This educational transgender ad will play during the Republican National Convention
With the Republican party moving towards adopting a very, very, very conservative platform that is riddled with anti-queer rhetoric, which includes lifting bans on conversion therapy, only recognizing heterosexual marriages, preventing queers from adopting, and “salutes” North Carolina’s bathroom bill that directly targets trans people.
Next week, however, as Donald Trump accepts the republican nominee at the Republican National Convention, Movement Advancement Project, Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, and the Equality Ohio Education Fund will be rolling out a new ad that advocates for trans rights.
Shade? Maybe. Educational? For sure.
The one-minute commercial, called Restaurant, is set to air during Trump’s speech as he accepts the GOP presidential nomination features a transgender woman named Alaina Kupec, from North Carolina, explaining why it’s uncomfortable and dangerous for her to use a public bathroom for men.
The commercial shows Kupec attempting to use the woman’s restroom at a restaurant while she explains that “in most states, our laws don’t protect transgender people from discrimination in public places, or when it comes to using the restroom. Something we all need to do every day.” The ad then shows a restaurant employee insisting Kupec use the men’s room, until a group of women come to her aid.
“We are concerned that this is happening without most people really understanding who transgender people are,” Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, told the New York Times.
Currently that scenario would be legal in 32 states, said Ineke, the executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, which is producing the ad along with the Freedom for All Americans Education Fund and the Equality Ohio Education Fund. Restaurant ends by asking viewers to visit Fairness USA’s website to learn more. There, the commercial is presented as “part of our efforts to help more people understand the lives of transgender people.”
