#historical fashion but I'm talking about 2013

[krussyarts]

Miku? Heul leise.

[hamliet]

Wait what, how did Attack on Titain's narrative get accused of being interlocked with fascism?

I'm sorry I'm new to this since when did AoT ever visualize direct support of such a thing? I'm so so confused, it's a story COMBATTInG that exact thing??

I think a couple things, two of which I find sympathetic but still incorrect, and the rest of which--the main reasons--I find exasperating.

Main reason: people can't read well and don't understand framing. This is a very real phenomenon among younger generations (Z and below). If a story is about something, it's automatically seen as endorsing it. Just look at social media and the anti movement, or at problems plaguing YA literature and harassment towards authors.

In this kind of environment, where portrayal=endorsement, the concept of a tragic protagonist is especially anathema to people--if a protagonist does something, surely it's endorsed! Except, Shakespeare would like a word. Historically, this isn't the case in literature, and it's not the case in AoT either.

Now, to be fair, something coming out in a monthly fashion may mean that parts seem ambiguous at the time since we don't have teh full picture. However, I don't think AoT was ever ambiguous and never made me feel like it would endorse Eren, so while I can understand occasional confusion, I can't understand ever thinking it was even close to endorsing it especially after Mikasa's "that's already... unforgivable" line in 101.

The parts I am sympathetic to are these:

Isayama, in like 2013, posted an image of a Japanese military figure in WWII or something. I forget the details. This man is taught as a hero to Japanese students. To the rest of the world, he's uh, a war criminal. Isayama I believe deleted this? and at any rate never did it again. Still, I'm not going to defend this. I empathize with people who still live under the effects of brutal Japanese imperialist occupation, for which Japan still hasn't taken responsibility. Yet as someone who grew up in America in a cult where I had to unlearn basically everything, I'm also sympathetic to a man who was in his young-mid 20s who grew up with a perspective that was very different and appeared to learn from it. It's like a lot of Americans grow up hearing great things about Winston Churchill and George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, only to then realize in your 20s the Bad Things they did, like slavery and assault and more. Also, these things were not as widely available (via the internet) to people growing up at Isayama's age (he's just a little older than I am) as they are now. So I see this as a man learning. Yes, there's privilege there, but that's not something he can help, and it's a project to do the work unpacking it--which to all accounts he appears to actually be doing. It's nonsensical to assume that someone who ever speaks positively of a historical figure is actually endorsing their worldview. If the story did endorse it, that'd be different--but it doesn't.

The armbands. I have talked about it before and won't get into it, but I won't ever defend that use of the armband (it's incredibly insensitive) while also thinking that its use is not remotely an endorsement (framing-wise, it isn't) and also thinking that someone raised in Japan, again, doesn't learn nearly as much about the Holocaust as someone in the west does.

Even with those things, being angry about them or offended is one thing, and thinking the story endorses fascism as a result of it is another. I can defend why I called BNHA a fascist-esque story in the end tying it into the themes and messaging. I've yet to see someone do this with SnK because it's blatantly anti fascist--though, it is a story told within the foibles and limits of coming from one man's background.

Also, to quote @aspoonofsugar, I think the most blatant evidence it's anti-fascist is looking at who hated the ending. Answer: fascists. Young, alienated men angry that their hero, who was written to represent them, turned out not to be the hero of the story and as a tragic, hurting child throwing a tantrum. Raise your hand if you recognize any of our real-world fascists in that.

Edit: An Anon gave the details for the picture of the Japanese imperialist: From Tv Tropes; Dot Pixis's character stirred an outrage among the Korean fanbase, especially when Isayama admitted that he was based off of Akiyama Yoshifuru, a historical general of the Imperial Japanese Army who has a complicated and controversial history in Korea. This resulted in a heated debate over the general's war record, angry messages and even death threats towards Isayama, as well as an overall decline of interest in the series in Korea due to what they saw as Isayama glorifying the man.

Thanks to Anon for the details; I'd forgotten. My opinion on it remains the same.

[archiveofkloss]

The model and entrepreneur has teamed up with Thorne Health for their latest campaign.

Karlie Kloss has a lot going on at the moment.

Many recognize Kloss as a model who has graced the covers of magazines and walked several iconic runways (including the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show), and now, the mom of two and busy entrepreneur is featured in Thorne Health’s “Find Your Way” campaign.

“Find your way to wellness is something that just really resonates with me because my wellness continues to evolve as life evolves,” said Kloss.

As someone who has high expectations of herself, Kloss understands that everyone’s needs change as they age. She’s taken advice from nutritionists over the years as well as a test on the Thorne website. “I want to be both physically strong and also have the mental acuity to be able to keep up with my day-to-day juggle,” she said. “You don't have to be a health expert to find things that are going to make you feel better in your skin and help you perform better.”

In this exclusive interview, Kloss talks about her wellness goals (including a big race she has her eyes on), her thoughts on starting a podcast and what she’s listening to when she works out… and no, it’s not Taylor Swift (but she does have a favorite TS song these days).

Q: What workouts are you into? 

A: I try and squeeze in whatever I can, whenever I can. That's always been the case. Long before having kids, I've always been on-the-go traveling for my day job. Whether it’s 20 minutes for a quick run, or pushing my kids in a stroller —and it's not even a high intensity thing —but just moving my body. I love to do strength training and Pilates. I'm starting to get back into running again.

Q: Do you have any running goals in mind?

A: I actually had knee surgery two years ago, which was a crazy thing as a 20-something to go through. Recovering from that forced me to take better care of myself and also train differently and really focus on strength.

I am toying with the idea of attempting a New York City marathon again this year. That was the only full marathon I've done. I've done a number of halves in Paris and in Germany.

Q: Running and training for a marathon is no joke. What’s on your playlist?

A: I love an audiobook or a podcast. I feel like it keeps my mind busy as opposed to checking the time. There's this podcast that I'm recently obsessed with called acquired okay I what it's called Acquired. They do deep dives into businesses — two hour long episodes. around like because they did a really great one on Hermes and on LVMH, and Nvidia.

Q: Would you start your own podcast?

A: I am definitely like a lifelong student. I love learning. I love asking questions. I feel like that's always been my form of education. I feel so lucky that through my career I have been able to meet so many interesting people, and I'm constantly taking advantage of that access to learn from the people around me.

Q: On the note of interesting people: you went to The Eras Tour. Do you have a favorite song off of Taylor Swift’s new album?

A: I’d say the whole album. I mean, her music is classic.

Q: Do you have a favorite Taylor Swift song, historically? [In 2013, it was Love Story.]

A: She’s got so many hits. I definitely love “Shake It Off.”

Q: What other concerts are you looking forward to?

A: I was trying to make it to the Billie Eilish tour. I had a baby last summer, so I was very sad to miss Beyoncé.

Q: With all that you do, what other goals do you have?

A: I want to continue to focus on the things that are currently on my plate. I'm excited to continue growing Kode with Klossy. We have a big birthday this coming year. We're going into our 10th year. We have 3,000 young women and gender expansive teens in our camps right now across 90 countries around the world. That's my first baby.

My bucket list item is to complete my degree. I'm a long time student at NYU, in the Gallatin program, where you make your own degree. I have taken a ton of classes across all the different schools, which is the beauty of the program. Even once I get my degree, I'm just a student of life.

[lgbtawarenessproject]

Part 8: Namibia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu

Some these are really short, I wasn't able to find a lot of information on them. I am, admittedly, only doing a surface search to save time, but still.

(Also I'm limiting how much time I spend writing them)

I did add Namibia to this one, and Zimbabwe links will be at the bottom.

-Soul

Namibia

While Namibia does criminalize homosexuality by men, it does have a pride celebration.

Namibia’s pride celebration began in December 2013, and was run by Out-Right Namibia in Windhoek. Approximately 100 people showed up, a mix of black and white citizens. This was a historical moment, not just because it was pride, but because as Linda Baumann explained, “there is a gap between the two communities in the country and it was historic; a mixture of our communities getting together”. Marchers in the celebration carried signs saying things like “Up with love, down with hate” and “Dare to be different”. The organization was given permission to hold this event by the Windhoek government, and was provided with four police officers to protect them. There were protestors at pride, but the majority accepted it.

This event was a large step forward for Namibia queers, but there is still plenty they are working towards. In 2018, a gay couple, one of which was from Namibia, the other from South Africa, won a case to immigrate their son to Namibia, but earlier this year(2023), it was repealed by the supreme court. Namibia continues to fight back, but the government resists.

Sources: 1 2 3 4

Fiji

Over all, LGBT rights in Fiji are decent. In February of 2010, homosexuality became legal, and in 2018, they had their first pride. However, gay marriage is still illegal, and anti-discrimination laws are lacking.

Talking about pride in Fiji, it was approved by the local government, and was escorted by police. Presumably to protect it. More importantly though, it was the first pride march in any Pacific Island. That isn’t to say it came easy though, in 2012 a pride celebration was planned in one of the bigger cities in Fiji. It was, unfortunately, canceled by the police. It was attempted again afterwards, but they had no success until doing it in a small town in 2018. The pride was organized by the Rainbow Pride Foundation.

In 2016, former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that all LGBTI people in Fiji should move to Iceland. Also in 2016, the military was very loud with its homophobia, and according to one advocate who married his husband in a different country, if his relationship had been found out they would have been taken to the barracks.

There is a long going fight in Fiji concerning the safety of LGBT+ people. There are high rates of violence against them, and they feel unsafe going to the police. Rabuka, the current Prime Minister, has made no statements.

Sources: 1 2 3 4

Vanuatu

Homosexuality is legal in Vanuatu, and they have a form of pride that is not the traditional march. Vanuatu pride is run by V-Pride, an LGBT+ organization. Every year since 2020, V-Pride has run a fashion show. In 2021, six designers showed more than 80 outfits to over 500 guests. In a historic moment, Honorable Ralph Regenvanu spoke at this event. He talked about how important it is to talk about V-Pride and its contributions to fashion and society, and about the importance of Vanuatu reaching its obligations, both nationally and internationally, to leave no one behind.

V-Pride offers testing for STI’s and information.

Sources: 1 2 3

Tonga

In May of 2021, the president of Tonga Leitis Association was murdered. They were described as  “a selfless humanitarian and a tireless advocate for the rights of those with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.” by the association. Polikalepo Kefu was a well respected individual in the community, and spoke for people all through the Pacific Islands. The association was created 1992 and specifically advocates for trans and otherwise gender variant people in Tonga. They provide healthcare, and services to people with AIDS/HIV.

In 2018, a rugby player named Israel Folau spoke against homosexuality. In response, Honorable Frederica Tuita Felipe sent out several tweets.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Tuvalu

While Tuvalu was a signatory in 2011 to end violent homophobia and transphobia, and representatives sat in on a campaign by the UN to end Homophobia and Transphobia, it’s still illegal. Kind of. Tuvalu laws specifically only prohibit men from having sex with each other. Tuvalu does have a transfeminine identity called Pinapinaaine, and Canada sent a report to Tuvalu about how their laws can be fixed to accommodate queer people in 2014. 

Sources: 1 2 3 4

Zimbabwe

Links: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Please note these are links to articles I was going to use as a starting point for research.

Part 1

Part 7<-Announcement->Part 9

Please support this project by checking out the LGBT+ Identities and Experiences survey in our link tree! Also, a full description of this project is being posted in our discord!

Pride Month Calendar for this project

Tell me in replies if you want to be tagged!

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Ah I'm the market expansion into the asia-pacific market anon, I vaguely remember sending your something on the topic before around a year ago when BTS did their LV thing. But I can can be Anon 2 or Needle Anon or what, I don't mind, it's neither here nor there.

I've only jsut had time to catch up on the fashion shows, life gets in the way, and the delightful interactions with your other Fashion Anon, the perspective is interesting. Because as much as I keep up with Modern fashion my focus and a lot of interest is mainly on fashion history and observing different elements which can be found in the contemporary scene vs. previous eras. And then of course how fashion penetrates and has penetrated different markets due to history and stuff. So I believe our skill sets are different. I will share some of my observations and feelings? of the shows I've had time to watch in a bit. Maybe I'll do that in a separate ask because this might get long and it'll be easier to keep the topics together…

I, however, first want to re-address the initial ask where you answered me on the consumer side of things and decisions of brands to employ certain idols for promotion. It is of course very smart to employ lots of different idols/celebrities in general who, may have a fanbase in similar age range, but other demographic factors which diversify them as to reach a wider audience. All the odious infighting of the fandoms over their idols' ambassadorships is a waste of energy because I believe it is very likely just a case of "oh have we reached this demographic yet, who can we get on board to solve that" mentality on side of the brands. It is of course very possible that particularly fashion affine people will be chosen or it comes down to a fit with the brand, but this might also change with different collections over years since usually taste and fashionable silhouettes and bodies in particular are ever evolving too.

I think at this point everyone is aware of these luxury brands but may not endorse them until their idol of choice decides to and that may well be a growing number of middle class or working class people too. As you write it is very possible that they might look for items they can afford in the brands repertoire. Talk about real Spine Breakers when a lip gloss suddenly has to be Dior or LV for a 16 year old or a Uni student when food and accommodation prices are ever rising. Either way, as we have established it's a win-win situation for the Brands.

As you may well know, a fan/consumer base that is brought along is worth a lot. It's why influencer marketing is so prolific, and nowadays a reason why books are published by people with large followings, and everyone and their cats start their own fashion label or whatnot. This is all a global phenomenon, it's all mutually beneficial for those in these deals.

So this has, as expected got a bit long. I will be making a separate ask on the actual FW stuff now.

Welcome back! Yes, I do remember we talked as well back when BTS had the brand deal with LV. I knew it was familiar.

You mentioned something interesting here, about the changes over the years in collections and how the brand's image is prone to change, an obvious development anyway. My question would be, how much is that connected to the ambassador they appoint and how long? Let's look a bit contextually and historically. From what I know and read about and I'm talking here about Dior specifically but I'm sure it applies to others, some ambassadors have held the title for many years and even decades and stood the test of time, regardless of the trends and how the brand changed. For example, Sharon Stone or Isabella Adjani, and then you also have Jude Law who was an ambassador between 2008-2012 for Dior Homme fragrance. Pattinson helds the title as GA since 2013 and ongoing. But there is a difference between having actors and singers who historically have very specific means of reaching an audience and most of them have established themselves in another generation, not fully internet based. Now we see the shift with reaching a more globalized and vastly larger consumer base by employing public figures that have completely different methods of reaching their audience, the k-pop idols. And we've also been living in the influencer era, which is a part of an idol's role too and that changes the game. Pattinson doesn't bring the same consumer base in terms of social media engagement as Jimin might, or Jisoo. Trying to get to my question here, do you think that being a long time BA for today's hot trending people is something possible? Could Jimin or any other other be replaced faster due to how fast relevancy on social media changes and the type of following they have and if these public figures can become long term partners or they are merely relevant as long as they fit to the brand's vision for a certain period of time? (Meaning a few years and that's it)

I also want to note another aspect here which I know people easily dismiss by saying everyone can do whatever they want with their money, but that's a very obtuse capitalistic way of viewing things, but I don't have a problem addressing that. I think it's a problem that points out a lack of self awareness and how such discussions are burried or easily dismissed because the fandom mentality doesn't allow that. They see their consumer habits as part of their support for an artist. Fair, but I'm afraid we'll see a rise in purchase competition (it already exists in this generation, but it will be exacerbated in this particular case) and some hidden shaming towards some economic classes. But it's also the reality we're living in and we're most likely entering a recession, while part of this fandom will enter their big luxury brand purchases thanks to BTS. It's just how it is. And lastly, you mentioning Spine Breaker also shows the massive changes in the status and message the group is putting out and I'll leave it at that for now.

P.S. I received you other ask on the actual collection, I will post it as well.

[absolutebl]

I started watching Addicted because you've mentioned it so many times and I TOLD MYSELF I wouldn't get invested since there is no ending. But boo boo the clown is now invested and has only two episodes left, and I know there will be no closure. I blame you.

But actually what I wanted to say was I think Addicted is really cool and unique because watching it truly feels like watching an old school teen drama from the early 2000s or even the 90's. Maybe it's just the lighting, or music, or old fashioned phone Bai Luo Yin has, but watching it makes me feel like when I was a kid catching glimpses of the shows my cousins used to watch, but you know gay and probably even more problematic. Honestly if you had told me this was a show from 2006 I wouldn't have blinked. It being made in 2016 feels wrong somehow.

I like where BL seems to be heading currently, at least Thai BL which I'm more acquainted with tbh. But there is something really fun and almost old school about early BL. And I mean old school in that it feels like old shows from the 2000s. Pete and Kao's relationship in Kiss Me Again specifically (which I suppose isn't very early bl since it's 2018) also feels very much like an old school enemies to friends to lovers teen drama, but also SOTUS captures that pretty well also I think. Sorry I guess this really isn't a question question, but I do wonder what your perspective on this is. Like do you think I'm completely talking out of my ass or not lol? I wonder how Chinese BL would have progressed had Addicted not caused the outright ban. I think there would have been less historic/fantasy BL, maybe they would have gone a similar route to Taiwan with gritty, often problematic BL, leaning into old school Yaoi tropes. Or maybe The Untamed was inevitable.

Sorry not sorry? I do try to warn everyone. Chinese BL always lagged a bit behind the other countries, conceptually, at least the contemporary stuff. Right up until they got censored. I mean I sometimes call this "reliance on classic yaoi tropes" but really it's just a touch old fashioned.

I mean some of the newer (non wuxia) bromance stuff like Precise Shot feels like it could have been made a decade ago. Censored or no.

Japan does this two. In their case, it's one of the reasons I like it. Take Given, it came out this year and had I watched it without knowing that, i might have sworn it came out in like 2013 or something. Except for the hair.

But I see what you mean in general about the dated feel of Addicted. Or perhaps that just a side effect of the rapid evolution we are currently under?

I mean, have you seen the original 2 Moons? It feels SO old fashion now, but in a very quintessentially Thai BL way. 

It’s amazing how fast the genre is moving. But it also means when a new BL goes up with an old (dated) trope or highly classic aesthetic (even though it’s less than a decade old) it can feel almost shocking to the modern audience. Keeps happening to the HIStory franchise. 

[mirekat]

Hello! Sorry if this is a weird thing to ask, but I'm working on this essay about section 28 and I was wondering if you had any recommendations on super basic LGBTQ+ historiography? It turns out going from studying early modern history to very recent stuff is a trip because as an early modernist I could read books from the 90s and it was mostly fine, but now if I read books from the 90s, section 28 was still in law!

Heya! And omg it's not weird at all--thank you for asking! Other than the piece of my brain that's reserved for Star Trek, this is my whole intellectual life and I will talk about it endlessly.

I feel like I should preface this with the caveat that I do mainly English history, and mainly postwar history, so my reading list is skewed in that direction. That said, trying to answer this made me realise just how few surveys of UK LGBTQ+ history actually run all the way up to 2003! There's a good volume of LGB historiography covering c.1880-1967, a decent amount about the Gay Liberation Front and HIV/Aids activism, but when I went back over my exam list the only survey I saw that covered Section 28 repeal was Jeffrey Weeks, Sex, Politics, and Society (the 2017 edition). Weeks is basically the doyen of the field, though--his Coming Out (1977) is still the text all us whippersnappers have a go at to prove ourselves--so he’s good to have in your bibliography. There's also a chapter on Section 28 in Trans Britain (2018), ed. Christine Burns. The book is more a set of personal essays than a survey, and it's not pitched at an academic audience, but it’s still the only text I know that covers UK trans history from 1950s-present.

If you're looking at the big sweeping questions that have defined the field, there’s a crucial split in the mid-2000s. On the one hand you’ve got books like Harry Cocks’ Nameless Offences (2003) which is a history of gay Victorian men--as in men he defines as gay--in the tradition of Weeks. And then you’ve got books like Matt Houlbrook’s Queer London (2005) covering 1918-1957, which are asking instead how ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ became identity terms in the first place, and how we should tell queer stories when our subjects didn’t define themselves that way. Sharon Marcus Between Women (2007) made a similar move to Houlbrook’s w/r/t Victorian women’s relationships. Laura Doan even had a public fight with herself about it: Fashioning Sapphism (2000) calls itself a history of interwar lesbian culture, and Disturbing Practices (2013) repudiates the earlier book, arguing that we can’t project concepts like ‘lesbian’ onto women who desired women before that desire was called lesbian. The intro to British Queer History: New Approaches and Perspectives, ed. Brian Lewis (2012) has an overview of this kind of push-and-pull between historical methodologies; the essays in it run through the 1970s. 

Other texts building off this 2000s historiography I can think of at the moment:

Rebecca Jennings, Tomboys and Bachelor Girls: A Lesbian History of Postwar Britain, 1945-71 (2017)

Simon Avery and Katherine L. Graham, eds. Sex, Time and Place: Queer Histories of London, c. 1850 to the Present (2016-v eclectic but intro and post-80s chapters might be useful)

Brian Lewis, Wolfenden’s Witnesses: Homosexuality in Postwar Britain, (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)

Alison Oram, Chris Waters and Frank Mort have a lot of articles that cover the 20s-70s; might look up their faculty pages for ideas. 

Zooming out further, there are a handful of foundational US history texts that get cited in most UK bibliographies as well. I’d say the ‘essentials’ trilogy would be Kennedy and Davis’ Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold (1993; 2ed 2014)--which you mentioned you’d read!--George Chauncey’s Gay New York (1994) and Susan Stryker’s Transgender History (2008; 2ed 2017).

Finally, this is all v white and Global North and Anglophone and (mostly) not trans-inclusive, which is...well, the field to some extent. But it’s getting better! Idk how much of this would go directly into a paper on Section 28, but for good measure here are some historically-minded works in my own wee subfield: Jules Gill-Peterson’s Histories of the Transgender Child (2018), which shows how gender in the US can’t be disentangled from race; Afsaneh Najmabadi’s Professing Selves (2014) on medical transition in post-70s Iran; Howard Chiang’s After Eunuchs (2018) and Transtopia in the Sinophone Pacific which literally came out three weeks ago so I can’t speak to it yet but I’m hype for it. 

Ooh, and if you like oral histories there’s the Oral History Digital Collaboratory, which is North American-centric but has a big list of digitized projects!

Anyway, that’s a by-no-means-exhaustive overview. Putting this out into the world in hopes that anyone else among this tumblr crew of supremely well-read folks might have other recs! What are your queer/LGBTQ+ history go-tos?

(Also, OP, I’d love to hear what recs you have for the early modern period!)

[helenreddy]

I'm just gonna go through all my subscriptions and add some ladies not on the post yet. I'll put the more niche interest channels (true crime, crochet, Japanese language, etc) under a readmore because there's a lot.

Fashion/Sewing (general)

Angela Clayton - sewing videos, mostly midcentury fashion but she does more historical stuff as well as her own designs. An absolute treasure.

Asami Moon - videos focused on lolita fashion and the experience of being a Black lolita within the community

coolirpa - sewing, mostly thrift flips

Karolina Żebrowska - Polish woman mainly focusing on historical fashion but also making memes out of it

Kirilee Cosplay - mostly cosplay-focused tutorials, not just sewing but wig styling and all that.

Micarah Tewers - mentioned above, here's the link.

Morgan Donner - more historical fashion, usually Victorian and earlier. Lots of medieval/renaissance stuff.

Rachel Maksy - another vintage fashion/sewing youtuber. If you like Bernadette Banner, Angela Clayton, Morgan Donner, etc then add Rachel to the list! (Who am I kidding, if you watch those ladies already you probably knew Rachel lmao)

withwendy - sewing stuff, some thrift flips. She had a baby recently and has uploaded a few videos about maternity/nursing sewing hacks. I also love her voice, it's so chill.

Sewing (technical)

Bilikis Signatures - an absolute treasure trove of pattern drafting and sewing skills. She makes it seem easy to come up with gorgeous pieces!

Daniela Tabois - lots of "how to drape" videos. I love her series where she tries to sew gowns under different budget limits, even as low as $5!!! Literally mind-boggling what this woman can do with some fabric.

Kim Dave - sewing tutorials including making her own wedding dress!!! She's also got stuff on the more business side of things, for those of you who'd want to make it your living!

Food

Claire Saffitz - of Bon Appetit fame. Still the adorable and charming lady she was, just now without the fuckery of BA behind her.

Great Depression Cooking - the woman from this channel passed away in 2013 but her videos are still worth the watch! She talks about growing up in the Depression while making the recipes her family did in that time.

How to Cook That (Ann Reardon) - she not only makes awesome desserts and stuff, but has a bunch of videos debunking those sort of "5 minute baking hacks" which are always a treat to watch. Often feeds her husband the disgusting results, so you get to watch a man suffer too lmao

Just One Cookbook - easy Japanese cooking. She has videos explaining stuff that other channels seem to skip over, like making different kinds of dashi (the kinds of stock used for dishes like miso soup)

Kimono Mom - The mom originally trained to be a geisha, but now makes videos with her daughter! They cook traditional Japanese foods together, and let me tell ya nothing warms your heart more than seeing that kid trying to help in the kitchen omg

Maangchi - I swear you'll want to adopt her as your mom. Do you like Korean food? She probably has a video for anything you'd want to cook. Don't watch when hungry unless you want to torture yourself.

Souped Up Recipes - Mostly Chinese recipes. Definitely check out the "Better than Takeout" series of videos, she ain't lying!

Educational

Ana Psychology - discussions about psychology, lots of videos centered around women's topics

Ask A Mortician - death positivity, facts about the death industry, etc.

Jordan Harrod - AI, technology, loads of interesting content in general. You can seriously learn some shit here.

Simone Giertz - Inventor? Mad scientist? I'll let you make that call, but if you ask me the Plamp was a work of pure genius.

Vihart - uploads infrequently, but when she does it's always a gem! Math, doodles, math-based doodles. Pi and pie.

Exercise

Chloe Ting - does lots of exercise videos, you'll probably find something that suits your needs!

Yoga with Adriene - self-explanatory. She's got lots of videos for beginners, so don't feel intimidated!

Misc.

Poppen Atelier - doll makeovers and repaints. She's crazy fuckin' good at it. I'm not even interested in dolls but the process is captivating to watch.

Sarah Jeffery - professional recorder player. Yes, that instrument you screeched Hot Cross Buns out with in music class. They're so much better than that though, definitely check her out because I was shook at the level pro musicians can attain. What music classes have done to the recorder's reputation is actually a travesty.

More niche interests under the cut:

Japanese Language and Culture

Azumi Uchitani - short videos about specific aspects of Japanese culture

Comprehensible Japanese - exactly what it says on the tin. Listening comprehension videos in Japanese from complete beginner to intermediate. Her voice is so relaxing you'll hardly feel like you're practicing!

Japanese Ammo with Misa - teaches Japanese in English, with grammar and vocab lessons from complete beginner up to intermediate (JLPT N3).

Japanese Immersion with Asami - it's like a one-woman Sesame Street for the Japanese language. Cute stories (often accompanied by puppets), slow and clear speech, very good for someone who's just starting to understand the language.

KemushiChan (Loretta) - mostly vlogs about life in Japan, but she's got some real good videos about how she studied/JLPT tips and all that. She also has videos talking about her experience being a black woman in Japan, trying to find haircare and get a haircut, etc.

Kiku-Nihongo - listening practice in Japanese. She hasn't uploaded recently but the content is still useful!

Miku Real Japanese - more listening practice!

Mrs Eats - videos in English about Japanese culture. A bit obsessed with kancho but still funny overall.

Sharmeleon - Canadian woman who lives in Japan. Mostly vlogs about daily life. She's vegetarian or vegan, I forget which, but it comes up sometimes as a topic since Japan eats so much fish/animal products. So if you're veg and planning to visit Japan one day, she's definitely the channel to check out as she's mentioned plenty of restaurants that serve plant based dishes.

Tokidoki Traveller - Australian woman living in Japan, who also mostly vlogs about daily life.

Crochet

Adomah the Crocheter, Brunaticality, BYAOKO, Chasing Sunraee, Katieree (also does knit + other crafts), Simona Crochet, The Secret Yarnery

True Crime

Bella Fiori, Eleanor Neale, Unmasking a Murderer

Ladies I need you to write me a list of your favourite female youtubers because I am struggling! I need women telling me things!

Mine are: 

Jess (Roots and Refuge farm aka all my gardening knowledge)

李子柒 Liziqi (separatist heaven, magical food growing and cooking)

STRANGE ÆONS (lesbian content)

Jenny Nicholson (fun analysis of media + themeparks)

Lindsay Ellis (in-depth analysis of media)

Melissa Norris (homesteading content)

I also like SarahZ, tiffanyferg, Karolina Żebrowska and Bernadette Banner but I need MORE and youtube algorythm is giving me NOTHING