Since coming out as transgender in 2012, Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace has become one of the most visible and inspiring trans figures in punk rock. She’s also been working tirelessly as a leading trans rights activist and educator. Now, Grace is releasing her latest project, Black Me Out, an audio-only memoir about her life and identity journey.
Consequence is also sharing an exclusive clip from Black Me Out, which is out today (September 2nd) as the newest installment in Audible’s expansive Words + Music series. In the clip, Grace talks about her experience as a closeted trans women, and the imperfect liberation she found in private self-reflection.
Over the years, Grace has worked through a number of different mediums outside of music to educate the public on trans existences and chronicle her own experiences as a trans woman. In 2014, she released the 10-part docuseries True Trans With Laura Jane Grace, and the following year, started an advice column for Vice’s Noisey.
In 2016, Grace put out her acclaimed autobiography Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout, based on journals she had been keeping since the third grade.
Black Me Out represents another entry in her multimedia journey to grasp, define, and relate her personal truths. As its name would suggest, the Words + Music format gives artists the opportunity to tell their stories through a blend of narration and music.
Black Me Out intends to capture Grace’s struggles with gender dysphoria and mental illness through sound and conversation. Although the subject matter is so personal, the underlying drive towards self-knowing is universal.
Take a listen to the Black Me Out clip, and check out an exclusive Q&A with Grace, below.
