Between the estrogen and the hardcore tough guy

“Trans women in the punk scene – between hyper-masculine hardcore bands and toplessness, the space often grows small for gender-nonconforming individuals, even though the punk scene in particular should be the ideal space for free expression and diversity. As a trans woman that spent most of her life as a cis-man, I was able to get unique impressions of the vacuum between unambiguously male structures, pseudo-liberal venues, and queer_feminist utopias.

From having a topless live photo in the local newspaper at the age of 15, to being a tour manager for queer_feminist artists, there’s a lot of development to speak about: the divide between the fondness of hardcore punk and the longing for femininity, mansplaining, estrogen, and the difficulty of creating a sustainable existence within an anti-capitalist scene.

I want to provide insight into gender roles within the punk scene, share skills, and speak about the development of my professionally-operated political tour service. Together with you, I would like to contextualize experiences into political structures and learn.” Maja Hagedorn

Maja operates her international tour service, “Queers to the front Booking”, and puts on DIY shows in Germany. She identifies as trans female and uses the pronouns ‘she/her’.