Gender identity has become a token in the cultural battleground, fed by propaganda and the same fear-mongering tactics we seen time and again over a history of civil rights abuses in this country.
But teenagers like Daniel, in his own words: "...are not some hypothetical political debate. We're whole human beings with communities around us and people who love us and value us."
We need more stories in media that reveal this truth in ways that are depoliticized and contextualized within universal human experiences.
Daniel being trans should be relatively unremarkable — in the same way that he also obsesses over Radiohead, skateboards and plays the drums — yet some people (and politicians) make it a burden.
If those people have a half a heart, they will begin to question why the more they get to know Daniel.
That is the power of story as an empathy machine.
The best counterpropaganda doesn't directly refute or push back on the propaganda it aims to defuse. It instead puts giant cracks into the perspective the original propaganda insists on by owning an entirely new narrative.
That's why when we did random controlled studies with this piece, conservatives and older folks who saw it had significantly more open-minded reactions to questions around gender expression.
In addition to the short film, :30 and :15 vignettes are being served through paid channels into households across a handful of key states over the next few months. The people who need to see it will see it.
I'm thankful to HRC trusting us and our vision and Comic Relief US for providing generous funding to make it a reality.
My hope is that this is the first — a proof point — to a much more consistent story platform to change the culture around gender identity.
If you have a channel to screen this short film to an audience (media platforms, cinemas, etc), please let me know and let's do something together!