Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider has been dropped from the San Francisco Pride Parade for agreeing with KISS guitarist Paul Stanley’s statement against sex changes for minors.
Snider, normally outspoken for leftist causes, had tweeted in agreement with Stanley when he wrote, "there is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification as though some sort of game."
"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," Snider had tweeted. 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 https://t.co/G80uNyzD7M
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) May 1, 2023
The posts from both Snider and Stanley prompted swift outrage from LGBTQ activists.
In addition to canceling his appearance at the event, the Pride Parade said that Twisted Sister's hit song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” will no longer be their rally cry.
"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 San Francisco Pride Parade said in a press release.
"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," the statement continued. "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."
Nguyen Pham, Board President of San Francisco Pride, reiterated that the decision to cancel Snider's appearance was mutual.
"Don’t get it ‘twisted,’ Dee Snider was not dropped from this year’s San Francisco Pride celebration; it was a mutual decision after a productive, educational conversation with him," Pham claimed.
However, that did not seem to be the case when Snider responded to the snub in a lengthy Facebook post captioned, "So, I hear I'm transphobic. Really?"
Snider stated, "I was not aware that the transgender community expects fealty and total agreement with all their beliefs and any variation or deviation is considered 'transphobic.'"
“So my lifetime of supporting the Transgender community’s right to identify as they want and honoring whatever changes they may make in how they present themselves to the world isn’t enough?” Snider asked.
Despite losing out on the opportunity to be included in Pride, Snider did not back down to the mob.
“I’ve recently stated I do not believe young children are ready to decide their gender allocation,” the iconic frontman continued. “I believe their choices should be supported and accepted by their parents, but I do not think kids have the mental capabilities to make rational, logical decisions on things of a magnitude that will affect them for the rest of their lives. I do not believe they are mentally developed enough.” They should. Our daughter wanted to be "covered in tattoos" since elementary school. We like tats but refused to allow her to get any before she was 18. That's when she started "loading up". Now 26 she regrets tattoos she first got. Realizes she didn't know what she wanted. :( https://t.co/9S8zVEOAIo
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) May 7, 2023
Though he stood his ground, Snider concluded by saying that he is open to learning how to be a "better ally" to the transgender community.
