Laura Jane Grace photo via Instagram
The latest edition of The Talkhouse Music Podcast features a conversation between Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (of Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV) and Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace. They discuss gender, identity, transitioning in front of their respective audiences, their respective experiences with public bathrooms and airport screenings, Caitlyn Jenner, their policies for on-stage wardrobe, and much more. Listen above.
During a discussion about identity and appearance, P-Orridge said, "In the end, the body is not the person—the body is not the thing. It's the mind that matters." Grace agreed:
...That mentality just completely is what saved me and pulled me out of the stages of mental transition into, "OK, you're jumping out of one box and feeling this pressure to fit into this other box and not feeling like you're measuring up to this" and then just saying "fuck the box" and existing as you are. Especially doing that publicly when you're getting your photos taken for magazines or if you're on camera or something like that—having to surrender to just being who you are and being vulnerable in that way. But at least it's just honest.
While discussing Jenner, P-Orridge took issue with her self-described status as a spokesperson for all transgendered people.
We're not saying Caitlyn isn't courageous in terms of the personal experience, but the way it's being presented by the media could end up being really, really damaging. We actually saw one thing on the news and Caitlyn's going, "I feel like I can be a spokesperson for the transgendered community." And later on she says, "I actually don't know any transsexuals." What the fuck, she's going to be a spokesperson? She hasn't got a clue! She's been living in her own bubble with her own issues, dealing with them, but she doesn't understand what it's like for the ladyboys in Bangkok or the transsexuals in Japan or people in Russia. She doesn't know! Stop being a spokesperson.
Here's Against Me!'s "Black Me Out" video:
