YouTube is a platform for normal, yet opinionated people to gain fame rather quickly through society's need to subscribe, share and talk about their personalities, which plays in to what these "stars" have to say.
YouTube personality Nicole Arbour is an example of this, especially with her video from last week titled "Dear Fat People" that sparked quite a stir on the Internet.
It explained that being overweight shouldn't be excused by people's "bad" habits in an open letter style video. Arbour's comments ranged from creating parking spots specifically for fat people to expressing unwarranted jealousy over people who can eat whatever they want.
With her 100,000 plus subscribers, she can either make or break their self-esteems with what she shares.
Both negative and positive reactions have come from the video. Although Arbour makes the argument that her video is not about the the 35 percent of Americans that are obese and struggle with health conditions, she forgets those who live with the constant need to be thinner hanging over them at all times.
Arbour shuts down all of the hashtags that support body positivity by talking about how ridiculing fat people, saying the only reason they use these messages is to "unplug their arteries."
"Fat shaming, who came up with that?" Arbour said. "That's f-king brilliant, yes. Shame people who have bad habits until they f-king stop."
Her YouTube channel was taken down for a while because of the video. However, after a lot of buzz arguing censorship and freedom of speech, her channel came back swinging.
Arbour claims to be a comedian, but if the video had been funny rather than an intensified fat shaming attack, there would have not been as much controversy.
Wow, I'm the first comedian in the history of @YouTube to be #censored There are graphic videos about murder and torture, but satire is
— Nicole Arbour (@NicoleArbour) September 6, 2015
An unknown account called Anonymous Friend shared the original video with everyone while it was taken down, causing Arbour to call out YouTube for allowing another channel to show her video and make a profit off of it.
So is @YouTube ok with people free booting and uploading my video on OTHER channels which they make money off? pic.twitter.com/7i7YqBoTm3
— Nicole Arbour (@NicoleArbour) September 7, 2015
Both famous YouTubers and daily vloggers alike have responded to the "Dear Fat People." Well-known YouTuber Tyler Oakley did not agree with the content Arbour posted and responded to her tweet showing his distaste.
@NicoleArbour this is disappointing content
— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) September 4, 2015
Arbour continued to defend herself responding to Oakley with this message:
Hey @tyleroakley #IAintNeverScared #GOTEAM pic.twitter.com/9HUirZRN7W
— Nicole Arbour (@NicoleArbour) September 4, 2015
Instead of spreading hate about each other, YouTube should be used to celebrate diversity, share love, create memories and discuss public topics that help inform one another. Luckily, there are others who do not share the same views as Arbour and focus on spreading positivity.
Here are five YouTube personalities who are using their channels to celebrate every standard of the body.
Loey Lane
Loey Lane strives to spread #IAmBodyPositive all over the Internet. In her videos, she addresses the beauty of everyone's body by emphasizing that everyone needs to love themselves and feel good in their skin, especially when it comes to dressing up when the layers come off as the heat rises.
Learningtobefearless
Alexandra Irene completely bashes the idea that a person needs to be a size five or below to look good in a bikini. It's all about loving yourself and not allowing others to make you feel anything less than average. She also discusses how bigger girls should be able to experience intimacy just as easily as if they were a smaller size.
Meghan Tonjes
YouTuber Meghan Tonjes discusses how the hashtag for curvy is nonexistent in Instagram searches and why that is wrong. Curvy doesn't represent something bad or negative. She made an emotional video in response to Arbour's video claiming that even if the video is satirical, it's still lazy comedy.
Sarah Rae Vargas
Sarah Rae Vargas expresses how women should not despise their body, explaining how a couple years ago, she wasn't comfortable enough in her own skin to wear revealing clothes, but today it's not even a problem for her. She focuses on how negative self-perception comes from our minds, not the thoughts of those who see us.
Project WomanKIND
This YouTube channel stars five Australian models who encourage women to be more positive about their bodies because girls are much more than what they see in the mirror. The web series expresses how it takes time to love your body, while at the same time feel good about being a woman.
Yes, it is important that people stay alive longer by being healthy. However, body shaming through a video is not appropriate. Life is too short to hate on one another, especially through social media outlets.
Spend more time watching videos with a positive outlook on body image instead of those that body shame and you may find yourself a happier person at the end of the day.
Related Links:
New Disney Ursula doll sparks outrage in battle with body image
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