What did Alice Cooper say? Transphobic controversy explained as rockstar rips into woke ideology

On August 23, American rock musician Alice Cooper interviewed with Stereogum and shared his opinions on gender transition and gender care for minors and youths. He said he was against the whole idea and was “afraid that it’s also a fad.” He also referred to the usual anti-trans talking points and explained that he felt that kids were not mature enough to make life-altering and major decisions such as choosing their gender identity.

While revealing that he was not in favor of real-world gender-affirming care, Alice Cooper also pointed out that “woke” parents nowadays try to manipulate their children into believing that they can be any gender they want, when perhaps all the kid wants is to play around. He also claimed that society has gone far too progressive and to the “point of absurdity.”

He said in the interview:

“Who’s making the rules? Is there a building somewhere in New York where people sit down every day and say, ‘Okay, we can’t say ‘mother’ now, we have to say ‘birthing person.’ Get that out on the wire now?”

Unfortunately, Alice Cooper’s comments are being deemed as anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ+, as well as controversial. In fact, his remarks come at the same time when the internet is busy taking down legendary guitarist Carlos Santana for making similar anti-LGBTQ+ comments on stage stating how there were only two genders and “a woman is a woman and a man is a man.”

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Alice Cooper calls gender transitioning “a whole woke thing”

The 75-year-old rock star, Alice Cooper shared his thoughts about gender-affirming care for youth and the process of gender transitioning during his latest interview with Stereogum’s Rachel Brodsky. When he was asked that as someone who previously “played around with gender expectations” to create his music in the shock rock genre, what his thoughts were about transgenderism, he expressed that he was not in favor and found it “the whole woke thing.”

The Godfather of Shock Rock explained how he felt that the world was turning into a Kurt Vonnegut novel where anybody could be anything they want to be, including identifying as a tree or a cat. He also called the whole gender transitioning and gender-affirming care “a fad” and “absurd.” He also mentioned that he was afraid that there were a lot of people claiming to be trans just because they wanted to be part of the LGBTQ+ community.

He continued:

“I find it wrong when you’ve got a 6-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him, telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.”

Alice Cooper also warned how gender affirmation was not only unsafe for children but also for teenagers who were yet to find their true identities. Besides, he added how society has gone too “woke” and is engaging in “progressive language” as per the ongoing trend, but wasn’t sure who’s making the rules at the end of the day.

He also wondered whether it was a top-down phenomenon and clarified that he was not being an old school but just logical about the whole thing.

He stated:

“It’s getting to the point now where it’s laughable. If anybody was trying to make a point on this thing, they turned it into a huge comedy."

He further continued by saying that personally, he did not know a single person who agreed with the woke ideology, but he was aware that many people in the society were. Not only that, he made a direct anti-trans remark stating that if trans people were allowed to use public restrooms that correspond to their gender identity and not the biological s*x, it may lead to violent crimes, any day now.

In fact, while concluding the interview, when the interviewer tried to push back by saying that parents should “listen to their kids and find pediatricians that provide appropriate care,” Alice Cooper did not retract his opinions but rather warned that radical gender ideology can lead to unforeseen consequences.

He said:

“A guy can walk into a woman’s bathroom at any time and just say, ‘I just feel like I’m a woman today’ and have the time of his life in there. He’s just taking advantage of that situation…Somebody’s going to get r*ped.”

Alice Cooper also urged people to let a youngster become s*xually aware before they are encouraged to transition. He also said adults should try and explain how gender-transitioning and gender-affirming care worked in the real world, but at the same time assure a boy that he was “not a female born a male” and vice versa.

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Other musicians who made similar comments like Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is not the first person to make such controversial comments about gender transition and gender-affirming care in recent times. Earlier in May, guitarist Paul Stanley also used a similar rhetoric calling gender-affirming care “a sad and dangerous fad.” He also mentioned how “woke” adults were now in a rush to "label" their kids, allowing them to play with genders instead of making them understand the identity they were born with.

Back then, Dee Snider, the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister came in support of Paul Stanley and said that there was a time when he “felt pretty” too but was thankful that his parents didn’t let him “jump to any rash conclusions.” Interestingly, both Stanley and Snider retracted their remarks after facing online backlash.

Meanwhile, Stanford research recently claimed that gender-affirming care significantly reduces mental health issues about trans youth, and helps avoid depression and suicidal tendencies.

In contrast, the Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health have strictly recommended that anyone under the age of 18 should not undergo gender-affirming surgeries. This comes in the wake of at least 500 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bills surrounding U.S. legislation.