Subscribing to Sex Edutainment

Abstract

Although abstinence-only programs in the United States have historically failed to provide medically accurate information on sexual health, young people in the twenty-first century have turned to YouTube to answer their sex questions. The accessible and engaging format of the YouTube video has helped some sex educators achieve Internet fame among a mass audience of users devoted to watching their web series and interacting with them on social media. Using two sex education channels (Laci Green’s Sex Plus and Lindsey Doe’s Sexplanations) as case studies, this article investigates the ways in which YouTube stardom shapes the production of and engagement with online sex education videos. In doing so, the article uncovers how Internet fame helps to create a brand of sex education salient to audiences across media platforms that rely on the illusion of face-to-face interaction, the development of an authoritative yet approachable identity, and the cultivation of a virtual community.