Who is Dylan Mulvaney? Trans TikToker calls out Caitlyn Jenner for misgendering her
Dylan Mulvaney wanted to showcase what it was like for her to publicly transition.
But now she’s getting attention for another reason: a recent visit to the White House caught the attention of fellow trans woman Caitlyn Jenner and launched Mulvaney into a public debate over transgender rights.
The social media star started the series “Days of Girlhood” to show the world how transitioning can look and feel. Since posting her first TikTok in the series on March 12, she steadily rose to stardom as her daily video diary resonated with more and more people — more than 8 million of them, judging by her following on the social media app TikTok.
She’s still making videos for the series, but now she’s taken on the added responsibility of defending transgender people on her platform.
Recently, she went to the White House to discuss transgender rights with President Joe Biden. They chatted about gender-affirming care and transphobia.
Mulvaney posted videos about how excited she was for the conversation and the opportunity to meet and engage with the U.S. president.
After the visit, however, Mulvaney was getting different attention. Conservative groups scrolled through her “Days of Girlhood” series and picked certain videos that highlighted aspects of her transition. They said Mulvaney’s videos were “absurdity.”
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn shared one of Mulvaney’s videos from May where Mulvaney discusses a personal issue some trans women experience when trying to reclaim their bodies in a positive way.
Mulvaney argued that no matter what decision a trans person makes about their body during their transition, it doesn’t give others the right to ogle or discuss trans people’s privates.
Jenner, who is also a trans woman, shared the video and said she didn’t want to normalize “any of what this person is doing” before she misgendered Mulvaney. Jenner’s management did not respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Mulvaney responded to Jenner’s comments on Oct. 30, saying that although the comments didn’t hurt her as much as they could have when she was earlier in her transition, Jenner’s comments could be hurting other trans girls and women who don’t have the platform Mulvaney has. She also points out other trans people may not have the resources Jenner accessed for her surgical transition — something Mulvaney said not all transgender people choose to or want to do.
“We are two of the most privileged trans women in America at the moment, and with that comes a lot of responsibility,” Mulvaney said in her TikTok. “As a trans person, invalidating another trans person’s transness is pretty evil in my eyes.”
Mulvaney said she would be excited to welcome anyone into the trans community because she knows “how isolating it can be.”
She asked her followers not to go after Jenner and not to misgender her “because I already know how difficult it is to be publicly trans,” she said.
Mulvaney said Jenner doesn’t need to respond. Jenner, however, responded and said she received “death threats” both to herself and her team, as well as “nasty hate mail” over her ridicule of Mulvaney.
Jenner then backtracked on misgendering Mulvaney and said that came from someone on her team and that she handled it internally.
Mulvaney later appeared on TODAY’s series “The New Rules” and discussed the hate she’s received since sharing her experience online. She said she’s developed a thick skin, but she’s not immune to hate and negativity. She’s still sensitive to what others think of her.
“I think because my job now is online for millions of people watching, it opens me up to a lot of hate,” she said on the show.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Who is Dylan Mulvaney? Trans TikToker calls out Caitlyn Jenner for misgendering her."
