Trans activist Dylan Mulvaney was recently honored with Attitude magazine’s inaugural Woman of the Year award following a tumultuous period of transphobic backlash. Here’s the full story.
The Award
Paloma Faith, a celebrated singer and actor, presented Mulvaney with the award.
Accepting the award, Mulvaney said, “Some see me as the woman of the year. Some see me as a woman of a year … as I only publicly came out online 560 days ago.”
Means So Much More
“Some people don’t see me as a woman at all, which is why receiving this honor from a queer publication like Attitude means so much more to me,” she continued.
Hateful People’s Standards
She added, “No matter how hard I try or what I wear, or what I say, or what surgeries I get, I will never reach an acceptable version of womanhood by those hateful people’s standards.”
Queer Community
“But as long as I have the queer community that sees me for my truth – I’m gonna be OK,” she concluded.
The Background
Mulvaney’s journey to prominence began on the social media platform TikTok, where she documented her transition as a trans woman.
The Video Series
Her “365 Days of Girlhood” video series provided an intimate look into her experiences, from coming out as a woman to going through gender-affirming care.
Bud Light Showed an Interest
This candid portrayal of her transformation caught the attention of Bud Light, leading to two collaborative projects.
A Costly Collaboration
However, the Bud Light collaboration garnered significant controversy.
A 60-second social media video released on April 1st, featuring Mulvaney enjoying a moment of self-care with a Bud Light in hand, triggered a vehement backlash in the U.S.
The Boycott
The ensuing boycott orchestrated by right-wing groups dealt a significant blow to the brand, resulting in a staggering 27% year-on-year decline in sales by September.
Distanced Itself
Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, hastily distanced itself from the partnership, citing a lack of management awareness.
She Was Disappointed
Throughout this period, Mulvaney confronted an onslaught of bullying and transphobia.
She shared that she was shocked at Bud Light for failing to publicly support her in the face of such adversity, saying that hiring a trans individual without standing by them is more detrimental than not hiring them at all.
“Let’s Award This Thing for Women to a Bloke”
Several social media users expressed their thoughts on the incident.
One Twitter user wrote, “It’s not called the attention economy for nothing. The whole ‘let’s award this thing for women to a bloke’ is looking increasingly tired though; it can’t have much more legs in it from a marketing perspective.”
Stop Using the Word “Transitioning”
Another user added, “We should stop using the word “transitioning” when referring to men who want to be women.
A man can never transition to being a woman no matter what they wear, no matter what surgeries they may undergo.”
The World’s Madness
A third user commented, “I identify as someone that can’t understand the world’s madness right now so can I enter an area where others who identify the same as me please because I think we’d all be content.”
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The post “Means So Much More”: Trans Activist Dylan Mulvaney Wins Woman-Of-The-Year Award After Bud Light Backlash first appeared on Mama Say What?!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / lev radin. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
