Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues

I'm going to tell you truthfully from the perspective of an old ass punk that the whole thing reeks of gimmick to me, yes its awesome that she did this and yes its awesome that she will for the most part be received with open arms, but she isn't breaking any new ground insofar as punk music and its attending communities are concerned, there is a long history of trans, gay, and lesbian musicians blazing trails that set the foundations for Laura that she somehow fails to acknowledge (Wayne/Jayne County et all) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Coun ... ric_Chairs . I guess the key word in your question is 'mainstream' and even there trans punks have already set precedent (Dead or Alive) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_or_Alive_%28band%29 and although that band itself wasn't punk, Pete Burns the vocalist was an old London punk that later committed suicide because of his problems adapting to gender reassignment. Kudos to Laura and her strength to do what she is doing, but lets not brush aside the contributions of the many that came before her....Also lets not forget that the commercialization of the LGBT community is a very real and disgusting thing, last year the whole corporate world really reared its ugly head when the San Francisco Pride parade committee refused to acknowledge Bradley/Chelsea Manning as the Grand Marshall for fear of losing corporate sponsorship...http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/ ... id=2629120 ...so all of these things come into play.

 

...Pete Burns isnae dead.

The album's just as shite as their past few. Sex change is a gimmick aimed at middle class, pseudo-intellectual hipsters that care more about bein right on than actually listenin to how shite and vapid their music is. That aside, they're traitors that slagged off anarcho-punk scene in several of their records, fuck em.

 

WTF!!! You're right Link, either I read a bogus report of his suicide or it was a failed suicide attempt or it was the wrong Pete Burns...either way you are right and I apologize for my negligent info.

 

Fair enough. I don't think Pete Burns had a full sex change either. If I remember rightly, he wanted to look like a woman, but considered himself to be a straight man. Cannae pretend to understand it fully, but that's what I gathered from it.