The Critical Stans Episode 8: “Pleasures and Perils Of YouTube”

Join The Daily Vox journalists SHAAZIA EBRAHIM and FATIMA MOOSA every week as they chat all things fun and serious around fan culture, fandoms and what it means to be a stan. They’ll be destroying tropes around the supposedly traditional hardcore male football fan and the manic pop culture fangirl; covering everything from football, Young Adult fiction to Beyoncé and K-pop. Living in the fanworld as women of colour who are avid consumers of all things fan-related means that it is impossible to ignore the politics of these things. And that’s what the Critical Stans are all about.

There’s something for everyone on YouTube from mukbangs to beauty tutorials and prank videos. It’s a platform that’s a dream for representation because just anyone can make a video about almost anything and it’s accessible to everyone with the internet (unless your country blocks content like, ahem, China). But the problem with representation is that sometimes some identities tend to appropriate other identities. With well-known YouTube icons like Superwoman and Timothy Delaghetto adopting blaccent and elements of black culture, serious questions need to be asked about the downside of allowing a free platform for all.

Produced by Sipho Hlongwane.

If you missed our last seven episodes, check them out below.

The Critical Stans Episode Seven: “Desi Girl Feels”

The Critical Stans Episode Six: “On The Obsession With Reality TV”

The Critical Stans Episode Five: “The (Mostly) Wonderful World of K-pop”

The Critical Stans Episode Four: “The Science Behind The Boy Bands”

The Critical Stans Episode 3: “Worshipping At The Altar of Celebrity (And Beyoncé)”

The Critical Stans Episode Two: “YA Is Lit”

The Critical Stans Episode One: “World Cup Misogyny”

Who are your favourite YouTubers? Tweet us @thedailyvox