Music for Transgender Day of Remembrance 2023
Graphic by Cate Banks
By Stephanie Weber
Since 1999, Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is an annual observance on Nov. 20, that honors the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. When Nov. 20 comes around every year, TDoR is often overlooked and forgotten like the many trans people it seeks to honor. It isn’t during Pride Month or around Transgender Day of Visibility (Mar. 31, 2023) but deserves the same recognition. Last year, Milk Crate published a piece to celebrate TDoR, honoring artists whose identities fit under the transgender umbrella, including non-binary and gender queer identities. Trans people have always been in the music industry but have been carving out a space in the industry more recently.
Wendy Carlos (she/her)
Born in 1939, Wendy Carlos is an icon when it comes to trans music history. She is known for her film scores and electronic music, gaining prominence when she scored A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980). The reason so much of her music features synthesizers is because she helped create and popularize the Moog synthesizer. Despite her small town life that began in Rhode Island, she received three grammy awards in the ‘70s for her work on the 1968 album Switched-on Bach. She also composed the scores for the John Sturges film Marooned (1969) and for the Disney film Tron (1982). Prior to her music career, she studied at Columbia University and presented at Philharmonic Hall in New York City. Carlos began making music in her home studio and was later signed to Columbia/CBS records. In 1979, Carlos informed the public that she had been living as a woman since the late ‘60s, changing the transgender music canon. Despite Carlos’ musical success, it’s really inaccessible—it’s rare to find physical copies, and none of her individually produced music is available to stream. That being said, she’s still going strong at age 83.
The Cliks
Since their 2004 start, The Cliks have been making Canadian rock history. In part, they made history because the band is fronted by Lucas Silveira (he/him), credited as the first openly transgender man to be signed with a major record label. When the band was formed, Silveria was already out, paving the way for trans men in the music industry. The name of the band is a nod to transgender bodies, as “clik” is a combination of “clit” and “dick.” The name is queer and so were all the band members. Snakehouse is the first studio album released by the band in 2007, but two years later, the only founding member left was Silveira. He took a hiatus to medically transition and later re-recorded covers of previous songs, releasing them on an EP in 2010. The band still exists, with Silveira at the front with rotating members. The Cliks might not be the most popular rock band, but still serve as LGBTQ+ pioneers. Their music is featured on The L Word soundtrack and the band toured with Cindi Lauper in her 2008 “True Colors” tour.
Against Me!
Against Me! is a household name for rock fans around the U.S. But, what many fans don’t know is that the lead singer, Laura Jane Grace (she/her), is trans. Grace formed the band in 1977 by herself, releasing a demo tape the same year. Two years later, the band went on tour with the addition of drummer Kevin Mahon and later the addition of James Bowman on guitar. Against Me! continued to release music under different labels for years. In 2012, Grace publicly came out as transgender, during which the band released Transgender Dysphoria Blues (2014), an album to account Grace’s transition while combating social and body dysphoria. Although Against Me! is still fairly popular in rock, they are on a hiatus, unsure of when they will play together again. What is known, however, is that Grace serves as a pivotal face of trans representation in rock, claiming space for trans women to exist and leaving lasting impressions on the music industry.
Dorian Electra (they/them)
Last year, I wrote about trans icon SOPHIE, and referenced Dorian Electra as a close friend before SOPHIE’s death. Despite SOPHIE’s passing in 2021, SOPHIE’s legacy remains in artists who continue making electronic-pop music. One of those people is Electra. They’ve been making their music public since 2010, but didn’t release a studio album until 2019, aptly titled Flamboyant. During the ‘10s, they were featured on Refinery29 in a video series about different radical topics like female anatomy, high heels,, and vibrators. They also released many singles, like “Mind Body Problem” and “FA$T CA$H.” They produced and acted in their own web series, under their drag king persona “Dog Bogman.” In 2020, they released their second studio album My Agenda and in 2023 released their third album Fanfare. Electra is set to perform in their world tour during late 2023 and 2024 to celebrate their third album. They’ve collaborated with big names like Lady Gaga, Rebecca Black, Charli XCX, and 100 Gecs. Electra and their electro-pop-meets-drag music is not going away anytime soon.
Ethel Cain (she/her)
Who is your mother? For many queers in their late teens and early 20s, that would be Ethel Cain. Her roots in indie music come from her Southern Baptist family, inspiring a highly stylized discography invoking Christian music and church hall chants. Despite the tone, Cain’s lyrics deal with topics such as domestic violence, substance abuse, poverty, trauma, and death. This has been the case since the early days of her career when she was releasing music on SoundCloud and Tumblr in mid-2017. Since then, she has released an EP and many singles, as well as putting out her first studio album, Preacher’s Daughter, in 2022. What makes Cain special is she has known and been proud of her identity for a while. Born in 1998, she came out as gay to her family at the age of 12 and left the church at the age of 16. At 20 years old, she publicly came out as a trans woman. If that wasn’t cool enough, Cain is also a model and has performed at Coachella. She has garnered so much fame over the last year and a half and it’s definitely not stopping.
Jake Zyrus (he/him)
Any Glee fan can recognize singer Jake Zyrus. He appeared on the second season of the show as Sunshine Corazon, an exchange student plopped into the chaotic world of Lima, Ohio. What Gleeks don’t know is that Zyrus had a career before Glee and most definitely after the show ended. In 2007, he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and in the following year appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in addition to several international features. One of his early idols was Celine Dion, who inspired Zyrus to perform in concert with David Foster and release his first studio album Charice (2010). This debut album ranked number eight in Billboard 200, making it the first album of an Asian solo singer ever to land in the top 10. He has since released two more albums, Chapter 10 (2013) and Catharsis (2016). Following his transition, Zyrus stopped gaining as much popularity for his music, in part, because of the criticism he faced about his voice. That didn’t stop him from releasing music, though. Most recently, he put out a single in 2022 titled “4 Life.”
Arca (she/her, it/its & they/them)
It’s no surprise that trans people find solace in the experimental music world. There is room to be curious and make music that is fiercely original. Arca is no exception. Born in 1989 in Venezuela, Arca started making and releasing her own music under the name Nuuro and garnered some popularity. In 2012, she released Arca’s first two EPs. The following year, she received credit for her work on Kanye West’s album Yeezus. She’s also worked with other big names like FKA Twigs, Kelela, Björk, and Beyoncé. In 2014, she released her first studio album Xen and would go on to release two more albums, Mutant and Arca, in 2015 and 2017 respectively. Since 2020, Arca has released Kick I (2020), Kick II (2021), Kick III (2021), Kick IIII (2021), and Kick IIIII (2021), all studio albums. She’s been compared to Aphex Twin regarding her experimental electronic style music. One of her musical influences is Wendy Carlos (mentioned above), providing an exponential collaboration within the trans music canon.
There are definitely more than seven transgender artists who claim space in the music industry. Trans musicians, like all other artists, deserve the same recognition and celebration. TDoR is a great opportunity to listen to trans artists but so is every other day of the year.