The fact that transgender people exist, and some may come out as trans from young age, has in recent years had a heavy spotlight thrust upon it.
Countless columns, talk show segments and Tweets have been used to debate the lives of trans people, and rocker Paul is the latest to give his two cents – calling it a ‘dangerous fad.’
The guitarist, 71, took to Twitter this week where he shared a statement titled ‘My thoughts on what I’m seeing.’
In it, he said there was a 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 and then parents in some cases allow it.’
The rocker went on to say there are some people who may choose to undergo gender-affirming surgery as adults but slammed parents who were ‘normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative.’
He claimed some parents were leading children ‘further down a path that’s far from the innocence of what they are doing’ if a little boy liked dressing in his sister’s clothes or vice versa.
Children were getting ‘caught up in the “fun” of using pronouns and saying what they identify as,’ he declared, and adults were ‘mistakenly… encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad.’
The response to Paul’s opinion was swift, with some praising the statement as ‘genius’ and urging him not to change his mind or delete the post.
Others were not so agreeable, with one person writing: ‘The man who literally wore makeup and sang songs about banging high school girls?’
Plenty referenced the Kiss song Christine Sixteen, released when the members were in their mid-20s, about wanting to sleep with a 16-year-old schoolgirl, ‘this u bro?’ style.
Another quipped: ‘Aren’t you in a band of drag queens? I mean, a drag Queen band is cool and all, but you shouldn’t be such a transphobe.’
One said they agreed with Paul’s statement, and that ‘children should only be dressing like this’ – before sharing a photo of Kiss clad in full makeup.
‘No one is leading a child down a path to gender reassignment surgery because they like to play dress up. Did anyone do that to you as an adult?’ another asked – again with a photo of Kiss done up for a show.
The American rock band, formed in 1973, is currently made up of Paul, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer.
With the group having retired in 2000, Kiss fans were overjoyed last year with the news they would be heading to the UK for some final performances.
In a statement at the time, they called it an ‘ultimate celebration’ and the ‘last chance’ to see them live.
‘Kiss Army, we’re saying goodbye on our final tour with our biggest show yet and we’ll go out the same way we came in: unapologetic and unstoppable.’
The gigs will take place in Plymouth, Birmingham, Newcastle, London, Manchester, and Glasgow in June and July 2023.
Fans who have been there from the beginning will have been following the group for over 50 years.
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