Laura Jean Grace Discusses Her First Year As A Woman

posted in: Music News

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since founding Against Me! member Thomas Gabel came forward about his struggles with his sexuality and eventual decision to begin the transformation to becoming a woman. In that time, Laura Jean Grace has become a hero for thousands, if not millions of people around the world with through her open book approach to her transformation. Fans have followed and supported her over the last year, and in a new feature with Cosmopolitan Magazine Laura and her wife speak for the first time in depth about Laura’s first year as a woman. The full article can be read here, but we’ve included an excerpt below for preview purposes:

Going Into Therapy

The closest psychotherapist I was able to find who specialized in gender was in Gainesville, Florida, an 80-mile drive from my home in Saint Augustine. I didn’t want someone to tell me what to do. I knew what I needed to do, and on the drive to my first appointment, I worried about a therapist getting in my head and unraveling whatever it is that gives me the ability to write songs. What I really wanted was a letter telling an endocrinologist that I was mentally stable enough to start hormone-replacement therapy (HRT), and I knew that would take time to get. But during the one- to two-hour sessions I attended at least once a month, just saying “I want to transition” out loud gave me confidence and made me feel less crazy. Five months later, I got my letter.

“Are you sure that this is what you want to do?” the endocrinologist asked at our brief meeting. “Yes,” I said. And with that, I was written a prescription for low doses of estrogen, progesterone, and Spironolactone and told to make an appointment for three months down the road. As I was paying, the receptionist kept referring to me as “sir” (at other doctors’ offices, I’d gotten smirks and odd glances). I felt upset, but leaving the office, I realized that this is the way it will be. If I want someone to recognize the gender identity I feel, I’d have to ask for that. I can’t assume people will know how I’d like to be treated on their own.

Starting Hormones

Holding those three little pills in my hand for the first time on May 11, 2012, was a turning point. I’d spent many sleepless nights leading up to that moment, thinking over exactly what I had decided to do. What if I wanted to stop? Was there a point of no return? At first, it was hard to tell whether the differences I felt were from the actual hormones or from the excitement about my change¦but slowly, I started to feel more like myself, emotionally and physically. The hormones softened my skin, made my hair grow faster, and redistributed some of my body fat”my arms slimmed down and weight moved from my chest to my hips. And yes, I’m starting to develop breasts (I’m pretty sore at the moment). The HRT won’t change my voice though”only surgery can do that”but I like my singing voice, so I don’t really care about that.