Taking inspiration from the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day of ‘Breaking the Bias’, YouTube Malaysia highlighted four local female creators – Beng Lim from the channel Bengtures, Haze Long, Kambing Golek, and Shalini Devi Ganeson from the channel Shalini Views – in a virtual Generasi YouTube (GenYT) themed “Catalysts for Change”, where they shared the work that goes into creating and developing their distinctive brand of content, and the highs and lows of their YouTube journey as women.
Beng Lim is one of the few women in the local automotive scene on YouTube. Her vlog-style content captures her reviews of cars both old and new, her own car ownership experience which sometimes include DIY tips, and automotive events where women car enthusiasts are still a minority. Her channel Bengtures has garnered views from beyond Malaysia, with viewers hailing all the way from other Southeast Asian countries, the US, and even Brazil.
“I always, always, love to drive. Whenever I feel stressed, I would just grab my keys and drive to wherever the road takes me. I even almost drove to Ipoh when I realized I am already halfway across the country. That’s why automotive is what I decided to do. In terms of my channel’s offering, I prefer to do a more chill style of review, adding some lifestyle element to a supposed normal car review content. I want others to be able to relate to the people behind the machine instead of just viewing the car,” shared Beng.
As a female in a male-dominated industry, Beng said that many were quick to criticize the way she created her content during the early days of her YouTube journey, and asked her to do a certain style of car reviews or replicate other channels. But she persisted in exploring her own style, and once she found her footing in the content creation process, everything fell into place. Even five years later with a subscription count of over 30,000, she still reads all of her comments – positive and negative – and turns them into constructive criticism.
From a former makeup artist whose creative journey has led her into designing websites and blogs, to where she is now as an artist who paints for a living, Haze Long is keen on giving back to the community of artists through her channel. She consistently upload tutorials onto YouTube, and also make the resources that she uses easily accessible by everyone and for free.
“When I started to upload my tutorial videos, my channel gained attraction and people were demanding for more. It was during the start of the Movement Control Order (MCO) that I focused more on my channel and when I finally got the traction from YouTube, it was very rewarding and inspired me to continue creating content on YouTube. The overwhelming response and support are also the reason why I’ve kept all my education resources free and easy to access by everyone,” shared Haze.
Moving forward, Haze said she is planning to create more traditional art content, to stay true to her roots as a fine artist. However, she will still produce digital art education as part of her commitment. Currently, she’s working on her next art collection that she plans to showcase and put up for sale.
The name Kambing Golek might need no introduction among fans of popular online game VRChat, or gaming livestreams on YouTube. Initially, Kambing Golek was just a hobby that Bing enjoys, but when one of her streaming videos reached over 600,000 views in such a short time, it got her a big break in the local gaming scene that led to the growth of her channel and brand over the years.
“As a full-time gamer, and a female, my channel isn’t just a platform for me to share my interests in gaming, but also to raise awareness of women in gaming and provide exposure to those with similar interests. At the beginning of my involvement in YouTube, I did get negative comments but now I chose to only focus on what’s important: my joy and excitement when I play games with my friends,” shared Kambing Golek.
As she enjoys role-playing games online, she noted that creating content can be challenging, especially in making it relevant to the latest trends. However, now that she has many friends from the same industry, they would often get together to share ideas and create content together. She also boasts a fanbase squad by the name of #WakambingForever that has over 70,000 followers.
For Shalini, disability is not a hindrance for success. Not only does she empower people with disabilities to pursue their passion, but to also be confident and positive. Despite being diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare neuromuscular disorder that makes the muscles weaker and causes problems with movement, she is actively creating content on her Shalini Views channel around dishes that her family love, in addition to lifestyle content such as vlogs, film reviews and others.
“With the intent of helping my family, I was looking for jobs after my SPM, however my condition would not allow me to work. Then after my brother suggested that I start a YouTube channel, I decided to do so and food was my choice as I was inspired by my mother who is a great cook. With the help of other family members, we would discuss and decide on the menu and also type of contents that we want to feature. It’s almost like a family production,” shared Shalini.
Less than two years after starting her own channel, Shalini now has more than 12,000 subscribers on YouTube, and aspires to be the next Malaysian sensation on the platform. Her perseverance shows that even disabilities can be empowering when they put their mind and heart towards achieving their goals.
Today’s session reminds us that YouTube gives everyone a voice and celebrates their unique experiences which helps to change perceptions about what people can achieve, no matter their background. Generasi YouTube aims to continue to unearth and surface even more talented, unique, and up-and-coming creators across a range of genres.
For the latest on these creators’ work, head on over to their channels: Bengtures, Haze Long, Kambing Golek, and Shalini Views.