Dee Snider’s ‘Not Gonna Take It’ on ‘Transphobic’ Claim

Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, whose ’80s hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” spoke to teen protest against parental control and became an adopted rally cry for the LGBTQ community, is lamenting message control efforts.

“So, I hear I’m transphobic. Really?” Snider wrote in a lengthy statement posted to Facebook after the Pride Celebration in San Francisco pulled Twister Sister from the main stage after Snider was condemned for a tweet.

“I was not aware the transgender community expects fealty and total agreement with all their beliefs and any variation or deviation is considered ‘transphobic,'” his thoughtful missive read.

“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’s tweet that promoted the protest came in response to a tweet by Paul Stanley of Kiss:

“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 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.”

Snider responded on Twitter: “You know what? There was a time where I ‘felt pretty’ too. Glad my parents didn’t jump to any rash conclusions.”

And then his headlining act was canceled.

“Dee has always been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights,” SF Pride wrote a statement on the matter. “However, when we were notified about the tweet in which Dee expressed support for Kiss’ 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.”

But Snider stood strong against a rush to judgment on gender switching by children.

“I’ve recently stated I do not believe young children are ready to decide their gender allocation,” Snider wrote. “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.”

Snider argued supporting children is “just good parenting,” but pushing gender changes too soon is dangerous. He also warned against political divisiveness and a lack of tolerance infecting the transgender community, rejecting the notion that a group of people resigned to being different is so convinced others must think like them.

“I am a proud moderate,” Snider added, expressing progressive ideals but not to close-minded absolutism. “I drive a Tesla and a Hummer. I have too many guns but strongly support intelligent gun control. I have four children yet fight for a woman’s right to choose. I am a motorcycle riding environmentalist.

“I am a heterosexual who proudly supports LGBTQIA+ rights. To me (and I believe many of you) none of these things are mutually exclusive.

“The transgender community needs moderates who support their choices, even if we don’t agree with every one of their edicts. For some transgender people (not all) to accuse supporters, like me, of transphobia is not a good look for their cause.

“Don’t reject people who are willing to march, sing and stand with you just because we don’t perfectly see eye-to-eye. We are still your allies.”

Signed “your cisgender, crossdressing ally.”

Kiss’ Stanley also issued a further statement after the outcry from his first, saying “his thoughts were clear” but “his words were clearly not.”

“Most importantly and above all else, I support those struggling with their sexual identity while enduring constant hostility and those whose path leads them to reassignment surgery,” Stanley wrote Thursday. “It’s hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps.”

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