Um…Did Dr. Bronner Just Come Out as Otherkin?

Dr. Bronner products: they’re as delightfully nonsensical as they are effective. Here in the queer community, we’re well aware of the magic of Dr. Bronner’s highly-dilutable cleaning products (personally, I don’t know where I’d be without Sal Suds—probably living in a much filthier apartment that didn’t reek of pine scent.) But what we weren’t aware of was Dr. Bronner’s own place in the queer canon—until a few days ago, that is, when the Internet received a delightful surprise in the form of what one user called the “Dr. Bronner he/they catboy reveal.”

Dr. Bronner he/they catboy reveal pic.twitter.com/qDo2kybT7w

— chanel (@guh_no) October 12, 2022

Now if you’re confused, don’t worry: you’re not alone. Most of us figured that Dr. Bronner, the founder of the magical brand of castile soap products with random sh*t written all over them, was long dead.

Why did I think Dr. Bronner was black and looked like Frederick Douglass? and also not alive?! 😭 https://t.co/puElQtKvy3

— Kei Yamamoto 🈲 (@o_keilani) October 13, 2022

why did i think dr bronner was like an old man from the great depression or something https://t.co/HbTjmbz1tr

— Two Time Emmy Winner Ali B (@wtflanksteak) October 13, 2022

And if you thought that, you’d be correct. It wasn’t the actual Dr. Bronner who came out via Instagram this week, but the founder’s grandchild, David Bronner.

Ah so they aren’t the real Dr Bronner- they’re just the rich grandkid who inherited the company as ceo. That also fits for a catboy. pic.twitter.com/5iRmbz5cWj

— bella lugoatse’s head (@H0NEYRIVER) October 13, 2022

 

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A post shared by Dr. Bronner’s (@drbronner)

Naturally, no one had “Dr. Bronner he/they catboy reveal” on their 2022 bingo card…or DID they?

Dr. Bronner’s pronouns are actually Post-Traumatic Stress The Invisible Wound/Dilute! Dilute! Ok!

— Redwall Abbey Head Baker (@JuliaFtacek) October 14, 2022

no offense but dr bronner coming out as a he/they ruined my day a little bit

— leigh-therface (@daughter_ion) October 13, 2022

A double congrats is in order:

I don’t know why but I just sorta always assumed Dr Bronner was minimum 80 years old if not outright dead. Congrats to them both on coming out and still being alive. https://t.co/0Frg60YD0N

— 🏜🔋, fka ☕️ (@coopercooperco) October 13, 2022

Per a link in bio post, David Bronner shared their coming out journey with the rest of us, and it’s quite the text.

“Like RuPaul says,” Bronner writes, “we’re born naked and all the rest is drag… and unfortunately a lot of us are born with a patriarchal straitjacket costume that does so much damage to those of us who aren’t in the gender hetero-normative binary, and we’re shamed and socialized early by peers and parents to not be “gay or girlie,” or to dress and express as such.”

I mean, yeah. True, bestie.

I’ll leave you with this extremely gay and deeply true statement:

Your ass after you put Dr Bronner’s Peppermint soap on it pic.twitter.com/MCItwPfAFl

— Chase (@hellahammer) October 12, 2022