THEY TOLD US WE WERE GIRLS / HOW WE TALK, DRESS, LOOK, AND CRY / THEY TOLD US WE WERE GIRLS / SO WE CLAIMED OUR FEMALE LIVES / NOW THEY TELL US WE AREN’T GIRLS / OUR FEMININITY DOESN’T FIT / WE’RE FUCKING FUTURE GIRLS, LIVING OUTSIDE SOCIETY’S SHIT!
*This article contains occurrences of explicit language.
So begins an assortment of unrelenting gazes into the life of transwomen by an up-and-coming band from Olympia, Washington. Look into the heart of hardcore punk, where the members of G.L.O.S.S. – Corey Evans, Jake Bison, Tannrr Hainsworth, Julaya Antolin, and Sadie Smith – make their home. After the release of their demo in early 2015 and a tour of the United States and parts of Canada at the end of last year, G.L.O.S.S. (Girls Living Outside Society's Shit) became a huge underground success and required listening for hardcore enthusiasts.
Clocking in at just under eight minutes, G.L.O.S.S.’s demo presents an honest depiction at the trials of American transwomen. The selection of songs also looks forward to the future empowerment of marginalized women, whether they be trans or women of color, to a society that is both wholly our own and quite different from the one we know now. This society that G.L.O.S.S. is working towards is one where all individuals, regardless of skin color, sex, or gender, may live freely and harmoniously. Evident in each minute-long song is an overwhelming barricade of raw emotion and the message to love one’s true self in the face of darkness, a message to which most people can relate, regardless of the status of his or her support for the band.
The rapid success of the band can be attributed in part to the mass of support it has received from a scene, black-clad and brimming with moshing, tattooed and pieced individuals, most outsiders would consider barbaric, dangerous, angry, or – unfortunately – invisible. But the members of G.L.O.S.S. trace their physical and emotional survival through the endurance of hardcore punk. “I really feel like I was raised on punk,” bassist Julaya told Bitch Media. “White boys still dominate the punk scene, but the actively try to use their privileges to create space for other voices.”
Punk was historically supportive of radical politicism, anti-capitalistic ventures, and a confrontational and deliberate sound. With origins in groups like Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, and Bad Brains and later Minor Threat, Dead Swans, Defeater and subsequent bands, the hardcore sound is constantly evolving yet often reminiscent of the tenders years just after its creation. Lyrics emerging from the early years of hardcore punk promoted civil rights, animal rights and abstinence from drugs.
Such topics are still deeply rooted in today’s hardcore scene. Modern punk has retained its antithetical foundations while morphing with the rapidly changing society to create and maintain an all-inclusive and supportive community. Bands like G.L.O.S.S. fuse the raw power of nineties hardcore with deeply personal lyrics to amplify voices that would not be heard without aid. Hardcore punk is the ideal genre in which to explore the issues of gender equality and feminism which permeate G.L.O.S.S.’s lyrics.
