“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,” Stanley wrote, also opining that parents who support their children in pursuing gender-affirming care see gender experience as “some sort of game.”
In recontextualizing his initial comments, Stanley wrote that “most importantly and above all else” he wants to be an ally to gender-diverse individuals. “I support those struggling with their sexual identity while enduring constant hostility and those whose path leads them to reassignment surgery,” Stanley writes. “It’s hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps.”
Much of Stanley’s original statement focused on his argument that gender-affirming care should not be accessible to those under the age of 18, a stance in direct opposition to the recommendations of every major medical organization in the United States. Despite a burgeoning misinformation campaign that fearmongers about “irreversible” procedures being offered to young children, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association have all asserted that offering gender-affirming care to young trans people is not only safe, but an essential, life-saving practice.
Furthermore, medical professionals who offer gender-affirming care—like Dr. Joshua D. Safer, MD, who spoke to Billboard on the subject last year— emphasize that the kind of surgeries often cited in these campaigns (such as “top surgery” or genital reconstruction surgery) are “typically reserved for adults” except under extenuating circumstances. Notably, Safer explains that more common youth interventions like puberty blockers—medications which temporarily halt puberty, limiting physical change—are also available to and used by cisgender patients who go through puberty “before the medical system considers them socially ready.”
Although Stanley’s new statement clearly walks back some of his initial claims, the guitarist isn’t ready to offer any direct, long-form clarification to his original comments yet. “A paragraph or two will remain far too short to fully convey my thoughts or point of view,” Stanley concluded, “so I will leave that for another time and place.”
