We wanted to highlight who we think the UK’s top LGBTQ+ YouTubers are. 

At present, ‘Top # LGBTQ+ YouTubers’ lists typically focus on American creators, whilst lists here in the UK tend to exclude any discussion on sexuality/identity. We thought it was about time that changed, so here’s our list of the UK’s top 5 LGBTQ+ YouTubers. 

Whilst homosexual filmmakers can relish in the growing success of gay male narratives on screen, lesbian characters, on the contrary, are much less likely to avail of the spotlight. However, despite poor portrayals resulting in lesbian invisibility on mainstream screen, organisations such as LesFlicks are dedicated to furthering positive change in lesbian filmmaking. 

Not only has Channel 4’s It’s A Sin broken viewing records for the broadcaster, it also encouraged four times as many people to order HIV tests compared to previous years - and it has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So how does the show succeed so well and what other noteworthy LGBTQ dramas are out there?

Since the dawn of the internet, we’ve been trying to stay afloat in a sea of information, images and opinions, but 2020 threw more digital content at us than ever before - a lot of it on social media. Yet, whilst everyone can create content, who is leaving a lasting impression due to their genuine influence?

Founded by Liv Little in 2015, gal-dem is devoted to telling the stories of women and non-binary people of colour. With its workforce of over 70 women and non-binary people of colour, gal-dem is confronting the current journalistic landscape of 94% white and 55% male.

TikTok and the culture and community it has created provides a chance for young people to go viral and be celebrated for their lighter side in a time when an actual-viral pandemic attempts to steal the limelight from the entire world.

IMJUSTBAIT started out as an Instagram meme page that has skyrocketed to success within the past six years. Now with 4.6 million followers on Instagram alone, it’s one of the most popular accounts for young people in the UK. But don’t be fooled into thinking that’s all there is to this company. 

A recent Women in Journalism report reveals that over the course of a week, there was not a single news story written by a Black reporter on the front page of any of the UK’s newspapers

Just how elitist is the UK’s media industry? A mere 7% of the UK’s population is privately educated but a report from The Sutton Trust shows how the privately educated are disproportionately represented across the UK media industry.

A study by the International Women’s Media Foundation found that women represent only one third of the full-time journalists across the 522 companies surveyed. Undoubtedly, gender inequality is an issue worldwide but what is being done about it within media?

In the wake of what is perhaps the largest political movement in US history, businesses are facing demands to ‘pull up’ and publicly release the number of Black employees at corporate level. One way we can try to separate those brands whose integrity and principles lie on the right side of the movement from those simply engaging in performative and optical allyship is by examining their approach to influencer marketing.

The COVID-19 lockdown has made many people furloughed, redundant and/or unemployed. As we come out the other side, it will be interesting to see how effective the diversity strategies are at getting people in minority groups – including those with a lower-socioeconomic background – back into the creative sector.  

In 2016, the BBC stated that by 2020, they would have a workforce at least as diverse, if not more so, than any other in the industry. With less than half a year to go before the end of 2020, we take a look at their progress so far.