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Dylan Mulvaney, a TikTok star, rose to stardom after courageously sharing her experience of transitioning to a female. On her TikTok platform, Mulvaney documents each new day of being a woman, or days of “girlhood” as she puts it, and just recently celebrated her one year anniversary as a woman. Mulvaney celebrated this milestone by livestreaming the event at the Rainbow Room in New York City on March 13, 2023. 

Anyone could watch the show for $5, which was entirely donated to The Trevor Project, whose mission, according to the website, is “To end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people.” 

After celebrating one year of being a woman, Mulvaney commented about the show. She revealed her emotions and thoughts about the event.

“It’s day 366 of being a girl, and yesterday was the best day of my life. I don’t have words. My show went better than I could have ever imagined. I haven’t processed anything. I sobbed during the show, I had my first slow dance on stage, I confronted my haters. It was an epic amount of trans joy,” Mulvaney said in a TikTok video. 

With 10.8 million followers on TikTok, Mulvaney’s social media platform continues to grow. On Jan. 27, Mulvaney posted a TikTok revealing her face after having a cosmetic surgery that augmented her face to have more feminine features, called a facial feminisation surgery. Fans responded positively to the long-awaited reveal.

In addition to Mulvaney’s direct outreach, her influence on the LGBTQ+ community has been recognized across the nation. According to the Washington Examiner, Vice President Kamala Harris sent Mulvaney a note to congratulate her on one year of “living authentically.”

Mulvaney also had the opportunity to interview President Joe Biden regarding current trans rights issues. 

“I really just want to represent my community the best I can and you know what, as silly as I am on here [TikTok], I am ready to step up, and show that trans people, we’re not going anywhere. And that trans kids, they deserve a fighting chance to be their true selves,” Mulvaney shared in her TikTok video documenting day 222 of girlhood. 

Mulvaney was also interviewed on the Drew Barrymore Show on March 13, sharing her experience combating hate on social media. In response to this, Barrymore sat on the ground at Mulvaney’s feet as they shared a vulnerable moment together. They spoke about their experiences combating hate and shared similar sentiments about their experiences. 

Despite the immense outpour of support towards Mulvaney, her mere image is sometimes seen as a controversial issue. Some transphobic viewers of the Drew Barrymore Show expressed hate towards Barrymore as a result of this interaction. They disagreed with Barrymore showing sympathy towards Mulvaney. 

“Why does Drew Barrymore Hate Women? By kneeling and bowing down to a MAN who mocks women- Drew is slapping every single woman in the face. Such an insult,” Oli London, a well-known anti-trans personality, said on Twitter.  

This Tweet sparked debates between LGBTQ+ supporters and anti-trans people. To deal with comments like this, Mulvaney stays true to her goals and continues to advocate for herself.

“There is so much hatred directed at the trans community right now, it’s everywhere. And I think the greatest weapon that I can contribute is trans joy and comedy and talking about hard subjects, and really intricate moments of a transition, and [I] try to let everybody in to see that I’m not a monster, I’m not somebody that is trying to do anything but be myself and be happy,” Mulvaney said.