Lindsay Amer is an American

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

+ activist and

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

. Amer created and hosts ''Queer Kid Stuff'', a YouTube channel directed at children and focused on LGBT issues. Amer has been recognized by

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

, the TED Conference, and the

Webby Awards The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

for their work relating to LGBT education and advocacy.

Career

''Queer Kid Stuff''

Amer is the creator and host of ''Queer Kid Stuff'', a child-directed YouTube channel focused on LGBT issues, as well as CEO of media production company Queer Kid Studios. Amer launched ''Queer Kid Stuff'' in April 2016, and states that they created ''Queer Kid Stuff'' due to a lack of LGBT education and LGBT representation in the media for the demographic of children ages 3 to 7.

Content

''Queer Kid Stuff'' is aimed at young children of ages three and up. The show discusses

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

, and other LGBT issues that Amer calls "the ABCs of LGBT", as well as pop-culture topics. The show's presentation is adapted for a child audience; for instance, a video on

consent Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual consent. Consent as understood i ...

uses the sharing of toys as an example in place of

sexual activity Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

. ''Queer Kid Stuff'' is co-hosted by Teddy, a talking teddy bear who, according to Amer, provides the "voice of child" and adds

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

representation by virtue of it being a "genderless entity". "Relatable" child entertainment and education methods, such as "toys, blocks, and

stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

", are used to explain LGBT concepts. ''Queer Kid Stuff'' videos are approximately four minutes long. ''Queer Kid Stuff'' has covered LGBT topics such as

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street a ...

, and the history of the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...

, as well as sexual education issues like

Reception

''Queer Kid Stuff'' videos have received differing reviews from commentators. In June 2018, writer Priscilla Blossom, in an article on online magazine ''Romper'', called ''Queer Kid Stuff'' "the LGBTQ-positive show we were missing as kids" and evaluated Amer's message of "just einghappy with the way you are" as one "we can all get behind." In November 2018, the showing of ''Queer Kid Stuff'' videos, among other presentations on

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

issues, at Nederland Elementary School in

Boulder County, Colorado Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises th ...

caused controversy. One parent wrote to a local news station that the set of presentations went "beyond a simple message of tolerance and acceptance," calling its topic "highly controversial and divisive" and adding that the presentation was "simply not age appropriate." In an interview in July 2018, Amer responded to a question on the issue of age inappropriateness and indoctrination, stating that "any education for kids this young is technically indoctrination" and that the show's message of "diversity and inclusion" is "a message that every kid needs to see."

Youtube lawsuit

In August 2019, Amer joined a group of LGBT YouTubers in filing a lawsuit against

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

, alleging that YouTube and its parent company Google had engaged in unfair demonetization and hiding of videos that was discriminatory toward LGBT content. YouTube representative Alex Joseph responded that "all content" on YouTube was subject to the same content and advertising policies, and that YouTube does not "restrict or demonetize videos based on these factors or the inclusion of terms like 'gay' or 'transgender.'" The group of LGBT YouTubers was represented by the Browne George Ross law firm, which had also filed a lawsuit against YouTube alleging discrimination against conservative YouTubers.

Bluelaces Theatre Company

Amer is a founder of Bluelaces, a theater company that produces performances and hosts theater workshops and summer camps for people with autism or other developmental disabilities.

Awards and recognitions

In 2017, Amer was a recipient of the

Rising Stars Grant, which awards LGBT youth and support initiatives that "champion intersectional LGBTQ issues." In 2018, ''Queer Kid Stuff'' became a

honoree in the Public Service & Activism (Channels & Networks) category. In February 2019, Amer became a TED Resident.

Personal life

Amer is Jewish and comes from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Amer is

and utilizes ''

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'', and ''themselves'' (also ''themself'' and ''theirself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun derived from plural they. It typically occu ...

pronouns In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun ( glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not con ...

. Amer received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in theater and performance studies from

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

Harassment

In 2016, a video by Amer was posted to a

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

publication accompanied with a headline that called them a "Sick Dyke" who was trying to "Brainwash Children into the Homosexual Lifestyle". Amer stated that this was followed by a series of

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

remarks being posted in the comments section of their videos and tweeted at both ''Queer Kid Stuff''s and their own

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

accounts.

References

External links

Queer Kid Stuff
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amer, Lindsay Year of birth missing (living people) Living people LGBTQ YouTubers American LGBTQ rights activists Non-binary activists Jewish American activists Jewish American entertainers Activists from New York City LGBTQ people from New York (state) Northwestern University alumni Alumni of Queen Mary University of London YouTubers who make LGBTQ-related content Entertainers from New York City Non-binary Jews 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American Jews YouTubers from New York (state) Victims of cyberbullying