Ulta Beauty is working overtime to shut up their critics and standing by an offensive transgender video on “girlhood” and motherhood that triggered calls to boycott the makeup supply chain.
A company podcast episode, titled “The Beauty of Girlhood with Dylan Mulvaney,” featured biologically male transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and host David Lopez, a “gender-fluid” hairdresser, speaking about female issues. When the content sparked an onslaught of backlash, Ulta turned off comments on its YouTube and Instagram accounts hosting the episode, and hid dozens of angry replies from its Twitter account.
“The premise of ‘The Beauty Of…’ [podcast] is to feature conversations that widen the lens surrounding traditional beauty standards,” Ulta said in a statement further defending 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,” the company added. “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
Mulvaney claimed during the episode that being a mother was “absolutely” something the influencer could achieve, adding that thinking otherwise is “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,” the actor said. “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,” Mulvaney added.
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
Dozens of now-hidden replies from upset females called out the beauty company for effectively mocking women.
“So you’d have a white man in blackface advertise your products then?” one person questioned. “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***,” another hidden reply said. “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 posted. “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,’” someone wrote in a reply that is now 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
Related: Women Call For Ulta Beauty Boycott Over Transgender Video Discussing ‘Girlhood’ And ‘Motherhood’