Beauty brand that used inspiring clip of transgender woman now faces right-wing boycott

Ulta Beauty shared an inspiring clip of a transgender woman speaking about femininity - but now right-wingers are calling for a boycott.

On Thursday (13 October), the beauty brand shared the new digital campaign they're running, called "The Beauty Of ..."

It's their latest entry that is centred around girlhood and hosted by influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman, and a gender-fluid celebrity hairstylist David Lopez, sitting down for the podcast-style discussion.

In the promotion clip shared on Twitter, Mulvaney can be heard talking about the things she feels are still accessible to her as a trans woman, such as being a mother and finding love.

This is also a part of a longer video on Ulta's YouTube page, in which Mulvaney details her recent transition and roots.

She apparently grew up in a super-conservative family and shared how she discovered her inner beauty and found the courage to express it publicly.

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However, some believe the problem is that Mulvaney and Ulta, by extension, are appropriating womanhood and wearing a costume that has people at odds, swearing to never shop at Ulta again.

A number of people are unfortunately bashing the beauty company and influencer, saying hurtful things like "she's actually a man."

But Ulta continued to ask for empathy and dignity.

Despite the slew of negativity surrounding the positive representation in the beauty space, others also agreed that this is a good thing, sharing that it makes them even more inclined to continue buying things from the company.

One person wrote: "Honestly, it's fine if y'all wanna boycott Ulta, that means I can shop there in peace without a transphobic white woman around."

"I don't need anything from Ulta, but I will start my Christmas shopping now and order from them. Trans women are women," another added.

A third wrote: Ulta recognized and celebrated that some of their customers are trans. As a result, the gender criticals are swarming the replies to bully them into stopping their support of trans people."

On Sunday (16 October), Ulta took to Twitter to officially respond, noting that they believe "beauty is for everyone" and they will continue to "recognise" that.

"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," Ulta tweeted.

They added: "Regardless of how someone identifies, they deserve our respect."

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