By Ben Monié, Larry King Now
In protest to North Carolina’s infamous “bathroom bill,” Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace burned her birth certificate onstage during a concert in Durham.
“Goodbye, gender!” she said onstage to her fans. The HB2 issue hits close to home for Grace, who announced she was transgender in 2012. HB2 stipulates that individuals must use public restrooms that correspond with their birth sex.
I guess gender really is over since @LauraJaneGrace said goodbye to gender! #genderisoverpic.twitter.com/EHXZJbMnM2
— Kathryn (@kwymer6) May 16, 2016
Prior to the concert, Grace was encouraged to cancel her concert in North Carolina in protest, but she didn’t back down, stating: “I’m even more eager to play North Carolina ‘cause of the bill!Let me know if there’s any activist groups that can come table the show.”This statement followed news that a roster of other musicians, such as Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam, were canceling their shows through North Carolina.
The punk rocker, a proponent of LGBT rights, recently sat down with Larry King to explain her outlook on the issue. “It’s a gender thing,” she told King. “It’s sexuality and gender are two totally different things.”
She went on to clarify what it means to her to be trans: “my body is my body. I’ve always had my body, I’ve never felt any different, I’ve just know there’s been a misalignment with the way people perceive me, based on the way I perceive myself and certain things may be hormonally that I would’ve liked to of corrected, but as far like, it doesn’t mean you are like all of a sudden this different person when you say you’re trans or you’re transitioning.”
Check out a clip from Grace’s Larry King Now interview above, where she joined a panel on what it means to be transgender in America. And be sure to check out the full discussion, right here, on Ora.TV!
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
