This post is part of a Nat. Brut series in which feminist writers, artists, and activists discuss people, publications, or organizations who are working toward inclusivity. Today, Virginia Loperena shares her choices.
YouTube may be home to a vast cache of funny cat videos, but it’s also an important educational tool. People use YouTube to learn new things and share their own knowledge with others, on topics as varied as construction, art, dance, cooking, technology, and much more. Since you can learn basically anything by watching a YouTube video, it makes sense that you can learn to be a better feminist on YouTube.
What’s great about this platform is the exposure: Youtube has more than 1 billion users, and every day these users watch hundreds of millions of hours on Youtube. Users come from all over the world, and YouTube stats show that on average, 60% of a creator’s views come from outside their home country. Feminist YouTubers tap into that network, engaging users in a dialogue, and increasing awareness of feminist issues.
Feminist YouTubers discuss issues of social justice, including women’s issues, the #BlackLivesMatter movement, gay and trans issues, and more. They use the YouTube platform for stimulating dialogue, engaging their subscribers and viewers by asking questions and responding to video comments. For people lacking the opportunity or safe space to explore these issues, YouTube can be a sort of DIY school of feminism. All you need to access this virtual treasure trove of feminist thought is an internet connection.
-Virginia Loperena
FeministFrequency is a series of video commentaries exploring feminist issues in video games, pop culture, and the media. Feminist Frequency is actually a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which “serves as an educational resource to encourage critical media literacy and provide resources for media makers to improve their works of fiction.”
“Watching FeministFrequency is like blitzing the most interesting women and gender studies lecture…”
The series was created by Anita Sarkeesian, who has a Bachelor’s in Communication Studies from California State University Northridge and a Master’s in Social and Political Thought from York University. She was the first woman to receive the Ambassador Award at the Game Developer’s Choice Awards in 2014, she is a self-described fan of pop culture, and believes that “part of being a fan is to celebrate characters, stories, and programs that we love, while simultaneously being critical of the myths and representations that the media can perpetuate.” YouTubing isn’t Sarkeesian’s day job, so she doesn’t post videos as often as some of the other women on this list. Still, with more than 40 videos on her channel, there’s plenty to engage with.
Watching FeministFrequency is like blitzing the most interesting women and gender studies lecture, but in half the time and without the hefty price tag of your standard undergrad degree. The videos are well-produced and extremely thorough, referencing tons of games and presenting thoughtful commentary. FeministFrequency is full of salient points that can be applied not just to gaming but to pop culture and the media at large. Even if you’re not into gaming, FeministFrequency is an opportunity to learn more about the gaming community, which has received a lot of negative attention in the past few years for its treatment of women.
“Jouelzy is a champion of intersectionality…”
Jouelzy began her Youtube career as a natural hair vlogger. Out of Houston, Texas, Jouelzy (who, like Beyonce, goes by just one name) vlogs full-time and also writes for Ebony magazine. She decided to expand her scope beyond natural hair tips and spearheaded the viral SmartBrownGirl. She posts multiple times a week on topics as varied as natural hair, reading lists, adult life, pop culture, and politics. She tackles issues faced by women of color every Thursday in her #SmartBrownGirl video series.
Jouelzy is a champion of intersectionality, choosing the moniker “Smart Brown Girl” intentionally, in order to celebrate diversity over exclusion. Jouelzy defines a Smart Brown Girl as “defining your own success story, in whatever pathway you are defining it in…allowing yourself to revel in the low brow, the high brow, the educated, the ratchet, the in between. ”
Marinashutup is a self-described feminist vlogger whose not-so-secret identity is Marina Watanabe, a 22-year-old college student from Northern California majoring in Women’s Studies (with a Communications minor) at Sacramento State University. She uploads new videos weekly on what she calls ‘Feminist Fridays’, some of which are sponsored by the online magazine Everyday Feminism.
“It’s pretty much what you’d expect from a feminist college student, which is to say, it’s great.”
Watanabe is funny and eloquent, explaining feminist and intersectional ideas in an easy-to-follow way. That doesn’t mean she shies away from the tough stuff; her channel is impressive, with a variety of videos on topics such as being an ally, rape culture, white passing, cultural appropriation, and more. Her videos are densely packed with information (and F-bombs); she cites data, statistics, even critical theory. She’s also very active on her blog, initiating and participating in discussions with her viewers and followers. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from a feminist college student, which is to say, it’s great.
“Hughes’ videos tackle some really important issues, but with a comedic flair that keeps the viewer engrossed and wanting more.”
Smoothiefreak, AKA Akilah Hughes (obviously) is a comedian, writer, and YouTuber from Cincinnati who now lives in Brooklyn. She’s written for Fusion, HelloGiggles, SheKnows, and Refinery29. She was trained in sketch comedy and improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade. She writes and vlogs on natural hair, pop culture, race, fashion, makeup, NYC and more.
Hughes’ videos tackle some really important issues, but with a comedic flair that keeps the viewer engrossed and wanting more. In her video On Intersectionality in Feminism and Pizza, Hughes explains the concept of intersectionality using (you guessed it) pizza, which might be the most genius, hilarious, and effective method of explaining this really heady and complicated idea. She is a must watch for baby feminists, as her videos are so accessible and fun to watch. Some recommendations: How Feminists Watch Commercials, White Party — A Lesson in Cultural Appropriation, Racial Discussion Fatigue Syndrome #RDFS, Femsplain Comedy Show — Akilah Hughes, Why I Hate Black History Month, and Forbes “If I Were a Poor Black Kid” — A Poor Black Kid’s Response.
TheeKatsMeoww (Kat Lazo in her non-YouTube life) is a Latina feminist vlogger from NYC. She is well known for giving a TEDx talk called Feminism isn’t dead, it’s gone viral! When not being a badass, she writes, gives talks, and runs a production company called June Baby Productions. Lazo got her BA in Advertising and Marketing at FIT, and before that studied performance art at LaGuardia High School.
“She covers a lot of ground…from periods to body shaming to street harassment to beauty standards…”
Lazo’s vision is that TheeKatsMeoww “sparks the curiosity of boys and girls so that they can feel confident in challenging and questioning the media and social norms.” Lazo, who’s in her early twenties, is super relatable and down-to-earth, such that watching her videos feels like hanging out with a cool, smart, super-down friend. She covers a lot of ground in her videos; from periods to body shaming to street harassment to beauty standards, there’s plenty to see at TheeKatsMeoww. A personal favorite is her video Latina Feminist Friendships, where she and her feminist squad break it down about community, feminism, and how their upbringing informed their understanding of the feminist movement.
Virginia Loperena is a Nuyorican feminist currently living in Northern California. Since graduating with her BA in Philosophy from Harvard College in 2013, she has been trying to apply her study of ethics and morality to the real world, with varying amounts of success. She works with various nonprofit organizations as a grantwriter, fundraiser, data manager, and general get-stuff-done-er. She is passionate about community, feminism, social justice, food, books, and cartoons.
Nat. Brut is a biannual journal of art and literature that aims to advance equality and inclusivity in all creative fields. To learn more about us, or to order a copy of our latest issue, visit our Indiegogo!
