For more than a decade, musical comedy group Axis of Awesome have sold out shows in Australia, Europe and the United States. Best known for ‘Four Chord Song’, they’ve released six albums and clocked over 120 million hits online.
But for a band with such a high profile, their singer, Jordan Raskopoulos had been keeping a secret for 32 years.
A month ago, after a year away from the touring circuit, Jordan uploaded a video to the band’s YouTube channel in response to fans questioning what had happened to the signature facial hair.
“The truth of the matter is there’s a very good reason for why I got rid of my beard,” read Jordan. “I am transgender. No shit. I’m a girl.”
Jordan has experienced gender dysphoria since she was a child, but like many in her situation, couldn’t articulate the source of her pain.
“There was a lot of shame associated with it and a lot of repression and I hid it,” she said. “But it was always there.”
Last year, Jordan hit a point where “it wasn’t an option” to remain living as male, so confided in Axis of Awesome bandmates Benny Davis and Lee Naimo.
“The hardest thing of all was the first step. Just actually admitting to myself,” she told The Feed. “It was frightening. New anxieties started flooding in.”
“I was definitely shocked,” said Benny. “I asked all the questions: if she was going to cut her junk off, if her voice was going to change… everything that’s offensive to ask.”
The band considered taking a hiatus to allow Jordan to come to terms with her transition.
“Knowing that Jordan telling me was one of the first steps to my friend being happy, is so much more important to me than the job,” said Lee.
Jordan is now 34. She’s been on hormone replacement therapy for the past twelve months and will continue medical gender transition.
“A lot of people consider that when someone transitions their life starts over and for me that’s not the case,” she said. “I think one of the big things I believe in my own life is continuity.”
Jordan, Benny and Lee allowed Patrick Abboud to accompany them on their 2016 Axis Of Awesome tour. Watch one of Jordan’s first times performing as her true self, and to see the reaction of their fans and fellow comedians.
