


President Joe Biden invited transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney to the White House last fall, hosting Mulvaney as part of his administration's push to prove allyship with the transgender movement. You may not have heard of Mulvaney, but on the internet, the TikToker is huge: The social media star has 10.7 million followers on TikTok, amassing fame with a series on days "of being a girl."
"Trans girls make the best valentines," Mulvaney said in the TikToker's recent "day 338 of being a girl" video. Mulvaney has shared seemingly every aspect of the star's life, from receiving facial feminization surgery to pretending that stereotypes about what it means to be a woman are good, actually. And Mulvaney may have plenty of support on social media and all the way to the White House, but at least one transgender onlooker is starting to get a bit fed up.
MAJOR BACKLASH: ULTA HAS TRANSGENDER TIKTOKER SPEAK ON WOMANHOOD
While recording for Mulvaney's millions of followers, the TikToker approached transgender actress Laverne Cox at the Grammy awards.
LMFAOOOOO pic.twitter.com/LJrGGuYH61
— Peter Grippin (@joker_misato) February 7, 2023
"It's insane that you're documenting so much of your life," Cox said. "Make sure you keep things for yourself. Everything cannot be for the public."
When Mulvaney interrupted to mention the star's recent facial feminization surgery, Cox replied flatly, "I know, girl, we know. It's all over TikTok."
The two transgender activists then go on to have a cozier moment in which they say that they hope the support they've received from fans extends to all transgender people, but that doesn't mean the exchange wasn't generally awkward. The funniest thing about this interaction is not that Cox has had it with the kids these days but that reporting their conversation as is was evidently not supportive enough of the transgender movement, which Buzzfeed quickly learned.
"Laverne Cox Told Dylan Mulvaney To 'Keep Things For Yourself' After Saying She'd Seen Dylan's Facial Feminization Surgery 'All Over TikTok,' And The Whole Exchange Was Kinda Awkward," reads a Buzzfeed headline from Feb. 8. "You can always tell when Laverne doesn't want a camera in her face," says the subhead.
After reader comments such as "I feel like this headline is really poor. You made it sound like Laverne was being nasty, and I was prepared to be disappointed in her" and "The chosen headline is inappropriate and trying to create unnecessary drama," the website sanitized its headline. "Laverne Cox Encouraged Dylan Mulvaney To 'Keep Things For Yourself' In Light Of Dylan's 'Days Of Girlhood' TikTok Series, And People Think Laverne Is Just Looking Out For Dylan," the headline now awkwardly reads. ("Laverne genuinely seems so sweet and she only wants the best for her," adds the subhead.)
It may be of little consequence what Buzzfeed does or does not choose to say in a headline, but this change reflects a disturbing trend when it comes to everything related to the transgender movement.
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According to activists, participating in anything less than unequivocal support for transitioners produces "irresponsible, biased coverage." (That was the charge recently levied by GLAAD and similar organizations against the New York Times.) If you argue that allowing transgender people to occupy women's spaces could open women up to violence, you will get death threats. And if you accurately report on an awkward conversation between two transgender people, you will be told you're not enough of an ally.
The real story, according to activists, is that there's no story at all.