Is it easier for woman to be successful YouTubers than men?

HeatherWells said:
I don't think being a girl has anything to do with how many subs you get.
I actually tend to like watching the male gamers far better than the female gamers I have seen. ; )
I was just mentioning I am a girl, because I saw a post saying no girls were replying to this thread. Thank you for the playful post. I completely agree that being a girl doesn't equal subs.
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TBH I sorta wonder if girls with gaming channels have a DISadvantage. Not in the #GamerGate nonsense, but more that subtle "you're not REALLY a gamer" bias that a lot of teenage dudes have when they see a girl playing a video game. Like, and I apologize to ANY females for what I'm about to say, but when I see a really attractive girl doing an LP channel I have an INSTINCTIVE gut-level reaction of "oh it's just a hot girl using video games to get popular." It's wrong, and I know it's wrong, but it's just a reaction I have.

Primary example: IHasCupQuake. GORGEOUS girl, stylish, well cared for hair, makeup, VERY prominent facecam. I stumbled across her channel and without even giving her a CHANCE I shut it off because of that stupid bias in my head. I realized that was idiotic of me, watched her more and realized holy s**t she's great at LP'ing. Not really my style, but she's talented, puts a LOT of work into her videos, and I can't think of a single reason she doesn't deserve all 2.4 million subs she has.

BUT, I know that not only am I not alone in that reactive bias, but that there are tons of guys who won't recognize it and go back. So for every dude who'll sub to her BECAUSE she's a girl there's at least one more who WON'T for the same reason.

Of course, like I've said elsewhere: YouTubing is about content, and WE are the content. No matter what kind of channel you run, YOU are what people will come back to see. If someone is physically attractive or takes care of their appearance, is it unfair for them to use it to their advantage? I don't see how that's any less respectable than using any other quality you may have. FFS use it. Hell I can't even act like if someone is physically in the video that their appearance doesn't factor in.

Note: I'm not saying that they have to have a "supermodel magazine cover" look. Just that one's appearance makes a difference. For example, I watch Numberphile. When I see frumpy old people on that channel I'm heavily invested in the video because hey it's a wrinkly old lady she must be super smart. Channel on heavy metal? Hell yeah, this guy has a giant beard and tattoos. Anthony Fantano is "the internet's busiest music nerd" and he's a goofy guy with a belly and geeky glasses. I'm in!
 
I think this may be true to an extent, but I think they also need to have relatively good content too. It definitely applies for girl gamers, though...
 
Yup I think they Do have an advantage! I feel like my man rights are being violated! How offensive for women to use their look... :D
 
SomeGuyDude said:
that subtle "you're not REALLY a gamer" bias
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Doing a video on this precise topic for Friday. :) You hit the nail on the head with that point. In fact, I'll go as far as to say that this thread existing is a very telling indication.

How dare women be successful because they're good. That's not acceptable, we must instead come up with strawman reasons why they are successful instead. They're successful because they have an advantage over men, clearly. It must be because of the pretty face, or the bewbs. Or the sultry voice, or some other such b******t.

It is jealousy combined with an overall societal inequality that, while the inequality is trending overall in a positive direction just still isn't quite there yet. And I'd tend to agree that women are at a disadvantage. Everyone gets basic internet harassment on YouTube, so we're all equal in that regard. Men though, don't tend to get asked to tilt their webcam down a bit so the chest is visible and other nonsense like that. Male YouTubers can only imagine what it is like to get that kind of a comment early in your hobby/career and still find the motivation to keep going.

I'll leave the rest of my arguments for the vid though.
 
SomeGuyDude said:
TBH I sorta wonder if girls with gaming channels have a DISadvantage. Not in the #GamerGate nonsense, but more that subtle "you're not REALLY a gamer" bias that a lot of teenage dudes have when they see a girl playing a video game. Like, and I apologize to ANY females for what I'm about to say, but when I see a really attractive girl doing an LP channel I have an INSTINCTIVE gut-level reaction of "oh it's just a hot girl using video games to get popular." It's wrong, and I know it's wrong, but it's just a reaction I have.

Primary example: IHasCupQuake. GORGEOUS girl, stylish, well cared for hair, makeup, VERY prominent facecam. I stumbled across her channel and without even giving her a CHANCE I shut it off because of that stupid bias in my head. I realized that was idiotic of me, watched her more and realized holy s**t she's great at LP'ing. Not really my style, but she's talented, puts a LOT of work into her videos, and I can't think of a single reason she doesn't deserve all 2.4 million subs she has.

BUT, I know that not only am I not alone in that reactive bias, but that there are tons of guys who won't recognize it and go back. So for every dude who'll sub to her BECAUSE she's a girl there's at least one more who WON'T for the same reason.

Of course, like I've said elsewhere: YouTubing is about content, and WE are the content. No matter what kind of channel you run, YOU are what people will come back to see. If someone is physically attractive or takes care of their appearance, is it unfair for them to use it to their advantage? I don't see how that's any less respectable than using any other quality you may have. FFS use it. Hell I can't even act like if someone is physically in the video that their appearance doesn't factor in.

Note: I'm not saying that they have to have a "supermodel magazine cover" look. Just that one's appearance makes a difference. For example, I watch Numberphile. When I see frumpy old people on that channel I'm heavily invested in the video because hey it's a wrinkly old lady she must be super smart. Channel on heavy metal? Hell yeah, this guy has a giant beard and tattoos. Anthony Fantano is "the internet's busiest music nerd" and he's a goofy guy with a belly and geeky glasses. I'm in!
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No offense taken here, Your response was very well thought out. Thank you very much for sharing your point of view. I really liked your reply.
 
Do you know the sheer amount of hormone unstable crazed teenage boys on YouTube? And then there is the old men that like to look at young flowers...

I think that answers the question quite nicely.
 
TheDutchTexan said:
Do you know the sheer amount of hormone unstable crazed teenage boys on YouTube? And then there is the old men that like to look at young flowers...

I think that answers the question quite nicely.
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The thing is those are the same teenage boys and old men who are equally likely to be like "BARRRGH GIRLS CAN'T MAKE QUALITY VIDEOS LIKE MEN CAN."
 
Myeah I don't know. I think it depends on how it is handled. If the girl goes around flashing cleavage and all that jazz then yes, maybe, because as we all know sex sells. I mean, a guy can't really pull the same trick. It does come down to quality content, but in certain cases I agree that girls may have the upper hand.
 
Phan toler I was about to write the same thing, as we all know ... "sex sells." So it is an advantage if you can use sex appeal but its not the main reason channels grow. I cant remember her name but theres that girl that sings and plays guitar on youtube that has a huge amount of millions of views because she's very good looking and shows a lot of boob on her videos... She's actually quite decent as an artist but its the looks and boobs that have made her videos huge. The thing is everyone can make it even without sex appeal, its also content and personality that will do it for you. No offense to the guy but when Shay Carl started on youtube he was not a good looking unit. He had a huge beard and a belly to match yet he grew his channel long before he lost the weight and shaved the beard. He didnt grow it because he had a smokin wife, we all just wondered how he got her. Now we know he can look good but it's his personality that has made him huge on youtube.. If you have great content you will always make it.. All the comedy channels arent sexy people.. so concentrate on making great content and you cant fail.. good luck and chase your dreams.
 
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