Alice Cooper claims ‘in many cases’ transgender people are ‘a fad’
"I’m afraid there [are] a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that"
Rocker Alice Cooper has said he believes that in many cases, transgender people are “a fad.”
Cooper, 72, has routinely toyed with going against gender norms within his career. He has used a traditionally female stage name and playing around with make-up.
However, when asked about his thoughts on gender and sexuality in an interview with Stereogum, he made his thoughts on trans people clear.
Cooper says while he believes “there are cases of transgender” he’s “afraid that it’s also a fad.”
He told the publication: “I’m afraid there [are] a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that.
“I find it wrong when you’ve got a six-year-old kid who has no idea” – Alice Cooper
“I find it wrong when you’ve got a six-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing [by] him telling him: ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want’.
“I think that’s so confusing to a kid. It’s even confusing to a teenager. You’re still trying to find your identity. Yet here’s this thing going on, saying, ‘Yeah, but you can be anything you want. You can be a cat if you want to be. I mean, if you identify as a tree’…”
He also went on to pedal on some gender-critical views towards trans-inclusive toilets.
Cooper says he is worried people will be able to “take advantage” if a man “can walk into a woman’s bathroom at any time,” by pretending he “feels like I’m a woman that day.”
He continued: “Somebody’s going to get raped, and the guy’s going to say, Well, I felt like a girl that day, and then I felt like a guy.’ Where do you draw this line?”
This is despite studies repeatedly indicating no link between gender-inclusive bathroom policies and unsafe bathrooms.
It comes after singer Ne-Yo made similar comments earlier this month. He questioned whether parents should let children express another gender identity.
Speaking to Gloria Velez this month for VladTV, he said: “I feel like the parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is.
“If your little boy comes up to you and says, “Daddy I wanna be a girl,” you just let him rock with that?”’
He went on to add: “Like, when did it become a good idea to let a five-year-old, a six-year-old, a 12-year-old, make a life-changing decision? “When did that happen? Like, I don’t understand that,” the father-of-seven probed.
An apology statement then appeared on his Twitter account. However, he took back hours later, saying it was down to his publicist.
“First and foremost, I do not apologise for having an opinion on this matter,’ he said.