I bought a pack of Bud Light the other day. I am not sure I have ever purchased this product before, but I felt compelled to do my part and drink some gay beer.
I can’t say that I have followed the story of Dylan Mulvaney – the 26 year-old known for sharing her day-to-day gender transition over the past 365 days – but after an hour or so of research, I couldn’t find anything to hate about them.
She is wildly popular. All of our girls know her and have watched her videos. The buzz seems to be about stereotyping women, but haven’t films like Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, and countless other movies and television shows created the model for others to mold their personalities around? What is the difference if they are a biological or trans woman?
I saw a lot of hate on social media that day the news broke of Budweiser sending Dylan a beer can with her photo on it to commemorate her 365 days of womanhood. It left me worried about my girls and their friends. This is the world they live in now and maybe it’s them, or kids I coach becoming social media influencers one day, and I want them to know love and acceptance.
Who is our enemy here? I think that is something important to dig deep into. Is it really Dylan who is obviously not happy having stated that he has yet to be kissed as a woman? If it’s Budweiser, then it’s all companies because businesses are trying hard to support the diverse world around them. Is it politicians or health care providers, you, me, or is it perhaps a little of all of the above?
I don’t know the answer. I worry for our children and the fact that we can’t have a civil debate about how this is all affecting our kids without name-calling or losing our jobs.
I may not know the end solution, but I know where we start. With a conversation. A lot of them. Open, honest, discussions involving people with a variety of views.
I feel there is a lot more love in this conversation than we realize.
I truly think that most of us are on the same side. The side of love. The one that sees a beautiful young woman, trying to figure out this life like each and every one of us are.
And hell, don’t waste a good beer. Drink it with buds and have an open discussion about what’s at the root of all of this, and add your thoughts on the way forward with our joint humanity at the heart of those solutions.
Peace and love to you, Dylan. As a dad, all I am saying is that our kids are struggling. I just want to make sure we get it right in supporting the major decisions they want to make because this is something we can’t get wrong and there are too many examples of where it has.