Singer Of Aussie Rock Band Mark Of Cain Comes Out As A Trans Woman

The vocalist and guitarist of the long-running Australian heavy metal band The Mark of Cain has come out as a trans woman, writing in a social media post that she had “decided to embrace, rather than endure” who she is.

On Monday, Josie Scott published a post to the band’s Facebook page, telling fans that her family and close friends had been calling her Josie or Jo, and that on the gender spectrum she “fit[s] within the paradigm of being a trans woman”.

Scott shared that she had been struggling with what she now knows as gender dysphoria since she was 8 years old, and that she she wanted to live the rest of her life without regret.

“As a result of my internal conflict I found myself drawn towards the literature of the outsider, and the existentialist writers and philosophy of ‘yeah it’s all shit but let’s try push through anyway, be stoic, be a man’, sort of philosophy,” the 63-year-old wrote.

“My internal conflict and struggles were inherently responsible for my searching for a way to exist, but still accept, some of the futility I saw in my life. So, I often wrote about being an outsider, about feeling a little different and the idea of trying to push through no matter how dire you felt things were, to embrace the crap and try make it through life.”

Scott said that she began to reevaluate her life when she was diagnosed with long Covid in 2022, and began to ask herself “whether when the time came to leave earth, I could do so, with no regrets”.

“My answer was a big, ‘No, you’ve never been authentic’,” she wrote. “I knew I would always regret not having the courage of my convictions to live my life. Seeing so many young people now able to embrace who they are and live authentically without as much bullshit as existed when I was young helped shine a light on the possibility that maybe I can finally be me in my autumn years.

“It’s been liberating to finally live as myself albeit challenging at the same time, but the happiness I feel outweighs any obstacles I’ve faced so far.”

Scott says her newfound happiness outweighs any obstacles

Scott and her brother Kim have been at the heart of the The Mark of Cain since it formed in 1984, with the band being inducted into the South Australian Music Association’s Hall of Fame in 2022. Scott said that the masculine image of The Mark of Cain worked as a sort of “beard” for her struggles with gender.

“Much of what was interpreted as masculine was often being generated from my internal rage about my own dissatisfaction about myself and the paralysis I felt in being unable to live as me,” she said.

“It’s been liberating to finally live as myself albeit challenging at the same time, but the happiness I feel outweighs any obstacles I’ve faced so far.”

Scott said that the band would continue as normal, although she may “look a little more androgynous”.

“I feel that the real fans of the band, who found us through their own feelings of alienation or otherness will understand the difficulty I’ve faced, of feeling different, and being on the outside, and will be ok with my announcement.”

Fans commended Scott for her bravery and honesty, many commenting that her journey to becoming herself was the “true meaning of rock and roll”.