May 18, 2024

Against Me! Frontwoman Slams Arcade Fire’s Transgender Video

Remember, right around a week ago, when Andrew Garfield dressed up in drag for Arcade Fire‘s “We Exist” video?

It’s rather hard to forget: In the clip, the “Spider-Man” actor cries as he shaves his head, dons women’s clothing with insecurity and is beaten up at a bar. Later, he overcomes it all with a “Flashdance”-inspired dance.

It brought a stirring image to the equally emotional Reflektor track — one about a young man coming out to his father — and it also brought one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood today.

But in spite of the pro-gay rights messages, Laura Jane Grace, the transgender frontwoman of Against Me!, had a little problem with it.

“Dear @arcadefire , maybe when making a video for a song called ‘We Exist’ you should get an actual ‘Trans’ actor instead of Spider-Man?,” she wrote on Twitter on Thursday (May 22).

Since coming out as a transgender woman in an all-tell interview with Rolling Stone back in 2012, Laura Jane Grace — born Tom Gabel — has been a prominent voice in the transgender community. In an interview with MTV News shortly after her revelation, she told us, “It feels like I’m in control of my life, and I’m in control of my person, and that’s empowering. Saying to someone ‘I’m a transsexual’ is the most empowering thing I’ve ever felt in my whole life.”

About the author  ⁄ Emily Blake

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