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(#1) Laura Jane Grace
- Folk music, Alternative rock, Punk rock, Folk punk
In 2016, Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace burned her birth certificate on stage in North Carolina to protest transgender discrimination. She came out as a transgender women in a Rolling Stone interview in 2012 and released her memoir, Tranny, in 2016.
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(#2) Lucas Silveira
- Rock music, Folk music
Cliks vocalist and guitarist Lucas Silveira is the first transgender male to be signed to a major record label. "Being a person who identifies as a male in a physicality [that is] still female, and then transitioning to a male, was a very interesting thing,” he said in an interview.
“I still believe that somewhere in my psyche there is a place that has been conditioned and socialized to be female."
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(#3) Romy Haag
- Pop music
Singer and actress Romy Haag – who has appeared in such films as Mascara and House of Boys – was born Edouard Frans Verba in the Netherlands. Besides her own musical and film career, Haag is known for her relationship to David Bowie.
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(#4) Katastrophe
- Hip hop music, LGBT hip hop
"Everyone is uncomfortable with gender. It's an uncomfortable thing, especially if you are born in a body where you have to think about it all the time," said hip-hop artist Katastrophe in an interview.
"Sometimes I feel the reason I was born is to make it something comfortable for me, but also to make it comfortable for the rest of the world."
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(#5) Nomi Ruiz
- Disco, Dance-punk, House music, Nu-disco
Jessica 6 singer Nomi Ruiz said that it can be difficult to be a transgender woman in the music business. "There’s always discrimination in every industry, especially the music industry," she said. "But at the end of the day, you can’t deny talent."
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(#6) Richard O'Brien
Richard O'Brien – who wrote and co-starred in The Rocky Horror Picture Show – has identified as transgender. O'Brien said, "I think of myself as Richard. I think of myself as a third sex and it makes things easier. I’m somewhere in the middle. My wife and children love me and celebrate me for who I am."
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(#7) Christine Jorgensen
Actress and singer Christine Jorgensen had a male-to-female sex change operation in the early 1950s. Always open about her personal story, she is often hailed as a pioneer for trans visibility.
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(#8) Amanda Lepore
Singer and performer Amanda Lepore has said, "I've got the most expensive body on earth." She had a sex change operation at age 19.
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(#9) Breanna Sinclairé
In 2015, opera singer Breanna Sinclairé became the first transgender woman to sing the National Anthem at a professional sporting event when she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at an Oakland A's game.
"I love what I do and I’ve been trained to do this. It’s a blessing," she said of the experience.
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(#10) Ryan Cassata
- Folk rock
I got into music when I was 6,” said transgender singer Ryan Cassata. “I always knew it was a passion for me.” He came out as transgender as a child, and has been an activist for trans rights since his early teens.
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(#11) Marie France
Performer Marie France completed her transition from male to female in 1985. She once said in an interview, "I hate the word 'transsexual'. To talk about someone, you need not specify their sexuality."
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(#12) T. Thomason
T. Thomason, born Molly Thomason, said, "I do think it’s important that there’s more queer visibility in the music industry. … There’s a mentality now: It’s time, because we’re saying it’s time, and we’re out now – deal with it and be respectful."
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(#13) Anohni
Antony Hegarty is one of the only transgender musicians to ever be nominated for an Academy Award. She was recognized for Best Original Song for “Manta Ray," which was featured in the documentary Racing Extinction.
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(#14) Mya Byrne
"Not to quote my own album, but people see me as I am and really react strongly to it. When I sing songs about my transition, I’ve been told by people it’s inspiring and it’s very, very humbling. It’s just being myself," said Mya Byrne in an interview. "I think the hardest part has been experiencing sexism from certain people but at the same time, once they realize what’s been going on they’re like, ‘Oh. You rock. You should come play with me.’”
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(#15) Ramon Te Wake
Singer and television presenter Ramon Te Wake has spoken about the unique difficulties facing the non-white trans community. "We may carry the weight of generations of violence, prejudice, and indifference on our collective shoulders," she said.
"But we also have the power to use that history to activate our own inner activism by stepping forward into the open and into ourselves."
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(#16) Eli Conley
Musician Eli Conley stresses the importance of intersectionality in social justice. "I think it’s important to remember that we all have a choice. In this moment, will we white LGBTQ folks focus only on the issues that impact us directly?
Or will we stand with Black people and other people of color for an end to anti-Black racism and white supremacy in all its forms, understanding that no one is free while others are oppressed?" Conley said in a 2015 interview.
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(#17) Bell Nuntita
- Pop music
Bell Nuntita first gained the international spotlight after she performed on Thailand's Got Talent. She started her song with her female voice and halfway through revealed that she can also sing in a lower register. She is signed to Sony Music Thailand.
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(#18) Skylar Kergil
"Hi, I'm Skylar Kergil, a 24-year-old transgender guy from Boston, MA," Skylar Kergil says on his YouTube page. "I've been documenting my life and transition from female to male since I was 17 in early 2009!"
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(#19) Mina Caputo
"I think boys in general, men in general, have a difficult time expressing their emotions and their feelings, so you're always hitting a wall with one another. And I think I eased a lot of
that, because now there's a little lady in the band, and everyone is on their best behavior and everyone's just really sweet," said Life of Agony's Mina Caputo about her transition. -
(#20) Beth Elliott
Transgender folk singer Beth Elliott released her latest album, Buried Treasure, in 2005.
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(#21) Namoli Brennet
- Indie, Folk rock, Acoustic music
In the late 1990s, Namoli Brennet had two revelations. She said, "I want to transition and I want to be a songwriter." Today, she plays critically acclaimed folk-rock music across the country.
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(#22) Kim Petras
- Pop, EDM, Dance-pop, Electropop, Synthpop
Pop star Kim Petras became the world's youngest transgender woman after undergoing gender reassignment surgery when she was 16. "I was asked if I feel like a woman now – but the truth is I have always felt like a woman – I just ended up in the wrong body," she said after the procedure.
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(#23) Ruth Pearce
Ruth Pearce is a trans activist, punk musician, and rock DJ.
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About This Tool
Queer music has changed dramatically. In the past, pop music stars we are all familiar with usually came out in the middle, the end of their careers, or after having great success. However, famous singers admit they are transgender on the media that will no longer be a sensational news headline nowadays, this is what should be. Transgender musicians speak out for more people with their unique music.
A number of great transgender musicians demonstrate their talents in countless genres and express their own life insights in the process. The random tool lists 23 famous transgender singers that can prove achievements have nothing to do with gender.
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