Two giants in the makeup industry are under fire by women for using transgender men to promote their beauty products.
For its “The Beauty Of” campaign, Ulta Beauty produced a podcast featuring transgender host David Lopez and guest Dylan Mulvaney, a 25-year-old TikTok influencer who talks about his experiences of buying tampons as a woman and refers to his disguising his genitals as a “Barbie pouch.”
The podcast, which was released on Oct. 16, features Mulvaney talking about the joys of being female, saying he is looking forward to “becoming a mom one day.”
“And I know I can,” adds Mulvaney, who has a male voice. He appears in a red dress with a matching bow in his hair as well as red lipstick.
Lopez sports a beard and mustache along with a long blonde wig, in the Ulta Beauty promotion.
Ulta Beauty responded to inquiries by The Epoch Times about the controversial campaign with the following statement:
“The premise of ‘The Beauty Of…’ is to feature conversations that widen the lens surrounding traditional beauty standards.
“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. Regardless of how someone identifies, they deserve our respect.”
Women, however, said they were offended by the use of two men to promote women’s beauty products, especially Dulvaney who pretends to be able to experience the same challenges biological women do.
“Celebrate mental illness and evil with @ultabeauty,” wrote one woman, “Two dudes making fun of women. How’s your new world order working out for you?”
Others saw Ulta Beauty as disrespecting and trolling women and asking why the company didn’t feature biological women in the campaign.
“Why didn’t you get a woman on, we are your market, are we not,” asked one of the woman in a tweet.
Many also complained on social media that Ulta Beauty, which operates salons in malls all over the United States, was also blocking their social media posts.
As the backlash from Ulta Beauty trans-beauty campaign continued on social media, Estee Lauder then came under similar fire by women for using a biological male who says he identifies as a woman in a marketing video posted on Facebook.
In the Estee Lauder promotion, posted on Oct. 18, a scientist for the company introduces himself as Cricket Temple, announces he is a transgender and shows off his gender “she/her” tattoos on one of his wrists.
The man, who is dressed in hot pink, says that what he loves most about being a woman is “living in full color.”
“Now @EsteeLauder, a long with @ultabeauty is parading a man around in #WomanFace, talking about what it means to be a woman. This is no better than blackface. This is a dude.
“They won’t define a woman, call us ”birthing people“, and now caricature men as women? #BoycottEsteeLauder,” posted a Montana woman who goes by the name of Mrs. Massacre 2.0 on Twitter and bills herself as a “mom trying not to raise liberals.”
Estee Lauder did not responded to inquiries about its trans-campaign.
Ironically, the company is the first cosmetic company to introduce a men’s line of beauty products. It launched its “Skin Supplies for Men” in 1976.
Men also expressed outrage about the use of trans-men by the cosmetic companies with one posting a picture of an iconic pizza hut building that is closed and in obvious need of renovation.
“No matter what you do to this building, everyone knows it used to be a pizza hut,” he wrote, “that’s what the trans community fails to understand.”
Mulvaney became known on TikTok for his “days of girl hood series.” He was a featured guest at the 2022 Forbes Power Women’s Summit under the title “Ushering In A New Era of Influence.”
In the Ulta Beauty promotion, he talked about former male self saying, “When I was grieving Boy Dillon I didn’t even know these things were accessible to me.”
It is not the first time Ulta Beauty and Estee Lauder have spread outrage with their campaigns and media posts.
In May, Ulta Beauty issued an apology for sending out an email chain inviting customers to “come hang with Kate Spade,” the famous designer who committed suicide by hanging herself in 2018.
The ad was intended to promote a perfume line named after her.
Months earlier in March, Estee Lauder’s senior executive John Demsey was fired after posting a spoofed Sesame Street meme about COVID with the “N” word in its caption.
