“Werewolf” Is a Steamy, Synth-Heavy Tune That Is a Metaphor for Female-to-Male Transition

A.S. Valentino can think of few better symbols for someone going through the process of female-to-male transition than the werewolf.

“When you are on HRT testosterone therapy, most people become hairier and stronger and gain muscle, which is very similar to werewolves,” says Valentino, a trans Portland darkwave artist. “And both werewolves and the transmasculine community are, in the popular imagination, scary to heteronormative folks.”

Valentino has fully embraced the metaphor with “Werewolf,” a steamy tune that recalls the synth-heavy throb of early Ministry. Driving the point home further is the sexy video they created with filmmaker Mason Rose that features lots of leather, latex, sweaty skin, chains, and werewolf masks.

“I wanted it to be about the ritual of transition,” Valentino says, “but it also had to be something that’s scary and exciting and about coming into a stronger form of myself. And I wanted to have a trans werewolf orgy vibe, which I was particularly excited about.”