Stars promote trans acceptance

With the public transition of Chaz Bono and Laura Jane Grace, transgender activism has become more mainstream in the music industry over the past 10 years than ever before.

Chaz Bono, son of legendary musicians Sonny and Cher, has reached out to the transgender community in many ways. Consistently promoting positive views to those struggling with gender dysphoria, Bono has authored four books and was featured in a documentary about his transition. Bono also holds the distinction of being the first openly transgendered man to appear on a major network show, though for reasons other than his sexuality, when he appeared as a competitor on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Laura Jane Grace, lead singer and frontwoman of the punk rock band Against Me!, has reached further with her activism, focusing on creating music that can increase the general public’s understanding of transgender issues. The band’s sixth studio album, 2014’s “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” largely dealt with gender dysphoria and the confusion surrounding it. Grace, who was inspired by a fan to begin her transition, described gender dysphoria to Rolling Stone magazine.

“It’s a feeling of detachment from your body and from yourself,” Grace said. “And it’s really fucking shitty.”

Mykki Blanco, a transgender rapper who recently performed at NYU with fellow LGBTQ-positive rapper Le1f, has already made her mark in hip-hop history. As one of the first rappers to truly embrace and represent the LGBTQ community within an increasingly globalized culture, she stands out in an unforgettable moment in music history. Hip-hop, traditionally misogynistic and occasionally homophobic, has not had a place for gay or transgendered rappers. In fact, it has been notorious for its male dominated perception. Blanco is at the vanguard of a new age of artists that the genre previously ignored, opening the doors of hip-hop even wider and making a diverse genre even more inclusive.

Unfortunately, success stories such as these have only been recent developments. Sara Davis Buechner, a classical pianist and former NYU faculty member, has said in a 2013 New York Times piece that her promising career in the United States dissipated after she began her transition.

“In the United States, once I came out as Sara, I couldn’t get bookings with the top orchestras anymore, nor would any university employ me,” she said.

Buechner’s career thrived upward and eastward as she experienced great success in both Canada and Asia, however. Although her struggles regaining a foothold in her home country are a testament to the view of transgender people in the United States, musicians such as Blanco and Grace are leading American music into a more progressive future.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, April 9 print edition. Email Logan Baker at [email protected]