Philip DeFranco,
I've never done anything like this. I had intended
to just send an e-mail, but I couldn't find the address and it seems fairly
easy to reach you on social media anyways. You seem in tune with your fans; that
much I can say. I've been a fan of yours, not since the beginning, but since
around 2009 or so. Recently, I've found myself watching less and less. You may
or may not remember me from this tweet:
I admit, that was poorly worded and didn't quite
capture the sentiment I was going for. I admire you and every other YouTuber that makes a living off of YouTube and related pursuits. It gives me hope that
I can one day have a job that makes me and others happy. I try
to support the YouTube community as much as I can with subscriptions, likes,
turning off AdBlock, etc. So what's my issue? You can probably
guess: women. I touched on it in my rushed tweet, and you've definitely noticed
and brought it up in multiple videos. You say that the women of the Nation are
angry, and some are. I don’t like that word. I don’t get angry often. Better
descriptors would be annoyed, or sad.
Now, I don’t mind a lot of things that other women
of The Nation seem to. I don’t question what Lindsey would think. I understand
that you two are in an adult relationship and that there’s nothing inherently
sexual about photography. You just enjoy photographing people. I don’t even
have a problem with the fact that they wear minimal amounts of clothes. Once
again, that’s both their choice and yours. The human body is beautiful and should be photographed. What I find
troublesome is what comes across about women from your words and actions. You
feature “sexy time galleries” on your videos often. Rarely, if ever, do I see
men featured. I understand if you’d rather take pictures of women and look at
pictures of women, but pictures of men can be just as stunning. I think that the
Greeks would agree with me.
Another source of conflict for me is the models. I
understand that most professional models have fantastic bodies. The standard is
unattainable for the average female. I think I would just like to see more
average women. It’s your hobby, it’s your art, and it’s up to you; whether
other people like it or not. However, I think that you could use your huge fan-base to really do something exciting. You’re a celebrity in your own right. Many YouTubers arguably have more power than traditional celebrities. And
remember what Uncle Ben said! “With great power comes great responsibility.”* You could break from the type of traditional photography that we all see in
magazines anyways: Perfect models with little clothing. These are the things
women have grown up seeing. More and more, women are seeing past the bullshit.
They don’t need this message of perfection reinforced more than it already is.
That probably isn't what you’re trying to do (I hope) but that’s how it comes
across. And I think that unless you prove otherwise in some way, your female fan-base will stay, as you put it, angry.
I hope that I've represented the women of The Nation
well. We may have varying opinions, but I believe that the core sentiment
remains the same. I hope that you don’t dismiss this if you see it because I
think it’s really important that you see (if you haven’t already) just why this I important for both your
fans, and society. I wish the best for you, Lindsey, and your soon-to-be-born
baby. Keep pursuing what you love.
Sincerely,
Lorna Ziehm
*I know that this quote can't be originally credited to Uncle Ben or Marvel. There's a lot of muddled debate about it actually, but the sentiment still stands.
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