Canadian folk singer Bells Larsen recently announced that he was forced to cancel his U.S. tour due to new federal immigration policies that require government-issued Identification to reflect an individual’s “sex assigned at birth”.
Related
Megan joined forces with Victoria Monét and Reneé Rapp to deliver this year’s gayest Coachella set yet.
Larsen, a trans male musician, had planned to tour the U.S. beginning in Late June with stops including Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
He was informed by the American Federation of Musicians last Tuesday that he could no longer apply for a visa because US Immigration only recognizes identification that corresponds with a person’s “sex assigned at birth.”
Larsen then took to social media to inform his fans that the concert would be cancelled.
“To put it super plainly, because I’m trans (and have an M on my passport), I can’t tour in the States.”
Around the time the State Department decided that it would no longer issue passports reflecting a person’s gender identity, trans influencer Zaya Perysian, along with six other transgender and non-binary individuals partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union to sue the Tr*mp Administration after they changed Zaya’s gender marker to Male on her passport.
The fact that musicians have to cancel their tours because of these new laws is a prime example of how far-reaching the current administration’s anti-trans policies truly are. By restricting a musician’s rights to perform here, this administration is also suppressing the visibility of transgender people in pop culture, which was probably part of the goal all along.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
