San Francisco Pride ‘Not Gonna Take’ Dee Snider’s Support of Paul Stanley’s Tweet About Trans Kids
It turns out the organizers of San Francisco’s Pride celebrations this year aren’t down with Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider after he tweeted in support of Paul Stanley’s less-than-ideal statement on transgender youths.
In a statement released today, the organizers said Snider was going to perform the mega-hit song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” on the celebration’s center stage, but those plans have since been tossed out.
“San Francisco Pride was on the cusp of announcing Twisted Sister’s “We’re not gonna take it” as the unofficial rallying cry of this year’s SF Pride Parade & Celebration, with the band’s frontman Dee Snider performing the song on our center stage. Dee has always been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.
“However, 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.
“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.”
This all stems back to an April 30 tweet from Stanley, who tried to make the argument that parents were turning gender issues “into a game” and getting their kids “caught up in the ‘fun’ of using pronouns.” Ultimately, he suggested that rather than accepting it when kids play dress up, parents are creating an issue where they push kids into “normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification.”
The following day, Snider said he went through a time where he “felt pretty” as well and that he was glad his parents didn’t “jump t any rash conclusions,” before giving Stanley props on his timeline.
When pushed by fans to elaborate on what he meant by his tweet, Snider followed Stanley’s lead by putting the onus on parents.
Snider has not yet responded to this reaction by the SF Pride organizers, though we wouldn’t be shocked if we heard from him by the end of the day.
