InstagramGavin Russom is finally living her truth.
In a new interview with Grindr's INTO, the LCD Soundsystem keyboardist and synth player comes out as transgender after years of self-identifying "along the feminine spectrum."
Russom, 43, explained, "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."
And as the rock band begins preparations for an upcoming tour and album release on Sept. 1, the musician said she "could not imagine" entering the next chapter of her life as someone she's not. Additionally, Russom described her bandmates as "really supportive" of her transition.
"The general feeling in the group is that will make the band better," she added.
Gavin, who still prefers to go by her birth name, is taking on the ups and downs of life as a transgender woman with stride. She shared, "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."
As for what led to Russom's coming out, she explained, "My body rejected it in the same way that it now utterly rejects going into a men's bathroom or when somebody calls me ‘sir.'"
She's also grappling with a few of her own prejudices, which she said stem from a "deep societal stigma" regarding what activities women should and shouldn't pursue.
"I am someone who has spoken out on both women's rights and trans rights for a long time," Russom said, "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."
Above all, Gavin has a message she'd like to impart on others in similar positions: "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."
She'll next perform with LCD Soundsystem during this weekend's Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago.
Russom also penned an essay about her coming out experience for Pitchfork.