Where are all the Asian women YouTubers?

Close your eyes and think of who the most famous Asian YouTubers are.

Chances are your mind went straight to TheMing Thing, Cheokboardstudios, DanKhooProductions, TheGRIMFILM, Joseph Germani, Mumu Ngui, TheSaladShow and name wee

Don’t get us wrong, we love what these guys are doing! But, we have to ask…

Where are all the Asian women YouTubers?

Hoping to bring some diversity to the fore and in celebration of the International Women’s Day, we have decided to embark on a series of female empowerment blogs.

Lesson 1: How to get famous on YouTube without showing your boobs!

Malaysia may be a conservative society, but there’s no getting around the fact that sex sells, EVERYWHERE. Why do you think so many rap videos objectify women?

Even worse is when truly talented women (yes Miley Cyrus, we’re looking at you) resort to controversial gimmicks to boost their public profile. For all the cries that flashing flesh is empowering, the truth is it only serves to pander to a misogynistic dialogue.

Truth be told, we females have so much more to offer the world than our beguiling curves. We are capable and brilliant actresses, musicians, geeks, lawyers, doctors, chefs, mothers… whatever we want to be!

This isn’t a rallying cry to plait your armpit hair and burn your bras (each to their own of course). Rather, we’re calling on you as influencers to embrace your gifts, get famous and stand up as mentors for the next generation of females.

Here’s some tips on how you can do just that…

Build your brand

Beauty Vlogger Michelle Phan has hit the fame stratosphere, receiving the kind of adoration usually reserved for Hollywood stars. She told Fashionista that if you want to stand out, you have to ask yourself:

“What’s my message and vision and brand identity?” You have to treat your channel like a brand. Picking your user name carefully and branding yourself is the first step in the journey. How will people identify you? The reason so many people get lost is because they’re trying to do what everyone else is doing. You’ve got to do things that are different for you to stand out.

Find your point of difference

Internationally, there are some prominent female vloggers gaining huge followings. And whilst we don’t begrudge them their success, as they are amazing, many are representing in the make-up, mummy and shopping haul categories; categories which risk oversaturation.

Areas which are lacking a female YouTube voice include:

• Gaming (Minecraft is the second most searched for topic on YouTube);
• Tech reviews;
• Outdoor lifestyle;
• Car reviews; and
• Politics.

Even in music, there is a dearth of female drummers. This is particularly so in Asia as our parents only want us to learn the cultured stuff like violin, piano and the cello. So if you can bang those cymbals, get filming. STAT!

A woman to look up to

One YouTuber we love here at SushiVid is Joanna Soh. With over 633,000 subscribers, Joanna focuses on fitness, food and faith — even creating videos about how to continue exercising through Ramadan. Her videos are empowering and all about being your best self — something we can get on board with.

Feeling inspired?

We all have something unique and special to offer. And if reading this has inspired to bring you to bring your special qualities to YouTube there’s a place for you at SushiVid.

Also, if you know a kick ass woman who is conquering the influencer scene, why not drop us a line and nominate her for our next Maki of the Month.