By Sophia Simon-Bashall
The best place on the internet – home to more videos than my keyboard has numbers for, including one featuring a bunch of awkward humans talking awkwardly to a camera – turned ten years old back in February. Yep, for 10 whole years we have been avoiding responsibilities of the real world by watching videos of cats doing odd things. Oh, it’s been a great decade.
YouTube has allowed us to witness some incredible things – not least, the ability to watch music videos over and over, on demand. For me however, the most interesting and exciting YouTube phenomenon is the rise of vlogging. Ordinary people have taken to talking to a camera about the things on their minds, and it’s both fascinating and funny to watch.
There are so many great vloggers out there, all of different ages, race, and genders. Yet, as YouTube stars are gaining prominence in our culture, who’s getting the press? You guessed it – the white men. I’ve been watching YouTube vloggers for around seven years, but it is only in the past two or three in which I have discovered the girls online. For a long time, my internet viewing consisted of absolutely nothing but white men. Why? They were the ones being talked about. They were the ones that the world was paying attention to, the ones I was given easy access to.
Meanwhile, legions of girls were posting their videos online, with just as much to say, but only a fraction of the views. When I finally woke up, and went out of my way to find these women, I was changed forever. Whilst I still enjoy watching vlogbrothers and co, it is the young women I discovered a couple of years ago who I really relate to, who continuously inspire me in all that they do, who make me feel better about being a human.
A few of the girls on YouTube are widely talked about today, like Zoe Suggs (zoella), Tanya Burr (pixi2woo), and Louise Pentland (sprinkleofglitter). But the press they’re getting is hardly positive. Zoe Suggs is a prime example – much of what I’ve read about her, outside of websites which cater to her typical audience, is patronising, and quite frankly, rude. The picture painted is of a shallow, one-dimensional Barbie Girl, with no brains to speak of – a false depiction, from where I’m standing. Her video on dealing with panic attacks is one I have watched several times over, and whilst I am not a regular viewer, I see the appeal, I really do. The hate she receives is completely unwarranted. But it would seem that to be a girl in the public sphere either means to be ignored or to be torn down. Vlogging is just another field in which men seem to be respected, on the whole, whereas women are ridiculed.
Luckily, here at Powered by Girl, we are all about counter-culture. What the patriarchy pushes aside, we are all too happy to promote! So, to (somewhat belatedly) celebrate 10 years of the magnificence that is YouTube, we would like to show some appreciation to the wonderful women of the vlogging world! Here are 10 to check out:
- Rosianna (missxrojas)
I am massively tempted to write an entire blog post on why Rosianna is my favourite person on the internet EVER and why everyone in the whole entire universe should watch her videos and adore her, for their own benefit. I am not a fan of saying “I wish I was (insert name of famous person here), because I am intensely interested in wanting to be me. However, Rosianna is one of the key people I look to for inspiration to become a better me, someone I can feel more comfortable being. If I were to be another person for a day, she would be one of the first people I would think of (alongside Rookie’s Tavi Gevinson, and Lorde – I swear that’s not solely based on the fact that they are good friends with Taylor Swift…I mean, maybe a little bit?). Rosianna’s videos cover everything that feels important, in my humble opinion – there’s food, interviews, books, being human, body image and self-care, media sexism, doing adult things, and more! Watch a couple of videos, and you will fall a little bit (or a lotta bit) in love with this glorious human. - Melissa (mfabello)
Melissa is my other favourite person on the internet. I have watched every single video on her channel, mostly several times over. I regularly enjoy video marathons of some of these videos. She talks a lot about body image, and it’s really good for those days when you feel inexplicably horrific about yourself. My personal favourite videos though, are How Diets Hurt You (And Help Capitalism) – eye-opening, thought-provoking, and inspiring – and How Can You Be a Feminist and Still Like Taylor Swift? – which was filmed at a time when liking Taylor Swift was considered totally wrong, for reasons I personally still don’t understand, but that’s just me. - Kara (karakamos)
Kara is a great, great, really great person. She also makes great, great, really great videos and it’s really cool. Some of the things she’s put up should be watched by everyone: On Being Ugly, her later response to that video, Body Image & Feeling Bad about Feeling Bad, and her Ode to Acne. Go watch, humans, and go love. - Anna and Zoe (TheTwoEnglishGirls)
Our very own Anna is on YouTube, with her friend Zoe, and their videos are wonderful (I’m not just biased, honestly, they’re great). Currently, my favourite video is poems with kara… (yes, that is Kara, mentioned above), which is nothing to do with the fact that I took part in making the poems read… I also really love both of their powerful videos on confidence.
- Akilah (smoothiefreak)
Akilah, obviously, is great. She does very funny things that will probably make you snort with laughter. The ‘tipsy book review’ videos are wonderful – they feel like an accurate representation of the fangirl life (we book nerds may not be drunk when talking about books, but we probably seem like it sometimes). One of the best videos on her channel, in my opinion, is White Party – a Lesson in Cultural Appropriation, which makes light of a serious subject, but really gets the message through. I’m also a fan of one of her more controversial videos, entitled Why I Hate Black History Month – it’s well worth a watch. If you want a lot of laughs, but also a lot of things to think about, Akilah is the one to go to. - Lex (tyrannosauruslexxx)
Personally, I don’t find a single person funnier than Lex. She’s got a brilliant personality that makes everything she says and does have impact, not only in humour, but in regards to serious matters, too. Lex radiates confidence, and it has a truly powerful knock-on effect – if I ever need to feel inspired or empowered, watching a couple of her videos usually does the trick. How To Love Yourself is a particularly good one (you may think you’ve heard it all before, but trust me, it does not sound like spiel coming from this girl), as is Feel Better.
- Rose and Rosie (RoseEllenDix/TheRoxetera)
Okay, two channels, but these two are a unit. They are hilarious. I don’t think you can watch a single video and not laugh. Guess The Body Part is weird – all the videos are, to be perfectly honest – but it’s a favourite of mine, for reasons I cannot explain. The Proud To Love video is one that always makes me smile and it’s very powerful, well worth a watch. If you’re a queer girl, in the closet or out, I think that their unapologetic attitude is empowering and inspiring. - Sophie (Over17Mirrors)
Sophie is another super funny vlogger who I totally adore. I came to her channel via the video You and Your Boy Band, in which she discusses being a One Direction fan and how incredibly frustrating it is because people think that instantly makes you ‘shallow as a puddle’. Whether or not you’re a One Direction fan, it’s so worth a watch – if you’re a girl who belongs to a fandom of any kind, chances are, you will relate. - Marina (marinashutup)
EVERYTHING MARINA SAYS IS IMPORTANT. EVERYTHING SHE DOES IS FUNNY. EVERY VIDEO SHE HAS POSTED IS GOLD. WATCH EVERYTHING. Most important ones (but this is not an exhaustive list – you have to watch ALL OF THE VIDEOS): on internalising prejudice, on compliments and harassment, and on feminism and myths. - Juhina and Farah (majibookshelf)
As a human who is totally obsessed with books, I watch a fair bit of what is known as ‘booktube’ – the part of YouTube where, yep, you guessed it, we talk about books. All the time. Juhina and Farah are sisters and they’re pretty cool. Their videos are mainly about Young Adult fiction, and I love that they prove how intelligent YA readers can be, as it seems to be common that people think we’re pretty vapid – for unknown reasons. They’re also very funny. They have made me want to read The Impossible Knife Of Memory (though I have not yet read it!), Since You’ve Been Gone (which I did read, and I LOVED IT), and The Program (which was AMAZING). These two make me feel less weird, because when they talk about books, they talk the way I talk about books – CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE COVER BECAUSE LOOK AT THAT IT’S SO PRETTY AND I CANNOT CONTAIN MY FEELINGS WOW I AM SO NEVER GOING TO BE OVER THIS EVER.
Hopefully these lovely ladies inspire you as they have inspired me – maybe you’ll even be inspired to start your own channel! Don’t shy away if you’ve got something to say. There will always be someone who wants to listen.
If you have any recommendations of girls on YouTube we should watch, let us know! I know that there are a lot of people out there I’ve not found yet and would love.
