Dylan Mulvaney vows to do ‘everything in my power’ to help trans kids under threat in Tennessee
Dylan Mulvaney shares powerful message to LGBTQ+ youth. (Getty)
TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney has issued a powerful message of hope to trans youth in Tennessee affected by the new anti-LGBTQ+ bills signed in by governor Bill Lee.
Amidst the rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation in the US, Dylan Mulvaney is giving hope to queer youth under attack.
The TikTok star, who recently collecting a groundbreaker award at the 2023 Queerties and has cemented her status as a vital voice for trans rights with her “days of girlhood” series, has now spoken out about increasing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the US following new bills in Tennessee which threaten same-sex marriage, public drag and gender-affirming healthcare.
In an interview with Variety ahead of her one-night only cabaret show ‘Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365 Live!’ on March 13 at New York’s iconic Rainbow Room, which marks one year of her transitioning journey, Mulvaney was asked what message she would send to queer youth struggling in Tennessee.
“I would say you are the bravest person I know of already, and now you are even braver,” she began.
“And God forbid you can’t get what you need at this moment, please, I beg of you, whatever that guiding light is that brought you to your true self and your identity, please keep following it. Even if it looks a little bit dimmer than before, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
“You will get what you need somewhere, someone will get you that thing. And I will do everything in my power to also help with that. But you can’t lose it, because I lost it for many years and now I’m still finding it. I wish that I had had it for as long as they potentially could.”
The TikTok star, who met with Joe Biden last year to discuss the state of trans rights in the US, was also asked if she had a message for Tennessee governor Bill Lee, who signed the state ban on gender-affirming healthcare.
“I would maybe tell him my story. I would say, ‘Hey, this is who I am. I’m Dylan Mulvaney, I’m not some monster,'” she continued.
“‘Here’s some of my life experiences. Here’s why I feel the way I do’”. I think there’s many activists in this world that are so on top of the facts and on the hard hitting, really deep, grounded work.
“I think what I can bring to it is a personal experience to hopefully somewhat warm a heart. I don’t even think of myself as an activist at all. That is so something that I think gets projected just onto any trans person. But when the time comes, I would be glad to step up for these youth.
In the interview, Mulvaney also shared that she first came out to her mum when she was four but, growing up in a conservative family, did not have the tools to be herself.
“I came out to my mom at [age] 4,” she recalled. “I told her, ‘I’m a girl’. We were very, very religious so she was like, ‘God doesn’t make mistakes’. But I didn’t know that I could transition. I didn’t know that there were options or resources”.
While the family dynamic was complicated when she was younger, Mulvaney that her relationships with her parents couldn’t be in a better place these days.
“A lot of the time, it just comes back to having someone physical in your space so that they know I’m not some monster or that this isn’t some fad,” she reflected.
“I think that has really opened the eyes to a lot of my loved ones in my life that maybe wouldn’t have understood transness before.”
Mulvaney has gained almost 11 million followers on TikTok since she started documenting her transition almost a year ago. Her videos explore everything from the hate she faces from right-wing commentators to the empowering results of her facial feminisation surgery.
All proceeds from Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365 Live! will be donated to LGBTQ+ youth crisis charity The Trevor Project.
