For the past two-thirds of a year, TikToker Dylan Mulvaney has been documenting her "Days of Girlhood" after coming out as a trans woman on TikTok. The vlog-style series has been educational and emotional, and one that has catapulted Mulvaney toward a growing following of over 8.9 million on the app.
Recently, Mulvaney's videos were discovered by Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who shared a clip from the TikToker's series where Mulvaney is talking about going to the mall in shorts and noticing that people were "staring directly at [her] crotch because [her] crotch doesn't look like other women's crotches sometimes."
In response to seeing this, Blackburn tweeted, "Dylan Mulvaney, Joe Biden, and radical left-wing lunatics want to make this absurdity normal."
To which Caitlyn Jenner inserted herself and responded to the divisive tweet by saying, "He is talking about his penis!" (This response has since been deleted.)
Not only did Jenner misgender Mulvaney, but she also doubled down on her statement by following up with, "There is a difference between acceptance and tolerance, and normalizing exposing your genitals in a public way and a public place. I do not support that at all, in the slightest. Dylan...congrats [you're] trans with a penis."
There is a difference between acceptance and tolerance, and normalizing exposing your genitals in a public way and a public place. I do not support that at all, in the slightest. Dylan…congrats your trans with a penis. https://t.co/ibcVN6SkTb
People online immediately came to Mulvaney's defense and pointed out Jenner's misgendering of Mulvaney as well as the hypocrisy of Jenner, a fellow trans woman, making those comments.
@Caitlyn_Jenner You called her a he.... That's the issue don't you see that, you would have had a fit if someone called you a he in a public eye. I will never call you an ally for the LGBTQ+ or a part of our community. Disgrace
And others dragged Jenner for claiming Mulvaney was exposing herself when she was wearing shorts that would pass a middle school finger-length test.
@Caitlyn_Jenner No one is exposing themselves. Jesus Christ.
"Girl," Mulvaney said. "You're making me sound like I'm some creepy flasher exposing myself."
The 25-year-old then pointed to the video Jenner condemned, and remembered how, after posting, two trans women gifted her with underwear designed for tucking and taught her how to use them because "they could tell I was struggling," she said.
"And I'm just curious if you can think back to your early days of transitioning and being embarrassed about your body or having strangers give you dirty looks," Mulvaney questioned. "That's why I made that video — because I was embarrassed and I wanted to reclaim my body in a positive way. And now you've taken that and you've turned it into something really ugly."
"I've cheered you on from the second you came out, truly, and I'm so happy that you've had the surgeries that you've desired," she continued. "But I'm 25 years old and I'm on day 233. I can't even get bottom surgery right now if I wanted to — I haven't been on hormones long enough. ... I'm not as far along as you. Please be patient."
Mulvaney went on to acknowledge that this situation has made her hesitant about sharing her own journey because she plans to seek surgery in the future, but she does not want her decision to negatively affect views about trans women who have not undergone or do not want to undergo surgery.
"A trans person invalidating another trans person's transness is pretty evil, in my eyes," she said.
"You've been accepted by a group of people that clearly does not accept me, and nearly every day this week, I've been called a 'freak,' a 'child predator,' an 'absurdity.' I'm none of those things that your cohorts are painting me to be. And my question for you is, Don't you feel a little lonely over there? These people that you're standing with — I don't know if they have your best intentions at heart. But they will use you to make me and the trans community life a lot harder than it already is," she concluded.
BuzzFeed has reached out to Mulvaney for comment, and we'll update you if we hear back.
If you or someone you know has experienced anti-LGBTQ violence or harassment, you can contact the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs hotline at 1-212-714-1141.
Peer-support services are available at the Trans Lifeline. You can call the hotline at 1-877-565-8860.