GLAAD—the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization—has partnered with international advertising, marketing, and PR agency Ogilvy to create the “Protect This Kid” campaign in support of LGBTQ youth. The launch comes as the ACLU is currently tracking 489 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States, many of which target trans youth, during a highly consequential election year, and following the tragic death of Oklahoma teen student Nex Benedict in February.
Featuring notable LGBTQ figures from the worlds of entertainment, media, and sport, “Protect This Kid” intends to combat harmful narratives being used to spread misinformation and hate against the LGBTQ community on social media and beyond. Among those included in a new short film to promote the campaign, directed by MG Evangelista, are trans advocate and filmmaker, Daniella Carter, who was one of the subjects of D. Smith’s GLAAD award-nominated and Sundance award-winning documentary Kokomo City, and bisexual comedian, actress, and writer Sherry Cola who starred in the television series Good Trouble and the movie Joy Ride.
They appear alongside queer Fire Island comedian and actress Margaret Cho; bisexual author and former NFL player Ryan “R.K.” Russell; genderqueer RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 winner Yvie Oddly; trans policy advocate and the first trans athlete to represent the United States in international competition, Chris Mosier; Intersex activist, model, Ponyboi filmmaker and actor River Gallo; and queer singer and Booksmart actress Beanie Feldstein, who revealed her campaign image on a Times Square digital billboard in April. The “Protect This Kid” short film features Billie Eilish’s poignant Grammy-winning song “What Was I Made For?”
Watch the “Protect This Kid” short film:
The campaign also calls on LGBTQ people to post photos of themselves as kids on social media using #ProtectThisKid and to share their own story of growing up LGBTQ while reflecting on the recent damaging rhetoric against LGBTQ young people.
“I transitioned well over 15 years ago and at that time there was little to no mainstream trans visibility”, Daniella Carter tells The Queer Review. “I was at an age where finding a better understanding of myself oftentimes depended on a Google search and a lot of that language didn’t necessarily represent the experience that I wanted for myself. I found stereotypes that are part of the rhetoric that is used in the whole fearmongering thing about grooming. So when I was approached about being involved in the “Protect This Kid” campaign I thought about the kid that needed campaigns like this to exist when I transitioned, and still needs them to exist now.”
“GLAAD is longtime friend of mine”, continues Carter, “and not only are they using my experiences, there are using those of so many others who are involved to help change the narrative in media of what protecting kids means. I think it’s more important now than ever, as trans youth rights are being taken away and there are unprecedented amounts of anti-trans bills being introduced into state legislatures, that we remind LGBTQ youth that there is a light at the other side of this darkness, and there’s light even in between this darkness.”
“This campaign is telling kids, you’re not the problem, you are beautiful”, adds Carter. “It is changing the conversation and saying that we are not what the media is trying to portray us to be, we are not these adults who are trying to groom LGBTQ youth. We are individuals who persevered through the bullying, through the rejection, through the homelessness, through public humiliation, and what we found was a beautiful community. It’s so important that we remind LGBTQ youth that that’s possible. We are the generation that is the most vocal, we are the generation that can create change. If our youth is given representation of resiliency and perseverance, it will not only continue to fuel what they have, but remind them of what’s possible beyond the narratives that we see in media now, telling them that they are the problem, when in fact being your most authentic self has always been the solution.”
“When you think about my journey in particular”, Carter comments, “I am the youth who was rejected for being trans. I am the youth who engaged in survival sex work. But most importantly, what I am, is a thriving trans adult. I must do everything in my power within my time to educate and leave a legacy of what we are and not what the media say we are.”
“I think about how much I would have loved to see this campaign when I was a kid”, Sherry Cola shares with The Queer Review. “If there is any way that we can tell queer kids that you’re going to be okay if you embrace your identities, that’s definitely a mission statement that I’m always passionate about. I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of the “Protect This Kid” campaign because it’s necessary. It’s so special and it’s emotional watching all these videos and seeing the billboards of these people who just wanted to find purpose and to be themselves.”
“Being a part of this campaign has definitely made me reflect on moments in my own childhood where I knew I was queer, but I didn’t necessarily confront those feelings”, Cola continues. “It wasn’t until my late teens that I really grasped that I was bisexual. The fact that I found my voice through my queerness is something that I’m proud of. I don’t take for granted the fact that I’ve gotten the opportunities as an actress to portray queer characters authentically and to tell these multi-dimensional stories that I feel were overdue. I feel lucky that I get to do this work and express my identities through the craft and hopefully this is just the beginning of more glorious representation. We’re getting stronger by the minute because of the community and celebrating our differences.”
“When you think about kids, you think about their potential and the fact that the sky is the limit and you want these kids to use their imaginations”, adds Cola. “Imagination is also connected to queerness in the sense that anything is possible and you should be whoever you are wholeheartedly. Let’s be real, I was an adorable kid and that photo of me at the beach symbolizes the fact that I wanted to see the world and see myself reflected in the world. It was only the beginning of this immigrant, bisexual, Chinese American woman’s journey in America.”
“For the young folks in the LGBTQ+ community, I want to say, lean in and be louder. What makes you self-conscious, will actually make you shine. Fitting in should be the last of your worries. You’re born to stand out. Because of representation in TV, film, music, and art in 2024, I think queer kids can see hope in that being themselves is a superpower and hopefully they’ll never have to dim their light. Being yourself is not wrong, being yourself is absolutely correct.”
Highlighting the purpose of the campaign, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis emphasizes, “For too long, anti-LGBTQ activists have not only spouted lies by falsely claiming that LGBTQ people are threats to children, but they have erased the existence of LGBTQ youth and their need for content that they can relate to and be inspired by. Ogilvy has helped us fill that critical gap with a timely campaign that harnesses the power of celebrity voices and the lived experience of queer trailblazers to support youth.”
“The queer adults we celebrate and revere were once kids too”, Ellis continues, “and through this campaign we remind the world that when we take away the rights of LGBTQ young people, and deny them safety, compassion, and privacy, we risk losing the next great entertainer, or athlete, or author. Queer and trans kids need our support now, before it’s too late.”
Ogilvy Chief Creative Officer Lisa Bright agrees, “We live at a time of misinformation and politicized messaging, where the slogan ‘protect our kids’ has become a rallying call to attack the LGBTQ+ community, which is exactly why we must de-weaponize the rhetoric by turning it into a message of positivity and love. Ogilvy is proud to partner with GLAAD and so many important voices on this PSA campaign that celebrates coming-of-age stories that anyone can relate to and speaks to the worthiness of everyone”.
Discover more ways to engage with the “Protect This Kid” campaign at ProtectThisKid.com and support GLAAD’s vital work at GLAAD.org. The “Protect This Kid” campaign is amplified nationally, across more than 36 markets, with an Out of Home program in partnership with Outfront Media.
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