Trending This Week: Coming Out, Apologizing to Bees, Shaking Off the Makeup Shamers

June 12, 2015

Beauty Guru Comes Out on YouTube



This week, Ingrid Nilsen (Miss Glamorazzi) came out as gay on YouTube in an incredibly emotional video that has already garnered over 3.9 million views. In the video, Nilsen talks candidly about her journey to understand and embrace her sexuality, as well as addressing her past relationships with men -- one of which she frequently shared on her channel. In the past four days, the overwhelming amount of support -- both in traditional media (Time, CNN, Vanity Fair) and online (with comments from John Green, Joey Graceffa, Hannah Hart, Zoella, Alfie Deyes) -- has demonstrated just how fast the conversation around LGBT relationships is changing for the better. Nilsen follows in the footsteps of countless creators, such as the Rhodes Brothers (their January video now stands at 18.8M views), whose coming out experiences have not only been used to inspire LGBT individuals in the same situation, but educate potential allies around the world.

An Open Letter to Bees



For anyone who has ever had a beef with bees, this video is for you. Comedian Mike Falzone is one of those hidden gems of YouTube who has built a loyal fanbase with videos that epitomize quality over quantity. Looking at the numbers, Falzone would be considered “little YouTube” with just over 122,000 subscribers and 13M views in the past nine years. But like so many other smaller creators (Lex Croucher, Beckie0, Akilah Hughes), Falzone’s influence reaches far beyond his view count, and instead lies in his long run on YouTube and loving fanbase of YouTube power players such as John and Hank Green, Olan Rogers, and SourceFed. He’s also laugh-till-you-snort hilarious, an extremely talented musician, a published author before every YouTuber became a published author, and, as I like to call him, “the Kevin Bacon of YouTube.” It’s a real thing, everyone is in one way or another connected to Mike Falzone.

‘Grand Theft Auto’ In Real Life


As a former Los Angeles resident, I think I speak for everyone when I say at one point or another, we’ve all wished we could approach gridlock traffic with a few “Grand Theft Auto” tricks. But, alas, due to a still engaged moral compass, Corridor Digital’s recent viral hit “Grand Theft Auto IRL” is the next best thing. Filmmakers Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer hit a high note with their recent video-game inspired short that has gained over 11M views in four days -- a huge accomplishment even for filmmaking veterans like Corridor. The pair have become known for their studio-level special effects, past collaborations with Freddie Wong (they were roommates), and infinite love of bringing video games to life with popular hits such as The Glitch and Superman With a GoPro.

The Power of Makeup



In recent months, beauty gurus have begun experiencing what is being called “makeup shaming,” a trend in which someone who enjoys wearing makeup is labelled as unfeminist, insecure, conceited, and vain. (For further explanation, see Amy Schumer’s incredible music sketch “Girl, You Don’t Need Makeup.”) Popular beauty guru Nikkie Tutorials confronts this trend head on through her video “The Power of Makeup” which has inspired a conversation of over 5,300 comments. In the video, Nikkie walks viewers through her makeup routine while discussing why women are recently ashamed rather than empowered to admit to wearing makeup. With half her face left bare and half made glammed up, Nikkie drives home the point that makeup should be seen as source of expression and confidence that depends on no one’s opinions but your own. “The Power of Makeup” is reminiscent of last year’s “Ray Rice Makeup Tutorial,” “How to Put on Your Face,” and “Honest Makeup Tutorial,” which have made political and social statements through the use of a makeup video.

--Carly Lanning

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