As Pride Month draws to a close, it's a great time to reflect on the great things that have come this month.
More people than ever are comfortable being who they are in very creative ways and YouTubers have really been leading the charge this year.
So here are three videos that you really should watch if you want a greater insight into the LGBTQ+ community.
1. Dan Howell's coming out video
Dan Howell (formerly known as danisnotonfire) has been one of the biggest names in the YouTube community for over a decade. And during all those years of him in the public eye, his sexuality and his relationship with fellow YouTuber Phil Lester have been a huge subject of debate.
This video is Dan's coming clean about not just his sexuality, but every struggle in his life that was tied to him not being able to be his authentic self.
His video is equally hilarious and heartbreaking as he recounts his childhood and how always hearing the term "gay" in a negative context really made him miserable.
It's an eye-opening commentary on what it's like to grow up being the thing that you're constantly told is wrong and bad.
It's also fascinating to hear his perspective on all those years of fans debating his sexuality and shipping him with Phil while he was secretly dealing with all of these issues.
It's a 40-minute storytelling masterpiece and 100% worth the watch.
2. Eugene Lee Yang's coming out music video
Eugene Lee Yang of the Try Guys has long been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, but this is his official coming out video.
Rather than tell his story like Dan did, Eugene went in a more artful direction with a music video following his journey to self-acceptance.
It's beautifully shot, with amazing choreography and acting. Also, each different phase of the music video is marked by a color in the rainbow, which is just genius.
Just through the medium of movement and costumes, the video touches on gender roles, good allyship, homophobia, anti-gay violence, and more.
And probably the most compelling part of the video is the ending. It doesn't have a happy ending or a sad one. It symbolizes how the fight still goes on.
3. Elle Mills' DIY pride parade
Elle Mills is the master of creative, feel-good videos. When Elle saw that her town didn't have a pride parade, she threw her own!
It's a bit of a rollercoaster to get to the actual parade, but they do get there and it's just such a joy to watch.
And it really harkens back to the first pride parades, where people had to be more DIY about them since they didn't have public support or big companies backing them.
Though I'm glad that pride parades can be huge and largely accepted now, there's something special about this smaller parade.
