Dylan Marron is on the rise, and SXSW recognizes that: he’ll be a featured speaker at the festival this year during a special session on the social impact track. Marron will be joined at the session by Townhall Media’s Guy Benson. The session will take place on Monday, March 12, at 5 PM at the Austin Convention Center.
I am 29 years old and I am *jUST* grasping how to sign off on a phone call without repeating some variation of 'goodbye' 4.5 times
— Dylan Marron (@dylanmarron) February 8, 2018
Gay culture is getting into a cab with your husband and pretending your "good friends" because you don't know if your driver is cool with it.
— Dylan Marron (@dylanmarron) December 3, 2017
There are many ways in which Marron might be a familiar face or voice, especially if you’re online a lot. He is a writer, performer and videographer who is popular on Twitter and YouTube, as well as being a familiar voice on a couple of podcasts. He created the video series “Every Single Word,” which spotlights how few speaking roles people of color have had in films.
He also created, hosts and produces the “Sitting in Bathrooms With Trans People” series, the “Shutting Down B*llshit” series, and his “Unboxing” series on YouTube. “Sitting in Bathrooms With Trans People” is an interview show in which Marron showcases that trans people don’t use bathrooms for purposes other than simply using the bathroom, while “Shutting Down B*llshit” covers misunderstood topics from depression to autism to multiracial identity. “Unboxing” is treated like the popular genre in which people take new products out of boxes on camera, but with abstract ideas like masculinity, Islamophobia and identity politics.
Marron voices Carlos on the popular “Welcome to Night Vale” podcast, but he’s also created his own successful podcast called “Conversations With People Who Hate Me.” The program’s name is not misleading: in each episode, Marron speaks on the phone with someone who has trolled him online. Even if he doesn’t change the person’s mind about him, Marron expresses that it’s a big step for them to have that communication in a more direct way rather than hiding behind a screen.
This accomplished writer and performer is not only a social activist, but a funny one too. He handles serious subjects but never loses his sense of humor or optimism that things can be better. If you’re interested in seeing Dylan Marron at SXSW, check out the festival website.
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Originally hailing from Pennsylvania, Jackie has called Austin home since choosing to attend the University of Texas, where she graduated with a degree in multimedia journalism. She loves spending time with her dogs, writing about pop culture in all its forms and spending time with friends – eating, drinking and doing trivia.