Finally, some YouTuber news that isn’t messy. Popular British YouTuber and actress Abigail Thorn, whose “Philosophy Tube†series of YouTube videos has garnered over 50 million views for the way they meld theatrical production style with cogent explainers of current social issues, came out publicly as a trans woman on January 30. Thorn simultaneously released a statement in both written and filmed formats, in which she begins by saying, “Hello friends! I’m delighted to say I’m a trans woman; my name is Abigail and you can refer to me with she/her.†Thorn goes on to decry the discrimination trans people are facing in the U.K., saying “trans people, especially trans people of colour, are hit hardest by unemployment, homelessness, and domestic, sexual, and police violence, but the conversation always focuses on wealthy white cis women tweeting about toilets.â€
So if you wonder why the topic “Abigail†is trending in your Twitter sidebar, it’s not because Abigail Breslin is staging a comeback. It’s because the leftist, pop-culture savvy video essayists of YouTube have another talented trans creator among their ranks.