Dylan Mulvaney is an American media personality who documented the first year of gender transition in a popular video series called “Days of Girlhood.”
Background
Mulvaney was born December 29, 1996 in San Diego, California, grew up in Southern California, and earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Cincinnati in 2019.
Mulvaney performed in the musical The Book of Mormon on its national tour, as well as in other musical theatre productions. Mulvaney also was brought up from the audience to dance with a friend at the Ellen show and appeared as a contestant on The Price Is Right.
“Days of Girlhood”
At the start of the pandemic, Mulvaney began posting comedy videos on social media. Mulvaney quickly amassed a large following after the “Day One of Being a Girl” post went viral on TikTok. Mulvaney was soon doing many endorsement deals and sponsored posts. Several of Mulvaney’s videos sparked criticism, including one about tampons, one about Ulta cosmetics, one about wearing tight clothing to “normalize the bulge,” and several where Mulvaney dressed up as a young girl.
In October 2022, Mulvaney was invited to speak with Joe Biden at the White House, which led to significant backlash from conservatives, including conservative trans people like Caitlyn Jenner.
Following 2022 facial feminization surgery, Mulvaney did a face reveal of the results in January 2023. At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Mulvaney talked over Laverne Cox while filming their first introduction. Though Mulvaney had solicited Cox’s advice, Mulvaney was clearly not listening, leading a number of prominent trans people to comment on the dynamics of the encounter.
In March 2023 Mulvaney held the live fundraising event Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365 Live! to celebrate one year since starting transition. Those who showed Mulvaney support, including cisgender allies like Drew Barrymore, faced criticism.
In April 2023 Mulvaney made sponsored posts for Bud Light and Nike. The Nike post showed Mulvaney exercising in their sports bra and sparked more criticism from anti-trans people. The Bud Light posts promoted an NCAA March Madness giveaway and revealed the brand had made a customized Bud Light can with Mulvaney’s face on it.
Bud Light immediately faced bomb threats and boycotts after conservative demagogues like Tucker Carlson and anti-trans groups decided to make an example of the beer. Anti-trans troll Matt Walsh made such pointed and cruel personal attacks that Walsh’s YouTube channel was demonetized. In the first weeks, several conservative entertainers joined the boycott, Bud Light sales dropped about 25% year over year, two ABInBev marketing executives were ousted, the stock was downgraded by several firms, and Senator Ted Cruz announced a planned investigation into whether the brand was marketing to underage audiences. ABInBev released a noncommittal statement and a poorly received patriotic ad, announced they would buy back unsold beer, and hired conservative consultants to help with a rebrand. Bud Light lost its place as America’s favorite beer, ABInBev laid off hundreds of employees, and North American organic sales dropped $1.4 billion. The fiasco instantly became one of the worst marketing blunders in history and a setback for national brands supporting trans inclusion or offering brand endorsements to trans people.
Facing extreme overexposure, Mulvaney reduced the frequency of posting and announced an upcoming book. In June 2023 Mulvaney reflected on the first three months of the controversy:
“What transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined. For months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house. I have been ridiculed in public. I’ve been followed. And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. And I’m not telling you this because I want your pity. I am telling you this because if this is my experience, from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much much worse for other trans people.”
Jones (2023)
In 2023 Attitude magazine honored Mulvaney as Woman of the Year.
To mark the 2024 anniversary of starting transition, Mulvaney posed with Lady Gaga and shared several messages with fans.
References
Sanders, Wren (June 6, 2023). Dylan Mulvaney Is Ready for Life After “Girlhood.” them. https://www.them.us/story/dylan-mulvaney-life-after-girlhood-now-awards-2023
Jones, CT (June 29, 2023). Trans Influencer Dylan Mulvaney Breaks Her Silence on Bud Light Controversy. Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/dylan-mulvaney-trans-bud-light-controversy-1234780871/
Bellware, Kim; Javaid, Maham (April 6, 2023). She’s on Bud Light cans and all over the internet. Who is Dylan Mulvaney? The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/06/dylan-mulvaney-transgender-influencer-tiktok/
Billson, Chantelle (October 17, 2022). Beauty giant Ulta bombarded with transphobic hate over video of trans woman. PinkNews [archive] https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/10/17/ulta-beauty-trans-dylan-mulvaney/
Miller, Julius (June 1, 2022). Dylan Mulvaney On Transitioning and Becoming a TikTok ‘Trailblazer’. lamag.com. [archive] https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/dylan-mulvaney-on-transitioning-and-becoming-a-tiktok-trailblazer/
Malkin, Marc (March 9, 2023). TikTok Star Dylan Mulvaney Recalls Coming Out as Trans at Age 4, Tells Trans Youth: ‘There Is a Light at the End of the Tunnel’. Variety. [archive] https://variety.com/2023/digital/podcasts/tiktok-dylan-mulvaney-transgender-1235547512/
Dellatto, Marisa (November 22, 2022). ‘#BoycottTampax’ Trends On Twitter After Viral Tweet From Tampon Company. Forbes [archive]
Iftikhar, Asyia (October 27, 2022). Caitlyn Jenner joins right-wing pile-on of trans TikToker Dylan Mulvaney. PinkNews [archive] https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/11/22/boycotttampax-trends-on-twitter-after-viral-tweet-from-tampon-company/?sh=7a5ab1ba72a9
Holpuch, Amanda (April 14, 2023). Behind the Backlash Against Bud Light’s Transgender Influencer. New York Times [archive] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/14/business/bud-light-boycott.html
St. Martin, Emily (March 14, 2023). Drew Barrymore sat on the floor with trans TikToker Dylan Mulvaney. Online turmoil ensued. Los Angeles Times. [archive] https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-03-14/drew-barrymore-dylan-mulvaney-transgender-online-hate
Coen, Susie; Corless, Blathnaid (April 7, 2023). Sharron Davies calls for Nike boycott after trans influencer promoted its sports bra. The Telegraph [archive] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/07/sharron-davies-dylan-mulvaney-nike-transgender-bra-boycott/
Williamson, Harriet (April 15, 2023). Budweiser targeted by bomb threats as right-wing snowflakes keep raging over Dylan Mulvaney collab. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/04/15/budweiser-bomb-threats-dylan-mulvaney-bud-light/
Picchi, Aimee (April 25, 2023). Maybelline faces boycott over partnership with Dylan Mulvaney. CBS News. [archive] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/maybelline-dylan-mulvaney-boycott/
Ziady, Hanna (February 29, 2024). Bud Light boycott likely cost Anheuser-Busch InBev over $1 billion in lost sales. CNN https://www.advocate.com/business/has-bud-light-lost-sales
Resources
Dylan Mulvaney (dylanmulvaney.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Instagram (instagram.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
TikTok (tiktok.com)