A national pro-LGBT group has finally produced an ad humanizing both transgender Americans and the appalling effect of laws like North Carolina’s HB2 on them. The group, Freedom For All Americans (more on them below), is pushing the ad through a $100,000 mostly online ad buy before deciding whether to put it on cable TV or double the online component, according to FFAA executive director Matt McTighe.
In the ad, Zeke Christopoulos, a transgender man living in Asheville, North Carolina, discusses HB2 with two of his work colleagues.
“I remember when I learned that Zeke was transgender and had transitioned from female to male,” says his colleague, Patricia Hickling Beckman. “I was a little uncomfortable, at first,” she admits.
“And I get that,” Christopoulos responds.
“When you stop and think about it,” Beckman continues, “everyone needs to use the bathroom just to get through their day, and a law that forces Zeke to use the women’s restroom is totally inappropriate. And that’s exactly what HB2 does.”
Christopoulos drives the point home, noting he could be “thrown in jail” for using the men’s room. His colleagues add that the law not only took away protections for gay and transgender citizens but also for people based on “race and gender,” and now it’s also taking jobs with it.
Though this ad does nothing to combat gender stereotypes and the bias that gender nonconforming people experience, it does a lot of things right. First, it shows “Zeke” is just a normal guy with a job and colleagues who are concerned about his well being. Though the mere inclusion of a transgender person shouldn’t be revelatory from an LGBT group, it is, as David Beard discussed here.
The spot also does some basic education along the way, like when Christopoulos is introduced by his colleague as transgender and the words underneath his name read, “Born with a female body…” followed by, “Transitioned to live as a man.” This may be Trans 101 for many but it’s clearly an explanation that’s needed in most parts of the country.
You can read more about the ad and view it below.
Second, it will leave viewers wondering how in the world a law that “forces Zeke to use the women’s restroom” makes even a lick of sense. As the camera follows Christopoulos walking toward a male and female restroom, the viewer is enlisted in helping him make the choice. And it’s an obvious choice.
Third, the ad touches on other aspects of HB2 that are bleeding into the North Carolina population at large—such as job loss and taking away other nondiscrimination protections—without making them the centerpiece of the message. It’s a gentle reminder that, hey, not only does this law not make sense for Christopoulos—it doesn’t make sense for anyone.
The ad is primarily funded by Equality North Carolina and the pro-LGBT conservative groups Freedom For All Americans (FFAA) and the American Unity Fund. Hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer is central to both conservative entities (I reported at length on the formation of FFAA here and also tried to contextualize the group amid the larger LGBT movement here).
Progressives along with many LGBTQ activists are not fans of Singer because even though he has funneled tens of millions of dollars toward pro-LGBT causes over the last decade, he and his company, Elliott Management Corporation, continue to back conservative politicians who fixate on anti-LGBT messaging to gain support. Elliott Management is a primary funder of the Republican Governor’s Association which backs North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory for re-election, for instance, and Singer was a key backer of Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign even as Rubio promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn marriage equality (something for which I have criticized Singer and other conservative donors).
All that said, this ad is a solid contribution to the push for advancing LGBTQ freedom and equality. It appears to be among the first national ad campaigns to address the bathroom issue in a very human way. Many of us within the LGBT movement have been imploring national groups like the Human Rights Campaign to come up with just such an ad campaign for months and even years.
While this ad stops short of articulating a broad vision for what LGBTQ freedom would look like nationwide, it takes the first step toward being able to secure that freedom, pointing out the utter ridiculousness of these so-called “bathroom bills” while humanizing the transgender experience for many Americans who have little to no familiarity with it.