YouTuber Abigail Thorn shares support for Dylan Mulvaney amid ‘authentic femininity’ row

British trans YouTuber Abigail Thorn has spoken up in support of Dylan Mulvaney amid an “authentic femininity” row, condemning the term as trans misogynistic and rooted in white supremacy.

Having come out as trans in 2021 on her channel Philosophy Tube, which boasts more than 1.3 million subscribers, the playwright and actress posted a video on Monday (22 May) in support of Mulvaney. 

Thorn’s support social media personality follows Mulvaney having to face a torrent of anti-trans hate over her brand partnership deals with Nike and Bud Light.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 370,000 times on Twitter, Thorn said: “I just saw somebody say they don’t like Dylan Mulvaney because she acts ‘exaggerated feminine’ and isn’t ‘authentic and classy like Abigail Thorn’.”

The statement upset her for three reasons: “First, the only reason anybody thinks I’m classy is because I speak with an English accent,” she claimed. “I could wear this exact same outfit and do the exact same makeup but talk in an animated American accent and you will be like. ‘Oh my God, she’s so annoying’.

‘Roots in White supremacy’

“Secondly, this perspective, where an authentic femininity is reserved only for women deemed classy enough, has its roots in white supremacy and the exclusion of women of colour from the women’s rights movement. 

“Thirdly, it’s just straight up trans misogynistic to say that a trans woman isn’t authentic because she’s too feminine.”

The terms are “just another way of invalidating the gender of a trans person that you don’t like”, she added.

“So, please don’t ever use my name to tear down another trans woman, and Dylan, if you happen to be watching this, then darling, keep being fabulous,” she concluded while lifting a glass of wine in true diva style.

So-called gender critical activists have attacked Mulvaney, with one bashing out a furious blog post, claiming “women have been objecting to this caricature of femininity“, in reference to the TikTok star.

A columnist for the Washington Times wrote that “women of the world” are forced to endure Mulvaney’s “widely shared video caricatures of female-ness…Mulvaney’s interpretations are nothing short of offensive”.

Thorn’s support for Mulvaney has received a glowing response, with one social media user commenting: “I wish people [would] stop talking about Dylan and let her live her life however she wants without prejudice. Thank you for standing up for her.”

Another wrote: “All women have at some point experienced this,” wrote another.

Others even called for a Thorn-Mulvaney collaboration. 

TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney has been hit with constant backlash in the battle for trans equality

Mulvaney came out publically as trans in an emotional video in March last year.

Following this, she documented her transition through her funny and frank “Days of Girlhood” TikTok series, which helped her amass almost 11 million followers on the video-sharing platform.

As her fame grew from her popular YouTube channel, Mulvaney quickly became one of the world’s most visible trans personalities. 

But her visibility has been fiercely attacked by anti-trans activists. Mulvaney’s partnerships with Nike and Bud Light sparked outrage from people who expressed their upset over the sight of a trans woman wearing leggings and having a single drink from a one-off Bud Light can with her face on it.

The backlash also saw singer and self-professed anti-woke pundit Kid Rock share a video of himself shooting a round of bullets into a table of Bud Light products, while UK Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, appearing on the right-wing channel GB News, dubbed Mulvaney’s Nike partnership a “kick in the teeth”.

Caitlyn Jenner also weighed, describing Nike as woke and calling out what she says is a “double standard” for hiring the influencer after reportedly slashing the sponsorship pay of Olympic track and field athlete Allyson Felix when she fell pregnant. 

It isn’t the first time Mulvaney has faced a backlash. In October, she came under attack from US conservatives, including Jenner, after she was invited to discuss trans rights with US president Joe Biden. 

In the same month, US cosmetics brand Ulta Beauty was bombarded with anti-trans hate after it featured Mulvaney in an episode of its The Beauty Of… YouTube series.