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Abstract

YouTube was one of the first platforms fuelling every layperson's dream to get a taste of stardom. Standing true to its promise, it exposed everyone to content creation and every aspect of fame that comes with content creation. The good, the bad, and the ugly side of the online platform involve the trolls and hate comments on the online platforms. It was eventually noticed that the trolling phenomena are shaping up biasedly and follow gender inequality recently. The online trolls are severe and ugly, especially for female content creators. The comments were harsh, demeaning and sometimes vindictive. Looking at this aspect of gender-specific trolling, the study aimed to explore and understand the trolling and nature of the trolls that female YouTubers encounter day-to-day. A qualitative approach was used to comprehend the argument. In-depth interviews were conducted with female content creators on YouTube. The YouTubers considered for the study were first selected by reviewing their content and their number of followers. Later they were connected individually to participate in the study. A total of fifteen female YouTubers were interviewed across different genres of beauty, lifestyle, entertainment and art. The study further dissected these female Youtubers' trolling and backlash experiences and their effect on their content output. These YouTubers have been actively using the tools provided by the platform to block out the negativity from their channels. At the same time, they have realised that it may not be easy to cut the hate comments and trolls out entirely. The conversation highlighted the impact and severity of trolls and their efforts to refocus their energies and attention on improving and creating better quality. The study will act as a reference point for future feminist scholars across disciplines and further explore online trolling phenomena.

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