"Days of Girlhood" is the debut single by American

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

personality Dylan Mulvaney. The song was produced by

Nick Monson Nick Monson is a producer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, based in Los Angeles, CA. Monson is known for his collaborations with Lady Gaga, beginning with ''Artpop,'' in which he co-produced 9 songs'','' including the lead single "Applause", w ...

and distributed by independent label

DistroKid DistroKid is a service by an independent digital music distribution service, founded in 2013 by American entrepreneur Philip J. "Pud" Kaplan. DistroKid principally offers musicians and other rights-holders the opportunity to distribute and sell ...

on March 11, 2024. The song reached #1 on the Genius lyrics chart within a week of its release.

Background and release

Dylan Mulvaney was previously known for her Tiktok series "Days of Girlhood," where she detailed her experience with transitioning. Her song of the same name references this series and describes her new life as a girl. It was co-written by Mulvaney,

, and

Skyler Stonestreet Skyler Stonestreet is an American musician and singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. She is a writer on hit tracks such as Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber's "Stuck With U", The Chainsmokers' "Kanye", Dua Lipa's “IDGAF”, Tate M ...

. Mulvaney's song is heavily inspired by popular culture from the 2000s. Later, when speaking about the song, Mulvaney promised to donate any profits to

The Trevor Project The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number wher ...

Music video

On March 13, 2024, Dylan Mulvaney released an official music video for "Days of Girlhood." Billboard described the video as having "a strong commitment to pink" with a " Barbiecore" aesthetic. Mulvaney appears alongside fellow

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

influencers such as Gigi Gorgeous Getty and Ve'ondre Mitchell and other celebrities including

Loren Gray Loren Gray Beech (born April 19, 2002) is an American social media personality and singer best known for the TikTok career she began in 2016, at the age of 13. She is the seventeenth most-followed individual on TikTok as of December 2022, and w ...

, Heather Dubrow,

Our Lady J Our Lady J is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter, producer and director, best-known for her work on ''Pose'', ''Transparent'', and ''American Horror Story''.She holds the honor of being the first out trans woman to perform at Carnegie Hall, as well a ...

Josie Totah Josie Totah (born August 5, 2001), formerly known as J. J. Totah, is an American actress. She is known for her recurring role on the Disney Channel series '' Jessie'' and supporting role on the 2013 ABC comedy series '' Back in the Game''. Tot ...

, and Nick Adams.

Reception

The song reached #1 on the Genius lyrics chart within a week of its release. Following the song's release, several conservative commentators (including Robby Starbuck and Liz Wheeler) and social media users criticized the song, arguing that Mulvaney's lyrics about boys, pills, and shopping were indicative of her not understanding girlhood and viewing it through an outdated or reductive lens. Mulvaney responded that her intention was simply to celebrate the girlhood she previously wasn't able to experience. She also stated that her fans should understand that she had no bad intentions.

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

also defended Mulvaney in a post on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

References

{{reflist 2024 songs 2024 debut singles American pop songs Charity singles Dylan Mulvaney LGBT-related controversies in music Transgender-related songs