Abigail Thorn: Trans Female Youtube Personality
by Siobhan Donegan
Abigail Thorn is the innovative creator/producer of Philosophy Tube, a YouTube channel with 900,000 subscribers. It was after she made the courageous decision to come out as Transgender that she ‘made headlines’ and has since become one of the most high profile transgender individuals in Britain. Thorn actually came out to the public on her YouTube channel. As she explained in an interview with LGBT correspondent Ben Hunte, Thorn felt that if she had continued to ‘pretend’ to be a man, she felt that she would die.
As regards Thorn’s orientation she had also previously come out as Bisexual in her YouTube video ‘Queer’ in October 2019 in which she discussed her sexuality.
The YouTuber and Actress came out in a 37 minute video entitled ‘Identity’, in which she shared her thoughts about gender identity and identity politics. She also explained that in preparation for the video, she had started writing the script for it about a year ago. During the video Thorn also discussed Trans Rights, demanding new legislation and also exposing an economic element-stating that there needs to be a ‘redistribution’ of resources so that ‘Human need’ and Trans equality is served rather than profit.
Abigail Thorn’s public coming out statement was on 30 January 2021 and was a video entitled ‘Coming Out As Trans-A Little Public Statement’. According to Jezebel Harron Walker, this statement was a ‘feminist, anti-capitalist appeal’, also advocating ‘physical autonomy’ and transgender people’s legal equality and ‘broader liberation’. Thorn-during her coming out statement also spoke out against journalistic ‘fearmongering’ against transgender individuals and the lack of trans representation as regards elected transgender people. She also discussed healthcare issues and the fact that homelessness can ‘disproportionately’ affect the trans community.
In the recent past what could be described as the artistic direction or style of the show has become more dramatic and theatrical-featuring costumes, makeup and creative studio sets.
In this context it is thus interesting that Thorn has also came out as transgender in a subsequent video entitled ‘Identity: A Trans Coming Out Story’ which was more dramatic and theatrical. This featured Rhys Tees playing the part of Thorn’s previous self-and drew on the work of American writer Audre Lorde presumably for dramatic inspiration in the style of the video’s presentation.
Having spoken at some length of Thorn’s coming out statement I think we should now briefly look at her educational background. Abigail Thorn is from Newcastle upon Tyne and attended the Royal Grammar School. It was whilst she was a student here, that she decided that together with Biology and Chemistry-she would take Philosophy as an A level. Thus at the University of St Andrews, Thorn went on to study Philosophy and Theology. As such in 2015 Thorn graduated with a first class Scottish Masters of Arts in Philosophy. She also completed a Master of Arts awarded by the University of Exeter in 2017-having done her dramatic training at East 15 Acting School. Having made these personal achievements in education Thorn then decided to move to London.
According to Thorn it was the ‘quiet and scholarly’ teacher of philosophy Howard Baker that invited her to take up the subject. Thorn explained that at her school-it was basically Law, Medicine-or ‘other’-Philosophy became Thorn’s third ‘other’ subject-next to Biology and Chemistry (covered by ‘Medicine’ I presume)-and Thorn discovered in the process that not only did she like Philosophy but that she also had a knack for it too. Furthermore, Thorn apparently found insight in the context of her own gender identity by studying the works of ‘Trans Philosophers’.
As regards Thorn’s innovative creation of ‘Philosophy Tube’-it was a girlfriend of the time who first suggested to her starting a YouTube Channel. Thorn had previously tried the role of Stand-up-which she described as, ‘increasingly challenging, deliberately esoteric, ‘Brechtian’, political (in a superficial way) and confrontational’. Thorn in fact wasn’t enthusiastic about having to create regular stand-up videos, however she did like the idea and challenge of creating a YouTube Channel.
Hence it was that Philosophy Tube was created and it was in May 2013 that Thorn’s first video was uploaded to her YouTube Channel. Considering the fact that she was later to publically come out as Trans on this same Channel, it was perhaps almost ‘prophetic’, in an ironic sense, that the first video was entitled ‘I Think Therefore I Am’ and was about the Philosopher Rene Descartes.
In 2018 Thorn uploaded a video to her YouTube Channel entitled, ‘Suic!de and Ment@l He@lth’ which had the agenda of examining Mental Health from the perspective of the mainstream attitudes of society. As Thorn has a ‘history of self-harm’ and has in fact attempted suicide twice, she obviously has an ‘insiders’ point of view on this important subject and thus also talked about her own personal experiences.
Emily Van-DerWerff, who writes for Vox, in a brief description of Thorn’s Philosophy Tube, stated that the Channel covers Philosophical information and ‘socio-political ideas of the current era from a Leftist point of view’-one example being a video that launched into a discussion of Brexit, but ended being an examination of democracy from a broader perspective. Philosophy Tube apart from being described as a Channel that obviously explores Philosophical issues has also generally been described as an educational Channel.
Returning to the subject of Thorn’s coming out statement, she also stated that there are no policies for equal rights as a policy goal for the Transgender Community by any of the major political parties also stating, ‘Trans people, especially trans people of colour, are hit hardest by unemployment’. She also made the more personal observation: “But I’m also scared. Things are very, very bad for trans people in the U.K and they’re getting worse.”
Thorn has also admirably managed to raise over £100,000 for the Samaritans. She did this whilst she read plays from the ‘Complete Works of Shakespeare’ hosting a livestream on ‘Twitch’ in 2019-in a stream that lasted five days-for the Mental Health Charity.
Abigail Thorn’s Philosophy Tube has been very well received and in fact praised by various sources in the media; as I like to end my articles on a positive note I would like to quote a writer for the Bay Area Reporter-Gwendolyn Ann Smith who was impressed with Thorn’s video, ‘Identity: A Trans Coming Out Story’ affirming that this statement was ‘delving deeply into the very nature of being trans in ways (she has) not typically seen’.
