Transgender Rights Are Proclaimed in a Traditional Advertising

In the GRACE private supporting transgender rights, Eric Childs and his brother are seen.

A transgender-led regional volunteer, The Gender Research Advisory Council & Education (GRACE), has released its first commercial that aims to influence the opinions of politically right-of-center Americans in favor of transgender rights.

The sixty-second advertising, titled “What a Combat Vet Wants for His Trans Child,” features an interview with Eric Childs, a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom from remote South Carolina, the father of four children, including a transgender teen.

Childs expresses how much he cares and supports his 15-year-old boy, whose name is being kept anonymous to prevent abuse and threats, in the advertisement.

“I live in a small city in South Carolina. I firmly believe in safeguarding my freedom. And I adore my transgender child so much,” he claims as flashed images of him and his brother playing football up flashes on the screen.

The organization GRACE, which was founded in 2023, claims that transgender problems are people problems and should be supported by people of all political beliefs. The first of GRACE’s “Just Like You” campaign, which aims to persuade Americans to support transgender rights in much the same way that the “Love is Love” campaign helped to win over public support for marriage equality.

In the upcoming weeks, GRACE intends to publish a following advertisement.

“My baby is just like every other child in this country,” Childs told Metro Weekly. “Every one of them. They are all trying to live their life as best they may. And as parents, we make every effort to give our kids a happy infancy. That’s actually the American dream that I grew up knowing, that’s the one that I believe in.”

The ad disappears as South Carolina lawmakers consider a bill to stop transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care, following the example of almost two different states that have put in place similar laws restricting transgender people’s movement around the world.

Measures to restrict the ability of trans people — not just minors, but also, in some cases, adults — to obtain spaces that correspond to their sex identity have been recognized as legitimate by the authorities, and reflected on their critical and identification documents are among the bills that target transgender existence.

According to recent polling results, South Carolinians may be open to a message about transgender rights as long as it doesn’t veer off from traditional liberal rhetoric or talking points.

Using a ballot from Mason Dixon Polling & Strategy, 71% of registered voters in South Carolina believe that the government should not intervene in decisions regarding minors’ access to gender-affirming health care if parents are involved in the decision-making process.

Similarly, a recent national Data for Progress poll found that 76% of U.S. registered citizens believe that parents should make decisions regarding trans care, not the government.

The conclusions drawn from that survey are in line with GRACE’s communication method, which emphasizes freedom from government interference and regard for parental rights.

GRACE seeks to integrate the voices of people from typically right-leaning socioeconomic groups, including soldiers, military members, Republicans, and bisexual families.

The “movable middle” is made up of 60% of Americans who reside in the center and center-right tiers of the political spectrum, so GRACE hopes to find a common thread that will resonate with its intended audience. By showing Childs and his son at the gun-firing range, which is a regular bonding activity for many father-son pairings across the country, especially in rural areas and the South.

“Because of the minimal resources of the community, we have been dealing with this wave of policy problems,” according to Alaina Kupec, a former Marine intelligence officer and the founder and president of GRACE. “So this trans community narrative is being defined by those who oppose the hearing of a counter-narrative. Finally, the world gets to know us and who we are, not the portrayal of what you’re being told we are.”

Kupec formerly served from 2016 to 2023 as a panel member of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, and she has before messaging and contacts experience from her position at Pfizer, a tycoon of the pharmaceutical industry.

“A lot of the [pro-transgender] advocacy work has historically been spent in an echo chamber,” she says. “While people in the [equality] movement do amazing work, they are usually talking to an audience that is receptive to their messaging.

The standard movement is not normally comfortable talking to and frequently doesn’t have an audience to talk to because they have alienated themselves and demonized all Republicans as being the enemy, according to the creation of these poor policies.

“For me, GRACE is about approaching this work in a democratic way,” she continues. Trying to reach across the center and middle-right, educate them on the issues, make them understandable, and humanize our society so that they understand that we are like them and that we want to provide for our communities.

“We want to contribute to society, we want profitable careers. We want love and acceptance. And we don’t hurt anyone in doing that.”

Baby’s commercial featuring Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Eric Childs (right) – Photo: GRACE For America, via YouTube
Childs claims to be very open and forthcoming about every aspect of his life, including the fact that he has a transgender child.

Large, portly, and bearded, Childs is fiercely protective of those he cares about. He notes that he hasn’t had some bad face-to-face interactions with people over his son’s gender identity, though he’s not certain whether his looming reputation may be influencing people’s actions.

“If you ever meet me in person, I’m not exactly small,” he says. “I’ve been told I’m sort of challenging. However, I do know that frequently, people aren’t going to say something in front of me when they have something to say.”

Childs says some people are available to disclosing their misconceptions of the transgender community and will repeat what they’ve heard from politicians about the topic. He claims that many state legislators are now using disinformation to market a social agenda and spread misinformation about the trans community.

“Believe in just half of what you see, as a child was taught to me. ’ And I find that to be doubly true when it comes to lawmakers, however,” he says.

Childs says his brother hasn’t run afoul of some anti-transgender policies or laws, noting that the group has frequently been supportive of his female personality, including teachers, school administrators, and librarians.

Although he makes an effort to avoid letting the negative press affect him, Childs is aware of the negativity that some political figures regularly spread, particularly on social media, toward those who support trans rights.

“I believe that, a lot of times, folks give what other people say too much credence,” he says. You are concerned about the bad things if you have a difficulty or are afraid of what people might say about you. I’m worried about my children.

“Love your children, no matter who you think they are or what you believe they should be. Allow your child become who they are. Enjoy them. That’s the most important thing around. Don’t be alarmed by what other people have to say about it. Don’t worry about what your neighbors, your grandparents, or anyone else in your neighborhood have to say about it. Because at the end of the day, that’s your child, and they only get one youth. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Their joy ought to be your top priority. Their ability to live and prosper and be a happy, healthy people, and their mental health, is extremely important.”

Eric Childs and his household – Photo: GRACE For America, via YouTube