Beauty Vlogger Superfans Trash Their Heroes in This Online ...

As beauty and lifestyle vloggers become more mainstream, ... the average post on Guru Gossip sets its sights on the "gurus" of YouTube. +EnglishVICEWatchWorldNewsCultureEntertainmentIdentityEnvironmentTechSexHealthFoodMusicVICEWatchInputforsearchingarticles,videos,showsWorldNewsCultureEntertainmentIdentityEnvironmentTechSexHealthFoodMusicFYI.Thisstoryisover5yearsold.BeautyVloggerSuperfansTrashTheirHeroesinThisOnlineBurnBookCorruption.Childabuse.Blemishes.Asbeautyandlifestylevloggersbecomemoremainstream,sodothehaters.RKbyRoisinKiberd10October2014,2:00pmShareTweetSnapImage:YouTubeHerblushisuneven,therightcheekisdarker.Fail.Andherskinisalwaysbrokenoutineveryvideo.Idon'tthinkshe'severmentionedhavingacne,butherskinisneverclear.Casuallycriticalyetveryparticular,theaverageposton GuruGossipsetsitssightsonthe"gurus"ofYouTube. Sellingitselfas"theTMZofYouTubegurus,"theforumsiteoffersaforumforviewerstooffertheiruncensoredopinionsonthebeautyandlifestylevloggercommunity.AdvertisementThesemakeupartists,reviewers,and"haulgirls"arecourtedbybrandsandreveredbytheirschool-agedfansasglamorousoldersisters.UnlessyouhabituallygooglesmokyeyetechniquesorKardashian-esquecontouring,youmightneverhave encounteredthem,thoughthegurusaregradually movingintothemainstream.Butwithsuccesscomescriticism.The"RaveAboutaGuru"sectionofGuruGossip ispopular(4,000+posts)but"TrashaGuru"isthemaindrawwithover743,000posts.Ithostsanunusuallyfemaleformoftrolling;anonline"burnbook"intheMeanGirlsmold.Datingbackto2010,andnow morepopularthanever, GuruGossip'spostsalternatebetweenfeignedconcernandoutrightcruelty,fixatingondetailslikeskinconditions,vocaltics,orwhetherornottheguru'shouselooksmessy.WhilemanyguruspreserveaDIYbedroomaesthetic,YouTubeisanincreasinglycommercialaffair.Whereoncetheguruswereseenasagrassrootsalternativetobeautyeditors,theyarenowmorepowerfulthanprintmedia,oftenatthecostoftheirindependence.Bypartneringwithbrands,vloggerscomplicatetheethicsoftheirreviews.It's anunusuallyfemaleformoftrolling;anonline'burnbook'intheMeanGirlsmold.GuruGossipexistsasacriticalundersidetothe YouTubecommentsection;it'saplatformfilledwithrumoursandbitchingandliberalservingsoftruthtea.Theprevailingfeelingonitsboards isthatYouTubersoften wanttomisleadtheirfans,andthattruthssuppressedononeplatformwillcome outonanother.AdvertisementTheSacconeJolyfamily, CarliBybel,andOrganizedLikeJenarefavouritetargets,asareanyvloggersseekingtopreservea"positiveenvironment"byremovingnegativecomments.Re:Herbrowntooth,sorrytodoublepostbutdoesn'tshealwaysdrinkoutofastraw?Howcomeherteetharestainedifshedrinksthroughastrawallthetime?DigaroundinGuruGossipandyou'llunearthseriousaccusations(childneglectisacommontheme,asarecheatingspousesandsecretplasticsurgery),butmostofallyou'llfindminorbitching.LikeYouTubeitself,itcommandsaglobalfollowing,whichisreflectedinthediversityofitsvoices.DublinbloggerLeanneWoodfullislabelleda"geebag"(whichthisIrishwritercanconfirmisaveryIrishphrase)whileDenvermakeupartistTymeTheInfamousiscalleda"heaux,"forum-safespellingofho,andmorecreatively"theCountessFuckeryMcDuckeryofBitchpleaseshire."Buttheprevailingtoneisoneofdisappointment,withusersapparentlyspendinghours,maybedays,watchingYouTubevideos,onlytoturnaroundanddemandtheirtimeback.Mostofwhattheycomplainaboutcouldnotbeobservedwithoutobsessiveattention.Thoughforumrulesdiscourageit,it'salsocommontofinddetailslistedofwhereYouTubersapparentlylive,ortodiscoverunearthedhigh schoolpicturesoftheguruwiththeiroldboyfriend,orhaircut,ornose.Vloggersareaccusedofbeingselfishandoverconfident,of"actinglikeaprostitute,""actinglikeaspoiledbrat,"orevenofbeingoverlynormal.Butmostofall,theirauthenticityisquestioned.AdvertisementThegurucritic existsinaconstantstateofdisgustattheartificeofthevery formtheylove;theirobsessionwithauthenticityoutdoeseventheprecedinghipstergeneration's.Theyareyoungenoughtohavegrownuponline,butoldenoughtorememberbackwhenYouTubevideosweregenuinelyhomespun.NoonelivesonanInstagramdietofpumpkinspiceandmacaroons.Nooneactuallywokeuplikethis.Theyrememberwhentheirfavouriteor leastfavouriteguruswerejuststartingout,andwhenlesscommercialvideosweremadewithloveanduniformlyjudgedtobe"better."It'snotunlikemusicforumsclaimingthattoday'smusiciansaresellouts,orthateverythingsincetheraveerahasbeenadisappointment.Yes,Ireadherblogpostaboutpeoplemakingnegativecommentstowardsher.It'sobviousshemoderatesthemonherYTaccount.ItmustbeconfusingtocomeofageduringWeb2.0,tobefedanimageofagrassroots,"democratised"mediathatnonethelesscarriesasponsor'sname.It'sobviousthatcommentersfailtoviewYouTubevideosasacommercialproduct:confusionaboutwhatauthenticitymeans—#nofilterselfies,candidrelationshipschats,stylized"realness"versuseverydayrealness—fuelsmostofthedebate.OfcourseaYouTubermoderateshercomments,justassheeditshervideos.NoonebelievesthatthevisionoflifepresentedbyYouTube,Pinterestorlifestyleblogsisfaithfultoreality.NoonelivesonanInstagramdietofpumpkinspiceandmacaroons.Nooneactuallywokeuplikethis.Asof October2014, membershipfigures arethehighestinGossipGuru's history,andtherearenow 1,022,042postsintotal.Usersclaimthey'll"unsub"buttheykeeponviewing.Thesite'sexistenceisbafflingnotonlybecauseofitspopularity,butbecauseitsdemandsremainunclear.Usersseemtowantbothamorehonestandmorepolishedproduct,onewhichappearsprofessionalbutisstillhumbleandhomegrown.Baudrillard'sideaof"simulacraandsimulation",thatfavouriteofRedditinglaptopphilosophers,applies.Animagecloudsourvisionofthetruth,thenmoreimagesproliferateandweforgetthetruthentirely.ThelivespresentedbyYouTubeguruswillalwaysseeminauthentic,becausetheyfollowaskewedversionofwhat"reality"shouldlooklikeinthefirstplace.Theonlinebeautyguru"real"islearnedfromblogsandInstagramandPinterest,photo-filteredandrelentlesslytwee.Behindthatloomstheinfluenceofthebeautyandlifestyleindustryitself,whichwasnevertooconcernedwithrealityinthefirstplace.VideoimitatesPinterest,artimitatesartifice,andtheburnbookoftheinternetfindsyetmoretocomplainabout.Tagged:TechCultureMotherboardBeautytrollingvloggingmotherboardshowmeanternetAdvertisement