The Mark of Cain guitarist Josie Scott comes out as a trans woman

A founding member of Australian heavy metal band The Mark of Cain has announced she is a trans woman.

In a statement shared on the band’s social media, guitarist and vocalist Josie Scott said her family know her as Josie or Jo and that “given where I identify on the gender spectrum, I fit within the paradigm of being a trans woman”.

“As I’ve aged, and mortality is ever closer, I’ve decided to embrace, rather than endure, who I am,” the 63-year-old wrote.

“I always assumed I’d just live my life, complain a lot, and die leaving some clues in my songs and journals” – Josie Scott on identifying as a trans woman

Scott has been part of The Mark of Cain since its formation in Adelaide in 1984, alongside her brother Kim. The band released its debut album Battlesick in 1989, which was later released in the US by Henry Rollins, frontman of Black Flag and Rollins Band.

The group was inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame in 2022, joining acts including the Masters Apprentices, the Angels and Cold Chisel.

In her statement, Scott said she has experienced gender dysphoria since childhood. “I always assumed I’d just live my life, complain a lot, and die leaving some clues in my songs and journals for family to read and think, ‘Oohaahh what a very strange (albeit talented) person’,” she wrote.

She said this experience had influenced the band’s music, including its 1995 album Ill at Ease, which was produced by Rollins. The record addressed her struggle with gender dysphoria, “though I was trying not to be too obvious”.

“I knew I would always regret not having the courage of my convictions to live my life” – Scott on life before coming out

“TMOC was often interpreted as a very masculine, testosterone driven band, which greatly acted as a way of being as a ‘beard’ for me in many ways,” she wrote. “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.”

Scott said that while recovering from long Covid in 2022, she began to reflect on her life and whether she could face death without regret.

“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” – Scott on living as a trans woman

“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,” she added.

Scott said her announcement would not affect the band’s future. “We’ll continue to write, record and perform hard heavy music and I may look a little more androgynous but everything else remains the same.”

She also addressed the band’s audience directly, writing: “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.”