LIST: 10 women making diverse, interesting content on YouTube
Last year, 10 women on YouTube were highlighted to show the diversity of content women have contributed to the platform. These women were selected from outside the spheres of the beauty, fashion and lifestyle channels. Though they are popular and created shifts in those industries, women are often “pigeon-holed” to be seen as only successful in those communities instead of every community.
In celebration of Women’s History Month in 2020, here are another 10 women to be watching online.
Hannah Witton – “Hannah Witton”
British YouTuber Hannah Witton creates a wide variety of content mostly in the realm of sex and relationships, disability and pleasure. Being on the site for over a decade, she officially launched a second channel “More Hannah“ to keep her culture (mostly books), sustainability and work content separate from the more professional content.
In addition to YouTube, Witton has a podcast called “Doing it! With Hannah Witton” and two books, “Doing It! ‘Let’s Talk About Sex'” and “The Hormone Diaries: The Bloody Truth About Our Periods.”
Similar channels: “Shan Boody” and “Sexplanations“
Sabrina Cruz – “Sabrina Cruz”
Toronto-based creator and college student Sabrina Cruz (formerly known as “Nerdy and Quirky”) joined the site in 2005 and since 2017 has been making comedic educational content on YouTube. Her channel doesn’t have a theme in the questions it answers, just whatever piques her interest, whether it be why ice is slippery, the origins of the “soulless ginger” stereotype or why crimes expire.
In 2018, Cruz’s documentary “The Sourtoe Cocktail” premiered at the Buffer Festival in Los Angeles. In addition to school and her own content, from 2015 to 2018 she was the host of Crash Course Kids, teaching a variety of sciences for grade school.
Isabel Custodio – “Be Kind Rewind”
Debuting in 2017, Isabel Custodio’s channel “Be Kind Rewind” is made up of a few dozen (so far) video essays about Hollywood history, film studies and mostly women in film. Over half of her videos dissect the Academy Award “Best Actress” race of each year, deep-diving into the work and circumstances in which they earned their Oscar. The other videos include “The History of How We Watch Movies,” “Women and the (2020) Oscars: What is Going On?” and the history of “Harvey Weinstein and the Oscars” in 2019.
For the true film aficionados, Custodio has a video comparing every iteration of both “A Star is Born” and “Little Women.” Every video features a wide breadth of information that goes beyond the social aspects around the film, to the technical and historical. Each episode is researched, written, edited and voiced by Custodio, who outside of the platform works at a contemporary art museum.
Similar channel: “ScreenPrism“
Jaelynn Walls – “Art in Color“
Debuting “Art in Color“ in late 2018, Jaelynn’s video series on “the works and lives of contemporary artists of color” features interviews and conversations around that art. Though the channel is not updated regularly, it does have six episodes up. Wells is working on her bachelor’s in Art History with a minor in African and African Diaspora Studies and completing her fellowship at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
Similar channels: “The Art Assignment,” “Smarthistory” and “National Museum of Women in the Arts“
Emily Zarka – “Storied”
Self-proclaimed “Monster Expert” Emily Zarka hosts and writes a series highlighting a monster each week called “Monstrum.” Launched in April 2019, the series “looks at humans’ unique drive to create and shape monsters mythology through oral storytelling, literature and film.” If the channel looks familiar, it is because it is the new home of another PBS Digital Studios show, “It’s Lit!,” with Lindsay Ellis and new co-host Princess Weekes. Both “Mostrum” and “It’s Lit!” are the two programs under the “Storied“ channel.
Outside of YouTube, this doctor of literature teaches at both Arizona State University and Mesa Community College.
Evelyn Ngugi – “Evelyn from the Internets“
Evelyn Ngugi is a Texas native, works as co-host of “Say It Outloud“ and participates in her own #CreatorsForChange. Since joining in 2007, Evelyn’s sense of humor and storytelling makes all her videos worth watching multiple times. This talent combined with the embracing of her identity as a nerd, as a first-generation American, as a millennial navigating post-college life, as a black woman, as a Texan and so forth, add this authenticity unmatched on the web.
In 2019, Evelyn received an “Excellence in Comedy“ award at the Buffer Film Festival in Toronto for her short mockumentary created with her brother, Steve Ngugi, “Hello, Tim.“ Her #CreatorsForChange project involved the conversations around #BlackLivesMatter within the African immigrant community.
Her tagline “from the internets“ is because alongside creating content on her own channel, she has been a content producer for other companies and channels such as Naturally Curly from 2012 – 2018 and has appeared in several other channels.
Hallease Narvaez – “Hallease”
Texas native and self-proclaimed “military brat,“ Hallease Narvaez is a digital storyteller and video producer who has created a variety of content online over the last few years. Since 2012 she has freelanced with private clients and created public, personal content on YouTube through her company “StumbleWell.“ Her personal content features the “StumbleWell“ podcast with her husband (“your favorite aunt and uncle podcast“), documenting her hair journey, video equipment reviews and digital stories/short documentaries about different things that interest her. In March, Narvaez and “Mr.Hallease“ launched “Sans Gluten,“ a channel dedicated to cooking gluten-free foods from each of their cultures (black and Hispanic respectively.)
Narvaez participated in the Creators for Change Fellowship from 2018-2019 creating “Windows and Mirrors.” The series tackled both religion and culture with the aim of “providing a window into the reality of someone’s world” and “a mirror to reflect my identity and reality.” At that same time through the present, she has been a producer, editor and now co-host of the “Say It Outloud” series with PBS Digital Studios. This series gives a comedic take on black culture, context and history.
Similar channel: “Fran Meneses”
Kat Blaque – “Kat Blaque”
Starting as a blogger in 2005, Katherine “Kat“ Blaque has been making content online the majority of her life. Her content has ebbed and flowed over the years but consists of themes such as social justice, feminism and art. Katherine’s latest channel was created in 2010 and features monthly long-form essay videos to engage conversations on various topics. Since 2019, between producing videos like “The Rebranding of White Nationalism“ and “Stop Supporting Media Trolls,“ she has a weekly video series called “True Tea.” This series delves into topics and personal stories that are closer to Katherine, like being a passing transwoman, being polyamorous, sex positivity, trauma and her “image.“
Similar channel: “Jouelzy“
Paige and Sarah – “The Princess and the Scrivener”
Best friends and friendly Floridians Paige (The Princess) and Sarah (The Scrivener) make content that analyzes all things Disney and many things pop culture through an intersectional feminist lens. Starting in 2014, their channel, “The Princess and the Scrivener,“ started as a shared channel (inspired by Hank and John) as a vlog channel, but it has developed into a wider swath of content including reviews, “nerd” challenges and essays.
Similar channels: “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” and “Feminist Frequency”
