Trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney has said she has been having trouble sleeping since a backlash erupted over her partnership with Bud Light and questioned what psychological effects being called a man thousands of times a day will have on her.
Her comments came during an episode of the ‘Dear Schuyler’ podcast, hosted by trans athlete Schuyler Bailar, which was released on Monday.
Mulvaney suggested as the trans debate in the US has escalated, transphobia has become increasingly blatant, resulting in an inhospitable ‘Wild West’ for trans people.
On April 1, Mulvaney became embroiled in a controversy that would make national headlines for weeks after she shared on Instagram a promotional Bud Light can with her face printed on it.
While Mulvaney admitted she had sleeping difficulties, she also said the barrage of hate that ensued after the partnership has taught her not to waste time trying to please everyone.
‘I remember even in college, just a few years ago, if one person potentially didn’t like me it would keep me up at night and now there are hundreds of thousands of people that do not like me,’ she said.
‘I still sometimes can’t sleep, but it in a weird way it has been a blessing to break that people-pleasing mentality, because there’s no way that I can win those people over,’ she said.
‘If you go back to some of my earlier videos, I was pleading with these people, I was like, “What can I say to show them a different part of myself? What can I do?”‘ she added.
Bailar, who was hosting the podcast, was the first transgender athlete to compete as a swimmer on an NCAA Division I men’s team. He shared his own experiences in dealing with criticism and commented on how Mulvaney had appeared in the news.
