Dee Snider was set to perform at this year’s Pride Parade & Celebration event in San Francisco. However, the event and Snider have “mutually agreed to part ways” following the Twisted Sister singer’s support of a statement from Paul Stanley about gender-affirming care of minors.

Stanley shared a statement on April 30 across multiple social media platforms titled “My Thoughts On What I’m Seeing.” The statement contained multiple inaccuracies pertaining to parents seeking gender-affirming care for their trans/non-binary children. (A breakdown and examination of those inaccuracies can be read in the article below.) Snider would later retweet Stanley’s statement and said, “You know what? There was a time where I “felt pretty” too. Glad my parents didn’t jump to any rash conclusions! Well said, @PaulStanleyLive.”

Interestingly, Snider spoke out in April in opposition to the many anti-drag bills being introduced by state legislatures across the United States. He wrote via Twitter in response to an anti-drag bill in Montana, “You know I haven’t worn the Twisted Sister Makeup in many years…but now I’m tempted to put it back on!”

RELATED: Robert Plant Once Opened for Dee Snider (Sort Of)

 

On May 2, SF Pride released a statement titled “San Francisco Pride Distances Itself from Dee Snider.” Snider was set to perform the Twisted Sister song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” at the Pride event, with the song being dubbed “the unofficial rallying cry of this year’s SF Pride Parade & Celebration.”

SF Pride said, in part, ” … When we were notified about the tweet in which Dee expressed support for KISS’s Paul Stanley’s transphobic statement, we were heartbroken and angry. The message perpetuated by that tweet casts doubt on young trans people’s ability to self-identify their gender.”

The statement further noted, “Transgender people, particularly transgender women and children of color, are disproportionately affected by hate and violence. And with transphobia proliferating and becoming more and more enshrined in law throughout the country — we have to stand up for the most impacted among us. We have mutually agreed to part ways, but appreciate Dee seeing this as a teachable moment and a reminder that even allies need to be educated to ensure that they are not casually promoting transphobia. To all our allies — we want to call you in — not call you out.”

As of publishing, Snider has yet to comment on being dropped from SF Pride.

 

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.