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theowrites 's review for:
Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout
by Laura Jane Grace
Tranny hit a lot of my true trans soul rebel, as Laura Jane Grace herself sings. Is Grace an asshole with a lot of problems throughout this? Yes. Were a lot of other people also assholes? Yes. But this book highlights how much only being able to live as part of your true self — and in a community that claims acceptance but thrives on in-group identification — fucks up your entire life. Which is basically the story of every trans person who was a full adult before transitioning. Let me be clear, being trans doesn’t fuck up your life; being trans is normal and good. It’s society’s transphobia fucks up your life.
I laughed at some of the cis reviewers who were like, this first part is about her becoming a musician and Against Me!’s origins and rise, and the second half is about her dysphoria, and she should’ve picked one or the other as the theme. Were we reading the same book? Grace goes out of her way to put in moments of transness, such as hiding her collection of women’s clothing in her punk rock squatter house and trying to throw it away. If I were writing a memoir, I don’t know if I could’ve done that.
As a lifelong punk rock fan, I have primarily been drawn and only listen to artists who put their leftist politics into their music. Especially artists whose music has grown and changed with them. Grace isn’t 18 anymore, so why do people expect her to make the same music she did then? This ability is what makes Against Me!’s catalog worth the full listen, and Grace a continued force in music.
I’m glad Grace put her unpolished truth into this book. She was able to speak for herself and show the ugly and the hope. Nothing is more punk rock than that.
I laughed at some of the cis reviewers who were like, this first part is about her becoming a musician and Against Me!’s origins and rise, and the second half is about her dysphoria, and she should’ve picked one or the other as the theme. Were we reading the same book? Grace goes out of her way to put in moments of transness, such as hiding her collection of women’s clothing in her punk rock squatter house and trying to throw it away. If I were writing a memoir, I don’t know if I could’ve done that.
As a lifelong punk rock fan, I have primarily been drawn and only listen to artists who put their leftist politics into their music. Especially artists whose music has grown and changed with them. Grace isn’t 18 anymore, so why do people expect her to make the same music she did then? This ability is what makes Against Me!’s catalog worth the full listen, and Grace a continued force in music.
I’m glad Grace put her unpolished truth into this book. She was able to speak for herself and show the ugly and the hope. Nothing is more punk rock than that.