The backlash from some very angry critics has the executives of Ulta Beauty struggling to deal with the fallout of their choice to stand by an offensive transgender video regarding “girlhood” and motherhood which made critics sound the call to boycott the supply chain for the makeup retailer.
a podcast from the company, entitled “The Beauty of Girlhood with Dylan Mulvaney,” highlighted Dylan Mulvaney, a biologically male transgender influencer, and the show’s host David Lopez, a “gender-fluid” hairdresser, talking about various female issues. When the content kicked off the extreme backlash, Ulta responded by choosing to just turn off the comments on its YouTube and Instagram accounts which were hosting the episode and chose to hide the multiple dozens of upset comments from its Twitter account.
“The premise of ‘The Beauty Of…’ [podcast] is to feature conversations that widen the lens surrounding traditional beauty standards,” expressed Ulta ina statement attempting to defend the episode. “We believe beauty is for everyone. And while we recognize some conversations we host will challenge perspectives and opinions, we believe constructive dialogue is one important way to move beauty forward.”
“The intersectionality of gender identity is nuanced, something David and Dylan acknowledge themselves within the episode,” continued the company. “Regardless of how someone identifies, they deserve our respect.”
dialogue is one important way to move beauty forward. The intersectionality of gender identity is nuanced, something David and Dylan acknowledge themselves within the episode. Regardless of how someone identifies, they deserve our respect. (2/2)
— Ulta Beauty (@ultabeauty) October 16, 2022
During the episode, Mulvaney made the claim that being a mother was “absolutely” something that could be achieved by the influencer, going on to add that thinking or saying otherwise was just a form of “transphobia.”
“I know can find love, I know I can still be a performer, I know I can have a family — I wanna be a mom one day, and I absolutely can,” stated the actor. “And that’s why the narrative still has a long way to go, because when I was grieving ‘Boy Dylan,’ I didn’t even know those things were accessible to me.”
“There’s much shame, so much stigma. I had this idea of trans-people and it was weird because I knew I was trans yet had transphobia of myself,” stated Mulvaney.
Trans 👏 Girls 👏 Can 👏 Do 👏It 👏 All! Tune into the latest episode of The Beauty Of… where host @DavidLopezzz sits down with guest Dylan Mulvaney to chat all things girlhood 💝 Watch now: https://t.co/tCRfEryYkZ pic.twitter.com/uaXJqEBQI9
— Ulta Beauty (@ultabeauty) October 13, 2022
Multiple replies from various angry females, which have now been hidden,called out the beauty company for what they are calling the mocking of women.
“So you’d have a white man in blackface advertise your products then?” questioned one of the people. “Is that respecting everyone? Because it sure looks like a slap in the face to your primarily female customer base to have this insulting caricature of womanhood represent you. I won’t shop with you again.”
“Dylan seems desperate to monetize s***,” expressed another since hidden reply. “Not sure why Ulta would go on board. He is doing a mockery of women. Won’t be spending another dime with you.”
“We are trying to point out that Mulvaney’s entire social media presence is a mockery of womanhood and firmly grounded in harmful sex stereotypes,” someone else stated in a post. “And also that it’s VERY creepy for an adult male to keep calling himself a ‘girl.’”
“[Two] adult men talking about their experiences with ‘girlhood,’” exclaimed someone in a reply that was hidden by Ulta. “Please explain the difference between womanface and blackface, because I can’t see one.”
How many replies are you going to hide, @ultabeauty? pic.twitter.com/XRGTaGFwZg
— Terry Schilling 🇺🇸 (@Schilling1776) October 16, 2022