Weekend 'Round the Web: Transgender Kurt Cobain, Cruisin'
Along with some religion-adjacent thinking (and non-thinking)
Was Kurt Cobain actually a woman? Is that why he/they ultimately un-alived, without being able to admit it?
Juno Stump makes a semi-convincing case. But before I link to it, as a ‘90s alterna-kid I feel like I should add some context. Lost of us wore dresses and makeup, myself included. We didn’t necessarily do it because we felt born in the wrong body (though some may have) — rather, we felt that societal standards for what male and female were supposed to be were bullshit, and we could have any style we liked. Had the word been around at the time, I might have called myself nonbinary, but with the understanding of that term today, I do not.
While taking that into account, consider Juno’s argument, which I think makes some worthwhile points:
I didn’t have all of the words to explain my predicament, yet. I tried to tell my parents with everything I had, from “God might be punishing me” to “My bones are wrong and are hurting me, inside and outside.” That only got me slurs and abuse. I didn’t have anything else, including anything resembling comfort or anything that encapsulated the pain I felt, until I heard the following words from “You Know You’re Right,” in the second verse of the last song Kurt ever recorded in a studio: “Let’s talk about someone else / Steaming soup begins to melt / Nothing really bothers her / She just wants to love himself”
Hearing those words against my heart, I knew that nothing was actually wrong with me – and that I just wanted to love and be myself. I held onto that as tightly as I could. The idea that I wasn’t broken was enough to know I wasn’t alone. And that was enough for now.
Meanwhile, on Substack, I saw a piece that made me think f I’d gone on a cruise twenty years ago, I could have written it:
I imagine Jesus did sing, just like most other human beings, but this post from a biblical scholar’s substack touches on a few other fun details as well:
On the subject of scripture, I’m really starting to enjoy Maklelan (Dan McClellan). Unlike me, he’s a Mormon, but not a fundamentalist one, and one who seems to know the actual history as well as anyone can. This was particularly good:
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It sounds like Dave Mustaine, while a hugely performative born again conservative Christian, has yet to internalize the whole “forgiveness” thing that’s supposed to be key to his faith. Just like the pied piper led rats through the streets…
That’s all for this week. If you saw anything cool you think I’d like, including stuff you wrote yourself, please post it below.
So many great reads, so little time! (Thank you kindly for taking the time to read my "Mustaine" book review, though.)