottom of the barrel) is just making my heart explode with happiness and hope.
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Sorry. I know it's a little creepy to make Silence of the Lambs references in an innocent American Idol post. Especially when it's magical and marvelous Songs From the Year You Were Born Week! (Hurrah for people who were born...... Read Post
In 2007, Against Me!, a punk rock band from Gainesville, Florida, released a song called “The Ocean.” In his trademark melodic growl, lead singer Tom Gabel sang the following lyrics: “If I could have chosen/I would have been born a ... Read Post
Rolling Stone: Gabel, 31, is the lead singer for Against Me!, a 15-year-old punk band from Gainesville, Florida, most famous for their radical politics and Gabel’s throat-shredding growl. They’ve sung about economic injustice, disma... Read Post