HeTube or SheTube

Something I recently noticed, mainly due to the discussions that we are having in class about gender discrimination in our society, is that most of the Youtuber's that I watch are male. When I think of all the people I regularly watch, a large percentage of them are male. I became really curious to find out whether this is simply because I am a male and therefore enjoy watching videos on topics that are typically addressed by males or if, on Youtube, there is a misrepresented amount of female Youtubers.

My belief that it may simply be my gender was sparked by personal interactions. I have female friends that do follow female Youtubers. I was shocked at the amount of female Youtubers that I had never heard of. I was first introduced to the ever-popular Jenna Marbles, but than came a wave of others such as Hannah Hart, Justine Ezarik and others. The reason I had not found these Youtubers before became clear when I watched their videos. They appealed to their gender. Their topics were ones that other females could relate to and therefore enjoyed watching. I didn't understand a majority of the references or jokes because I hadn't experienced them. In the opposite direction, it made me realize that some of the Youtubers that I find funny may not be funny or entertaining to the opposite gender for the exact same reasons. This entertainment gender line comes from the societal gap in the roles each gender plays. The same gap applies to male vs. female comedians.

Yet at the same time I still believe that there is a misrepresentation of female Youtubers, and that it is not merely my own view being clouded by personally experiences. The reason I have to believe this is the all-important top Youtuber's list. Only 8 of the top 50 subscribed Youtubers are female, and about half of those show up in the last 10.

Do these stats show a misrepresentation of female Youtubers or is it still just societal trends. To know this, we would have to see how many people who visit Youtube are male or female to see if male Youtubers are more popular because a majority of the people who watch videos on Youtube are male.

Even if it is simply a case of men preferring to watch videos by men because they are relatable and vice versa for women, I would encourage people to reach out across the gender lines and attempt watching a Youtuber of a different gender. Maybe it will be just another step towards the gender equality that many yearn for in our society.