Life of Agony’s Mina Caputo on Being Transgender, Trump, North Carolina Bathroom Controversy

On episode #176 of The MetalSucks Podcast (listen here) we spoke with Life of Agony singer Mina Caputo about the band’s new album A Place Where There’s No More Pain and about her experience as a transgender woman in the metal community. The conversation took on a life of its own when she was asked about how the metal community has treated her since coming out, and she shared her thoughts on what led to the election of Trump, bathroom politics in North Carolina and more.

Here’s an excerpt:

How did the metal community treat you after you came out?

Well, I had motherfuckers like Jose Mangin jumping out right away being like, “Yo, Mina, I got your back, I love you, I love your band.” There were a lot of people like that. But I remember Jose being the first one.

I don’t know. I’m not keeping score, my friends. I don’t really give a fuck. I really don’t care. If you don’t accept me for my expansion, my expanding soul, if you can’t appreciate that my consciousness is growing, that it’s not enough for me to just be one energy, this male energy, and that’s not what we are. My entire life I honored and worshipped the feminine. I knew in my heart as a child that there was this feminine energy that needed to come through. Nature is freaky. Did anyone forget that we’re actually these mysterious fuckin’ creatures? That we’re not textbook living? I mean, a lot of people are dying rather than living and they’re not taking their chances and they’re keeping things real safe. They’re not appreciating their private selves. That’s why the gays and the transsexuals are all hated and frowned upon in all these institutions that are created for men. Because it challenges the status quo. Life is this diverse magic.

The fact that people aren’t going on and on and on that we’re floating in perfect proximity on this mysterious planet is just driving me nuts. People keep pushing and talking about things that they don’t want. Like Trump as president. Well, guess what, the universe gave you exactly what you were feeling. “I don’t want this. I don’t want him to be my president.” Guess what? All these morons pushed him into power. I don’t believe in our political paradigm. It’s been dead for over a hundred years. It hasn’t allowed humanity to progress in the longest time. And that’s not what politics were designed to do.

But my point is that people can’t live with their private selves. And that’s why the people who don’t accept me or don’t ever think I’ll be a pretty girl or a real girl, those are the people that can’t deal with their private selves. They can’t look in the mirror. They can’t spend time alone. They can’t appreciate the mystery of what we call life and death. All these people, all these institutions, all they do is they keep you further, derail you, disconnect you more and more every day from the true reality, the nature of our beings. And the nature of our beings is very complicated. And there is no right or wrong answer.

You’re right about that. It’s amazing that the people that display the most hate, the ones that are the most vocal about hatred, usually are using love to back that hate and end up just confusing themselves. Look at the Ted Haggard situation, where he’s over here saying that transgender people are evil, gays are evil, then he ends up getting caught in a motel smoking meth with..

Let me go further. All these lawmakers, these motherfuckers in the judicial system, they’re the first ones who will put a male-to-female transsexual in a male prison cell, or [say] the church will call us abominations. But meanwhile when these politicians get caught with an eight ball up their nose and a dick up their ass it’s by a fucking ladyboy, or a transsexual, or a gay guy that likes to suck dick for cocaine. Maybe in Vegas, probably in Vegas! I’m teasing.

But all these cats, all these hypocrites — this governor, this motherfucker, whoever he is in North Carolina creating all this havoc — if these people in law, if they actually traveled and became well-cultured human beings they’d realize there’s bigger and better solutions for this whole bathroom problem. You just follow what Denmark, Sweden and Finland are doing. They’ve got bathrooms, whether you go into a McDonald’s or a supermarket, let’s say there are ten bathroom doors, there’s a male and female on each door and there’s a lock. And that’s simple! Yeah, it may cost more. Probably is no one wants to spend money in America, they wanna make things to keep us like fucking farm animals. But if they actually traveled… I posted a picture on my Instagram of a bathroom in Sweden and the only place to go on the side of the road was McDonald’s. This is such a simple solution.

But in America, North Carolina, all these assholes, are they’re doing, even the media, is to separate and create an even wider gap in what we call the human race. That’s what they’re doing; creating trouble, religion, everything. This constant charade, this constant game to keep humanity separated, not only from each other, but most importantly from themselves.

You’re not gonna tell me what the fuck is going on in my body and in my body’s mind. And yes, nature is fucking chaotic. And if you can’t deal with the fact that I’m both and I’m neither and I’m a ladyboy and I’m a lady, and I’m not afraid and I will bully the bullies and I will punch you in your fucking face if you touch me…

I’m sorry I’m going on a rant. I should fuckin’ stop [laughs].

Download the full episode here or listen below to hear the rest of our chat with Mina.