On Saturday Oct. 22, 13 talented digital creators took the stage for the Women of YouTube screening at Buffer Festival, a showcase of YouTube based content. Over the course of two hours, the women premiered new videos and discussed what it’s like to be share their lives on a public platform from a female perspective. Here are some of the highlights from the event.
Thigh Gaps And Other Traps // Ariel Bissett
This poem by Ariel Bissett discusses not just what it’s like to be a woman, but what it’s like to be a person. Each stanza is dedicated to an issue that traps women—body image, bras, and periods—and is concluded with an anecdote from Bissett’s life to show that there is more to being a female than the struggles that only she can face. This is more than just a “hardcore feminist poem”, as Bissett puts it.
Chatting Birth Control with My Mum! The Hormone Diaries // Hannan Witton
Sex-positive advocate Hannah Witton screened the fourth episode of “The Hormone Diaries”; a series documenting her experience coming off the pill after seven years. In this segment, Hannah chats openly with her mother about contraception and periods, further breaking down the stigma surrounding women’s sexual health.
Hey, YouTube! Where Are The Disabled Women? // Rikki Poynter
Rikki Poynter challenged the current conversation around diversity on YouTube by pointing out how the marginalized group of women with disabilities is underrepresented. Poynter, an advocate for #DeafTalent and a deaf YouTuber herself, unapologetically pushes for intersectional feminism to broaden its intersectionality and for YouTube conventions to be more accessible.
Loving Like an Existentialist // Savannah Brown
In this beautifully composed video, Savannah Brown reconceptualises the idea of love without the romanticized element of soulmates; the idea that people are “meant to be”. By dispelling the common ideas of how fate influences our relationships, the poem articulates how love does not have to be validated by higher powers for it to be meaningful.
STOP WASTING YOUR TIME. (There Is No Friend Zone) // Meghan Tonjes
For her video, Meghan Tonjes gave possibly the most important boy talk of the century, making the audience face the difficult, unspoken truth that crushes are manipulative. In the span of five minutes, Mama Tonjes perfectly articulates the irrational nature behind infatuation and its negative consequences, ultimately declaring that crushes need to be left in 2016.
Save Sex! // Stephanie Frosch (ElloSteph)
This important video by Stephanie Frosch documents an overlooked aspect of adult entertainment– the safety and privacy of sex workers, and how it is currently threatened by a law called Proposition 60. This video defies social norms by taking on a taboo subject, and shows the real lives of the very real people who work in the industry.