Dads are most susceptible to anti-trans ads. A new toolkit helps them learn to let trans kids shine.
During the 2024 election cycle, a multimillion-dollar deluge of Donald Trump- and GOP-fueled anti-trans campaign ads flooded the airwaves. Those ads peeled away some support for trans people, but in researching their efficacy, the Transgender Law Center and its communications and research partners found something fascinating: They were most effective at targeting dads.
“They were eliciting this idea of protector, the defender that dads want to be,” Anna Castro, Principal Narrative Strategist for the Transgender Law Center (TLC), tells LGBTQ Nation. “We think that makes sense for our purposes as well.”
This realization sparked the idea for what would become Dads Let Them Shine, TLC’s new campaign and toolkit focused on empowering dads with ideas and resources to advocate for trans kids and “take on the bullies.” The kit includes resources like event ideas, strategies for social media videos and writing op-eds, and language to debunk common anti-trans talking points.
A host of resources already exist regarding the mental health aspects of having a trans child, what that means for families, and where parents can start their learning and unlearning journeys. Castro sees this toolkit as a complement to those guides, for dads who are at the point on their journey where they are ready to take action.
In 2022, TLC began researching with partners to develop strategies on how to best convey messages supportive of trans youth in Texas amidst legislative attacks on their families. What they found then, and again in 2024 prior to the $200 million in anti-trans campaign ads, was that attitudes about gender are regressing, with more people believing one’s gender refers to sex assigned at birth, but the number of people who believe trans people should be free to live their lives remains more constant.
Last year, TLC convened trans leaders from across the country and asked them who was the first person who made them feel seen. Many people in the room said their dads. A lightbulb went off.
“Dads can be the defender against bullies, but we wanted to emphasize a collective vision of all trans kids as our responsibility as dads, rather than an individualistic, zero-sum view,” Castro says. “Here’s this person who for many of us played this key pivotal role, who we maybe can’t talk politics with but would show up for us in a heartbeat.”
The TLC team spoke with leaders at PFLAG, Family Equality Council, and other parent-focused LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. A common refrain of wanting to see more dads in the fold emerged. Although PFLAG has a growing initiative for dads, it is more common in both the media and organizations to see moms of queer and trans kids at the forefront of active organizing. Castro cites Mama Bears and Mama Dragons, both organizations of moms from conservative, religious backgrounds empowering each other to support and advocate for their queer and trans kids, as examples.
“We have supportive dads, but what makes it easier for a mom to be more of a loud and vocal support than dads?” Castro says. “We need to see dads everywhere, and the toolkit is the first way to get into this space.”
When the TLC team was doing the research that went into the toolkit, they were exploring the tricky space of buzzwords like “safety” and “fairness” used in trans (and, conversely, anti-trans) advocacy and working to see the issue from a dad’s perspective, Castro says. The research team is led by dads. Additionally, TLC hosted capacity-building and trainings to empower parents to show up for trans kids in the face of harmful legislation and ballot initiatives, alongside powerful conversations among dads as part of the research.
“Dads want to show up for other dads,” Castro says. “The parental empathy that exists for how tough this moment is for dads in general is really strong. We want to continue to foster spaces where they can talk about the challenges of supporting a family right now with inflation and gas prices, worries about AI. We want to give them a place to lighten their load.”
The toolkit, which was released to the public on October 6th, has been met with positive response, not just from fathers, but from kids. “We’ve had so many kids reach out and say, ‘Yes, I have something I can use to talk to my dad,’” Castro says.
Through community feedback, Castro and their team have learned that it’s not only fathers of trans kids or trans community members finding the kit useful, but also parents of cis kids. “They’re saying, ‘I can use this resource to be in solidarity at school boards and talk to other dads, and say ‘I don’t like what’s happening,’” Castro says. “I don’t have to have a connection to a trans kid to say that [discrimination] is wrong.”