The vocalist and guitarist for Mark of Cain, one of Australia’s most influential and enduring alternative rock outfits, has come out as a trans woman.
After a lifetime of “inner conflict,” soul searching, and detailing her life as an “outsider” through the message of song, Josie Scott got “straight to the point with little or no bullshit” by way of a social media post.
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“As I’ve aged, and mortality is ever closer, I’ve decided to embrace, rather than endure, who I am,” Scott writes in the post, shared Monday evening, Jan. 2.
From the age of 8, Scott has struggled with “gender dysphoria,” she explains, and “assumed I’d just live my life, complain a lot,” and leave cryptic notes in lyrics.
A bad bout of COVID in 2022 left Scott reassessing all of it. “I knew I would always regret not having the courage of my convictions to live my life,” Scott writes. “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.”
The process to open up and “finally live as myself” has been both liberating and challenging, she admits, “but the happiness I feel outweighs any obstacles I’ve faced so far.”
Scott’s family and close friends know her as Josie, Jo for short, she notes, “and given where I identify on the gender spectrum, I fit within the paradigm of being a trans woman.”
Hailing from Adelaide, South Australia, the Mark Of Cain formed in the mid-‘80s and, as the alternative rock scene exploded in the ’90s, emerged as a towering presence on the Australian scene.
Their breakthrough came about from extensive touring and prime festival spots, well-received records, extensive airplay on Triple J, and regular TV appearances on Recovery, Channel V and Rage.
TMOC’s fans include Henry Rollins, who produced their third album, Ill At Ease, which dropped in 1995, three years after his own band shared a stage with the rockers. The follow-up represented a band spreading its music wings, the remixes collection Rock ’n Roll, which led to reworkings of album tracks from Sydney electronic music master Paul Mac, dub practitioners Biftek and others.
In November 2023, Ill At Ease (via Civilians) reentered the ARIA Albums Chart at No. 40, thanks to the release of a deluxe edition. That chart result easily eclipsed the album’s previous peak position of No. 73.
The band remains active in the studio and on the road, and was forced to cancel its appearance at the Froth & Fury Festival on Jan. 31 due to “unforeseen circumstances,” reads a separate social post. “We hope to see our fans out on the road later in 2026 when circumstances allow,” the message reads.
What does Scott’s announcement mean for TMOC? “Absolutely nothing,” she continues. “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.”