"Kurt Cobain Was Trans" Debate

About

"Kurt Cobain Was Trans" Debate refers to ongoing discussion around a theory that Kurt Cobain, the late lead singer of Nirvana, was transgender. The theory, which has appeared online since the mid-2010s and has largely been championed by one Twitter user in the 2020s, interprets some of Cobain's statements and lost lyrics, as well as his penchant for performing in dresses, to argue that Cobain was trans but either not conscious of it or not out yet. The theory has been pushed back on by some who interpret the same evidence as Kurt pushing against gender stereotypes but is not an indication that he was transgender. Some have also conceded that while the evidence could indicate Cobain was trans, it is impossible to know without confirmation from Kurt and thus the argument is pointless.

Origin

The theory that Kurt Cobain is transgender began being discussed online in roughly the mid-2010s. One of the earliest discussions appeared on the forums of Susans^[1] on June 8th, 2014. There, user INgrid Alicia cited a quote from Cobain published by Advocate^[2] in 2013 where Kurt says he thought he was gay. In the quote, Kurt says:

See, I've always wanted male friends that I could be real intimate with and talk about important things with and be as affectionate with that person as I would be with a girl. Throughout my life, I've always been really close with girls and made friends with girls. And I've always been a really sickly, feminine person anyhow, so I thought I was gay for a while because I didn't find any of the girls in my high school attractive at all.

Another Cobain quote they cited reads, "I definitely feel closer to the feminine side of the human being than I do the male – or the American idea of what a male is supposed to be. Just watch a beer commercial and you'll see what I mean."

Lastly, they point out Cobain frequently cross-dressed while performing. There, users said that while the evidence was interesting, it could also point to Kurt being more gender-fluid or cis and feminist, and it would be impossible to know for sure.

Spread

A nearly identical post was made in the Empty Closets^[3] forums on December 21st, 2015. Users there had a similar discussion as in the Susans post. On September 19th, 2016, Redditor PositiveStonedCreep attempted to interpret lyrics from the Nirvana In Utero as evidence Cobain was closeted trans in /r/Nirvana.^[4] Another point of evidence people have used to make the point is that an early draft of the song "All Apologies," written in Cobain's journals, features the line "Let me grow some breasts."^[9]

The idea that Cobain was trans continued to spread on social media, as some users became more insistent that Cobain was transgender. On August 2nd, 2019, the Facebook group Transing the dead^[5] posted screenshots of a deleted Twitter thread by user @psychwardslut that was insistent on the idea that Cobain was trans (examples shown below).

In 2022 and 2023, Twitter user @MagsVisaggs twice sparked intense discussion of the theory on Twitter. On January 23rd, 2022, they tweeted, "Kurt Cobain was a trans girl. she is ours now. we will not be returning her" (shown below, left). The tweet has since been deleted. On December 17th, 2023, they tweeted a picture of Cobain in a dress, writing "That is a TRANS GIRL," gaining over 2,700 retweets and 4,100 likes in three days^[6] (shown below, right).

In both instances, opinion was split between people who felt that the user was overreaching, people who agreed, and people who felt that while there is some compelling evidence, it is impossible to assign a gender identity to someone who cannot confirm or deny their own gender identity. For example, on January 24th, 2022, Twitter user @LilithLovett^[7] argued that there were indications Cobain might have been trans, but Cobain could not confirm it, making the discussion pointless. Their tweet gained over 140 retweets and 1,800 likes in nearly two years (shown below, left). On December 19th, 2023, user @AlinaIsYou^[8] argued that insisting Cobain was trans is "the opposite" of "liberating oneself from binary, gendered boxes," gaining over 40 retweets and 550 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References