The Importance of Transgender YouTubers
Transgender people often find it difficult to navigate through their lives once they get in touch with their true identities. There is a lot of confusion and a host of self-imposed hurdles as well as those placed by society.
Discrimination is still rampant, science has advanced significantly but there is little to no awareness in mainstream discourse, and engaging with the trans community is still impossible in many countries and small towns.
As a result, trans YouTubers often have a life changing impact on other people from the community.
Firstly, YouTube trans creators are essentially offering content on YouTube that is free and accessible and representative of the community.
As stated above, mainstream discourse and pop culture are still struggling to find spaces for diverse voices. In addition, these spaces have also propagated misinformation through negative representation.
Furthermore, access to a lot of TV content in the contemporary world has become problematic with the rise of OTT platforms, whose subscription terms prove to be particularly expensive for people from third-world countries.
This makes YouTube a more accessible platform. For many transgender people, YouTube is a learning resource during their transitioning.
Especially at a young age, when children deal with rapid-onset gender dysphoria, they can find comfort in finding content that they can relate to.
In fact, trans teens often learn more about their identity and pacify their anxiety when they find content created by trans YouTubers.
The educational role of trans YouTube content cannot be overstated. Once people find their gender identity, they often encounter a roadblock when it comes to processing this information.
They are uncertain of the steps they can undertake to mitigate the mismatch between their physical attributes and gender identity- surgery, HRT, and other facets of transitioning.
In particular, obtaining this information from a person’s first-hand experiences can further help clear things for a trans individual.
The reason is that, even in the 21st century, there is a lack of awareness on this subject and not every person has a trans peer who can guide them.
Today, the virtual world is comparable to the real world when it comes to community behavior and socializing. Therefore, building an online trans community is very important, especially for transitioning young people.
It helps them connect with others who have had similar experiences and learn from their journey.
Many teenagers who struggle with their gender identity often find a more comforting path once they learn about the experiences of other trans people.
They learn what they can do to feel more comfortable in their own skin and how they can mitigate their gender dysphoria.
Things like transitioning, voice feminization, facial feminization, and surgical procedures are discussed widely on YouTube.
This provides them with information about alternative courses of action. More importantly, comments on YouTube content created for trans people is a great way to connect with others and seek their advice and suggestions when undergoing transitioning or understanding your gender identity.
Many trans people have learnt everything they know about being trans in this world from content creators on YouTube.
Since schools and universities do not teach about this and mainstream media is still trying to find an apt way to represent trans people, YouTube content has become the most informative and educational tool available today.
This makes transgender YouTube creators extremely important to the community.
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