We all need space. Space to think, space to dream, space to share thoughts. The more society develops, the more difficult it seems to have a voice among the billions of people out there. Arguably it’s the reason why so many of us share the dream of being famous, for someone to watch us, listen to us and maybe even aspire to be like us. However as many of us know (including myself who tried for years in a drama school) it’s difficult to get noticed when so many of us are fighting for the same dream. We’re selfish creatures who want more than just a mere 15 minutes of fame.

So we turn to the Internet. We turn to blogs, social networks and YouTube. Somewhere we feel listened to, where we can say a full sentence without the over-confident jack ass in the corner interrupting with a sarcastic, condescending comment. Somewhere we can confidently say “I believe in this” and hit the delete button if it wasn’t worded exactly how we would like it to.

YouTube has millions of users and is one of the biggest (and most original) platforms for us to share our opinion on. All you need is a camera, a computer and an idea. Want to show the world how well your dog can skateboard? Put it on YouTube… Know the single ladies dance? Who needs friends, show that awesome thing to the world! Most importantly YouTube is fabulous because for the first time in decades, females can truly have an opinion and have an opportunity to change the world, without being rich or famous. Maybe this is the new wave of feminism we’ve all been waiting for? Take YouTube users such as Laci Green (gogreen18/lacigreen) beautiful, intelligent and young. She began sharing her views on religion, sang her own theme tune and now, coining her own catch phrase “Love, Learn and Get Laid,” she shows off her multi-talented self through sex+ shows, educating and entertaining young viewers on the myths and truths about sex, and covering the topics considered “too taboo” for sexual education in schools. Laci is just one of the million youtubers sharing their talents to make the world a better place and helping to form the opinions of society in a rational, positive way (unlike many politicians) while allowing viewers to share their own opinions in the comments.

Not into the serious business of todays news or consider yourself already educated in all there is to know about sex?! Why not learn how to look good through the makeup tutorials on YouTube? Lauren Luke (Panacea81) was just a normal woman who set up a camera in her bedroom and engaged viewers through silly comments about life while teaching them how to look beautiful with makeup and feel good about themselves through the medium of makeup. Some of you may not agree with this superficial view but make up is special in that it can make some women feel like a million dollars in 15 minutes and build the confidence in them that the patriarchal society knocked out of them long ago. Lauren Luke, due to her ever popular YouTube videos, is now a successful business woman with her own makeup brand and thousands of fans (including myself). 

Makeup not your thing either? Well there’s always music on YouTube… From home made music videos to original songs YouTube is FILLED with aspiring artists. We know very well that artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen and Justin Bieber (you may hate them, but you have to admit… The adolescents have done pretty damn well for themselves and will probably never have to work for a day in their lives in an office/local supermarket). Many aspiring musicians have turned away from the traditional busking and performing in bars while drunk men make derogatory comments, and joined YouTube in the hope of being discovered. The instant gratification of seeing how many views your video gets is better than any “traditional” method of being discovered, and can get you instant recognition if you have an exceptionally good voice/cover popular songs well. As proof of how popular this method of sharing your talent is nowadays, I actually have friends who are making their mark on the world through YouTube. One of which is Laura Kearney (weegingexo) Ireland is a small country, all we have to show in the way of music is “the corrs” from the 90s, snow patrol and Eamon Holmes on this morning (although I cringe at the Irish accent, I still don’t mind a good snow patrol/corrs song once in a while). So why not show the best of what we can offer on YouTube? When I asked Laura about her experience of YouTube she stated “I started because I wanted to gain some confidence. A lot of music is listened to and watched on youtube and the internet. I personally like having the opportunity to show people a different side of me as on first appearances I’m quite shy but when I sing and write music I’m completely open.” I agree, YouTube is a fun and easy way to make your mark on the world, again you can openly have a voice and be listened to, something we all crave. Especially as women downtrodden by society for years and thought to have rightly been “seen and not heard.” Yea, I don’t like that idea, we’re not just pretty pictures, we have thoughts and talents.    

Then there’s the general jokers, entertainers, parody and movie makers. We love these people, those who are so talented they probably should be famous already but sadly it’s a dog-eat-dog world so since there’s too many talent shows that repress the artists and tell them what to do, they’ve turned to the fabulous, self-expressive world of YouTube.

Women aren’t generally associated with the word “director” (damn you patriarchy) so when I saw these two girls I fell in love and was immediately inspired. The hillywood show began when two sisters (Hannah and Hilly Hindi) began making a short tv-like show based around their love for Tim Burton films and Johnny Depp’s acting. The sisters created a hilarious show based around jack sparrow and his adventures through time into different Tim Burton movies. The talented girls became well known when they went off-script and did their twilight parody, completely separate to the hillywood show but keeping the brand of “Hillywood show productions.” As both sisters are talented dancers they did a dance to Katy Perry’s “hot and cold” dressed as twilight characters. They have since done successful and entertaining parodies of popular movies such as “batman: the dark knight” and “the hunger games,” becoming successful entertainers (available for hire at parties), selling hillywood merchandise on their website and participating as part of a “question and answer” panel aside the twilight cast as twi-con! (twilight convention)

Still not convinced this might be the beginning of a new wave of feminism? Search on YouTube any of the women featured above, search the word “feminism” in the search bar and tell me you aren’t even slightly inspired to set up a YouTube channel and go off on a rant about something you’ve been bottling up for a long time. It’s therapeutic, it’s useful and it’s reassuring seeing the comments/ views from people who feel the same.