According to the interview, she began coming out as transgender quietly, earlier on in the year.
She said “this is my fifth decade being alive and in each of those decades, there’s been a time where I’ve tried to say, ‘Hey, I think I’m transgender!’ This was even before that word existed”
Speaking about Russom, the interview tells us that she has identified with being ‘along the feminine spectrum’ since a young age. “As a student at Martin Luther King Elementary School, she remembers going to school with black-and-white saddle shoes on, not thinking of them as un-masculine. They just felt right on her feet, like Cinderella’s foot sliding effortlessly into the glass slipper. The other students in her 2nd grade class, though, screamed that she was wearing ‘girl shoes.'”
Talking about the band, Russom described her bandmates as being ‘really supportive’. “The general feeling in the group is that will make the band better. ” She added “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, but I have my good days and my bad days. On my bad days, it really sucks and I wait until I get home to go to the bathroom—which is such a basic thing.”
Talking further about her transition, Russom discussed that one of the things she found hardest was her own transphobia, not believing that she can be a martial artist and be transgender at the same time. “I am someone who has spoken out on both women’s rights and trans rights for a long time,” Russom added, “but when I started to transition myself, that was one of the most shocking things. I’m carrying so many of these things around with me. That’s been challenging to work through— having those preconditioned societal ideas of what transgender women can do”
However, Russom wants to use her fame to give what the transgender world gave to her. “The space to be visible”
“For anybody who is struggling with their gender identity or who wants to come out and is afraid to, what would be better than giving someone permission to do that through my performance? That’s the ultimate. It’s what other people gave to me, so I’d love to pass that along to other people, too.”
LCD Soundsystem recently announced details of new album American Dream and a UK/EU Tour. Dates can be seen below:
16/09: The Warehouse Project, Manchester, UK
17/09: The Warehouse Project, Manchester, UK
19/09: The Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK
20/09: The Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK
22/09: Alexandra Palace, London, UK.
23/09: Alexandra Palace, London, UK.
