I don’t pretend to be an expert on the YouTube or Wrock fandoms, nor do I pretend that I’m a close follower of either. But there’s been something of a shitstorm that’s gone down in those fandoms over the past week or so. Credible accusations of sexual assault, sexual manipulations and emotional abuse and emotional blackmail have been levied. I believe them.

I’ve been quiet, wanting to express my thoughts after I’ve had time to really think about them. Here they are in one quick go:

• Step #1: NEVER blame the victim.
• Don’t support sexual abusers. Period.
• Being a fan of someone does not equal knowing them.
• Being a fan of someone DOES NOT make them have any less of an ability to hurt someone else.
• If you have been hurt like this, I hope that you have someone to reach out to. If you need someone, I have heard nothing but good things regarding RAINN.

This whole thing makes me want to… not ignore male creators precisely, but to specifically seek out women creators. In YouTube. In music. In writing. Somehow today, we still live in a world where male voices are heard at a much louder volume than females. And I want to lend my support to female voices, even if it’s in small ways. Subscribing. Watching. Buying. Listening.

The ladies who are a part of Wonderly are a great place to start. A list of some other notable female YouTubers, some old favorites, some I’ve only recently begun to follow.

• Kassie King
• Kristina Horner
• Morgan Paige Loves
• Hayley G Hoover
• Kayley Hyde
• Christine Riccio
• Sarah Snitch
• Laci Green
• CassJayTuck
• Arden Cho
• Meghan Tonjes
• The Geeky Hostess
• Grace Helbig
• Hannah Hart
• Carrie Hope Fletcher
• Lexcanroar
• Rosianna Halse Rojas
• Natalie Tran

There’s been a lot said on the subject, and rather than pretend I have any sort of expertise, I’m going to link you to some ladies who inform and say things about the subject much better than I because I don’t quite know what to say, but I do know that talking about this is important.

• Kristina Horner – “The Truth About All Caps (Yes, Another Post About Dating YouTubers)“
• Hayley G. Hoover – Untitled
• Sarah Snitch – “Yes, this is another post about being manipulated by a YouTuber“
• Rosianna Halse Rojas – Untitled
• Maureen Johnson – “About the recent events concerning YouTube“
• Melissa Anelli – “I am in transit (actual NYC transit)“
• Meghan Tonjes – “Where do we go from here?“

I want to do more. But this where I start.