KISS frontman and guitarist Paul Stanley referred to the idea of transgender children as a “sad and dangerous fad.”
The KISS frontman shared a text image post titled, “My Thoughts On What I’m Seeing” discussing transgender children, though not explicitly mentioning the term.
Stanley’s comments appeared unprovoked as the KISS frontman typically shares posts about the band’s shows as they embark on their “End of the Road” farewell tour.
“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 and then their parents in some cases allow it,” Stanley wrote Sunday afternoon. “There ARE individuals who as adults may decide reassignment is their needed choice but turning this into a game or parents normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative or believing that because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister’s clothes or a girl in her brother’s, we should lead them steps further down a path that’s far from the innocence of what they are doing.”
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) April 30, 2023
The KISS frontman also commented on the push to use pronouns as something “fun” children do though noted exposing children to sexuality was a “sad and dangerous fad.”
“With many children who have no real sense of sexuality or sexual experiences caught up in the ‘fun’ of using pronouns and saying what they identify as, some adults mistakingly 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.”
Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who dressed in a drag style for his band’s performances, agreed with Stanley’s sentiment.
“You know what? There was a time where I ‘felt pretty’ too,” Snider said. “Glad my parents didn’t jump to any rash conclusions! Well said, [Paul Stanley].”
KISS has donned makeup representing characters and personalities along with extravagant costumes throughout the band’s 50-year history. In 1983, the band removed their makeup and continued performing unmasked until their 1996 reunion tour with original guitarist Ace Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss.
Clinical Instructor at Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic Alejandra Caraballo criticized Stanley for KISS’ song “Christine Sixteen,” which discusses a man’s infatuation with a 16-year-old girl.
“This you?” asked Caraballo, providing a screenshot of lyrics to “Christine Sixteen.”
This you? pic.twitter.com/XvoiKMeSDv
— Alejandra Caraballo 🇵🇷🏳️⚧️ (@Esqueer_) April 30, 2023
The song, released in 1977 on the band’s Love Gun album, was written and sung by KISS bassist Gene Simmons.
“Goin’ Blind” from KISS’ 1974 album Hotter Than Hell features a 93-year-old narrator ruminating over a sixteen-year old girl. The lyrics were written by Simmons and Stephen Coronel, who previously served as the guitarist for Stanley and Simmons’ previous band, Wicked Lester.
In 2014, Coronel was was charged with possessing child pornography. Two years later, the Wicked Lester guitarist was incarcerated at Kershaw Correctional Institution in South Carolina.
Simmons has not commented on Stanley’s statement as of Monday.
KISS is currently on their “End of the Road” farewell tour, which kicked off in 2019. The tour was scheduled to conclude in 2021 but was postponed and extended following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. KISS’ final performance is scheduled for December 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
