Paul Stanley is offering some support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month.
Stanley was tracked down by TMZ was asked if he had a message for the transgender community. He said, “I think everybody has a right to be who they are. Life’s too short to be anyone else. Everyone should celebrate who they are. Be proud of who you are as long as it’s something worth being proud of.”
When the TMZ cameraperson says being transgender is worth being proud of, Stanley responds, “What’s the criteria for being proud is being a good person, not transgender or any other gender.”
Last month, Stanley came under fire for sharing his thoughts on parents obtaining gender-affirming care for their trans children. He said, in part, ” … Some adults mistakenly confuse teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad.”
Days later, Stanley walked back his comments saying, “While my thoughts were clear, my words clearly were not. Most importantly and above all else, I support those struggling with their sexual identity while enduring constant hostility and those whose path leads them to reassignment surgery. It’s hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps. A paragraph or two will remain far too short to fully convey my thoughts or point of view so I will leave that for another time and place.”
An op-ed written by the parents of trans children is below that delves deeper into Stanley’s initial comments about gender-affirming care.
We’re Parents of Trans Kids. Here’s What Paul Stanley Has Wrong About Gender-Affirming Care.
Paul Stanley made headlines in the past 48 hours due to his social media post regarding gender-affirming care.
Stanley’s entire statement can be read below, which he titled “My Thoughts On What I’m Seeing.” According to Stanley, what he is seeing are parents “encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification as though some sort of game.” Additionally, he says, ” … Some adults mistakenly confuse teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad.”
Stanley appears to recognize the existence of trans people in his statement. However, he also appears to take issue with parents that are helping their children receive gender-affirming care.
I am the proud stepmother to a young trans woman who has been receiving gender-affirming care for over a year now. The improvement in her mental health and overall well-being has been immense. There are not enough words to describe the positive change I’ve seen in her, and I make my living off of writing words.
Understandably, I found Stanley’s comments very disappointing, especially since I’m a longtime KISS fan. I’ve seen the band multiple times in concert and even own a couple of KISS Kondoms. I don’t believe Stanley was being malicious — unlike certain beer-shooting musicians — but it seems what he’s “seeing” isn’t the full picture.
I reached out to my fellow Beasley Media Group colleague Adam 12 from Boston’s Rock 92.9 to discuss all of this, since he, like me, is a proud parent to a trans child. Here is our discussion of what we think Stanley has wrong about gender-affirming care.
The following discussion has been edited for length and clarity. Additional notes/statistics will be in italics and parentheses.
