Gay and Bisexual Men on YouTube
Over the years, more gay and bisexual men have been making YouTube channels to express themselves as well as to help fellow lgbt feel more comfortable living their own lives. What makes them specifically important is how they define what it means to be a man, whether gay or straight.
Matthew Lush has been one of the most popular gay YouTubers since he started in 2006. With his main channel as well as another channel for regular vlogs called Lush, his videos have inspired many closeted lgbt to embrace themselves.
In 2013, he and Nicholas Laws began dating, and used Lush as a platform to express their relationship. Since they recently parted ways, the channel will just be Matthew's. As announced, the videos of the couple have been deleted. Thankfully, anyone searching for helpful lgbt videos by either of the two can tune into their separate channels.
Have you seen the Chris Crocker documentary "Me at the Zoo?"
Chris Crocker aka the "Leave Britney Alone" guy was one of the first major homosexual people on YouTube in 2007. He was raised in a conservative community in Tennessee, and made videos as a way to express himself while living in a society that made it difficult to do so. He made the "Leave Britney Alone" video because he was such a devoted fan of Britney's, and saw similarities between her struggle and his own mother's.
His documentary Me at the Zoo is about how portraying a personality just for entertainment, that isn't true to yourself, can lead the public to believe you are psychologically unstable, and can hurt yourself in the end.
Chris is not only a homosexual YouTuber, but a gender-bender. When he was first on YouTube, he often switched between being man and woman. In videos on his gender, he has said that he still identifies as part woman, even though he has taken on a mostly masculine appearance. Because of this, he has spoken about his frustration as an outcast of the gay and trans communities:
"For me, I wonder why do you have to just feel like a woman trapped in a man's body? Or vice versa? Why can't you identify with both genders and tap into those without being accused of dressing up as a girl for attention?"
Have you seen "Ru Paul's Drag Race?"
Danny Noriega was on American Idol, and competed on Ru Paul's Drag Race as his drag alter-ego, Adore Delano. He even dated Chris Crocker. While on Ru Paul's Drag Race, he explained how he not only had to perform as a singer and entertainer on American Idol, but as a straight guy. Like Chris, he has been discriminated against by the gay community as well as the straight community for his outside of the box identity.
In one of my favorite videos of his, he retells an experience of running into a homophobic punk guy when he was in the parking lot of a nightclub. Danny has always been part of the punk scene, and doesn't understand why the younger generation of punks are full of ignorance. When I saw the video, it reminded me of a professor of mine in college who was also part of the punk scene, and explained the leather and spikes and such that people associate with the punk style was adopted from the gay bdsm community; therefore, I found it particularly interesting that young punks do not realize the hypocrisy of being homophobic.
RJ runs a channel with his fiancé, Will. In one video, he responds to all of the biphobia he receives via comments because he is dating a man. To debunk assumptions that he must be gay, he explains the difference between sexual orientation and sexual conduct. Sexual orientation is who you are attracted to; sexual conduct is the activity you participate in; therefore, just because he is dating one gender, does not mean he is incapable of being attracted to the other gender. Whenever discussing sexuality, he uses the term "plumbing" to refer to one's genitalia because, like many bisexuals, he finds this an irrelevant feature of a potential mate.
How do you identify your sexual orientation?
Davey Wavey is a very friendly YouTuber who loves to inform the public on the truth about homosexual issues. If his nick-name doesn't show his fun side enough, his videos do. At times, he likes to make fun of homosexual stereotypes and misconceptions; other times, he has serious and educational talks with his viewers about these topics. He promotes equality between lgbt and heterosexuals, which should prevent homophobic viewers from unleashing their hate. Of course, knowing the homophobic community—if there were such a thing—it doesn't prevent them from this unnecessary behavior, but it does highlight Dave's peaceful perspective.
Miles Jai makes videos on pretty much everything. He identifies as a cisgender male who has a passion for hair and makeup.One could technically consider him to be androgynous, but his energy is aimed mostly toward the gay community. Of course, he loves to help those questioning their gender identity since he knows what it's like to stand out because of his unique gender expression.
Which of these have you heard of or watched?
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