Social media star and actress Abigail Thorn, the creator of the popular YouTube show Philosophy Tube, is tired of people using her name to shame fellow trans woman and very famous Bud Light can model Dylan Mulvaney.
Thorn recorded a video disparaging people who say they don’t like Mulvaney because of their “exaggerated feminine” affect, and isn’t “authentic and classy like Abigail Thorn.” While on the surface this may feel like a compliment, in reality it denigrates trans women in general and is misogynistic, Thorn said.
“’Authentic femininity”’ is a trap — please don’t tear down Dylan Mulvaney using my name,” she said on Twitter above the video. Thorn, who has a knack for creating cogent arguments (she has more than 1 million subscribers on her YouTube channel), listed three reasons why the situation “really upset me.”
“Firstly, the only reason anybody thinks I’m classy is because I speak with an English accent.” She then does an impression of an annoying American twentysomething and illustrates how “I can wear this exact same outfit” and come off much more abrasively.
Then she talks about how the idea of “authentic femininity” that’s “only reserved for women deemed classy enough” has its roots in white supremacy. That’s because it excludes women of color from the women’s rights movement. Her final reason for why it bothers her is that it’s “straight up trans misogynistic.”
“To say that a trans woman isn’t authentic because she’s too feminine is just another way of invalidating the gender of a trans person that you don’t like.” She ends her speech with a plea: “Please don’t ever use my name to tear down another trans woman.”
She then talks to Mulvaney directly: “Dylan if you do happen to be watching this, then darling, keep being fabulous.”
The inevitable Thorn/Mulvaney teamup is surely on the way! We’ll keep you posted.