Alice Cooper isn’t one for controversy these days. However, he has made headlines recently, which has led a cosmetic company to cancel an upcoming partnership with the Godfather of Shock Rock.
Last week, Stereogum published an interview with Cooper where he made comments about transgender people and gender-affirming care for trans minors. Cooper expressed skepticism, saying that while he believes trans people exist, he also referred to being trans as a “fad.” He also alluded to parents potentially confusing their children in regard to their gender identity.
In the days after Cooper’s comments made headlines, Vampyre Cosmetics released a statement via Instagram. The company wrote, ” In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper, we will nolonger be doing a makeup collaboration. We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded.”
Cooper is just the latest big-name rock star to make comments about trans people and gender-affirming care this year. Carlos Santana made headlines after a fan-shot video surfaced of him making anti-trans comments during a concert in July. He issued an apology for his comments but later deleted the apology. Dee Snider has also made controversial comments about gender-affirming care.
Most notably, Paul Stanley made comments about gender-affirming care in April. A breakdown of his comments and their inaccuracies are below.
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.
