ContraPoints

Scheduling First Google Hangout

Hello $15+ patrons! As I said in my previous post, this month I'll be trying out a new reward, namely an invitation to a Google hangout where you can ask me anything or just chat. I'll try to do it this weekend, at a time that's hopefully somewhat reasonable for both American and European timezones (it'll be pretty late for Australia/NZ). I'm thinking 1pm Eastern Time on either this Saturday or Sunday. If you're interested and prefer one of those times, vote for it! I'll go with whichever gets m...

Reward Level Updates, Upcoming Livestream

Hi friends,

(Quick note to new patrons: if you became a patron last month, you'll be in the credits for the first time this month. If you became a patron this month, you'll be in the credits for the first time next month. This is because you're not charged for anything until the beginning of the month after you pledge. Hope that makes sense!)

Here's letting you know that I've updated the reward levels. No major changes: the $10 level now specifies that names will either be read aloud in ...

NEW VIDEO! I Am Genderqueer (And What the #@%! That Means)

What an ongoing anxiety attack of a video this was. Obviously the subject matter is very personal, but I tried to make a video that was not just about me, but about gender identity in general.

I've been working on this video all week and haven't had a chance to update the patron reward levels like I said. I will do this in the next few days. Basically, the only major change is I'm going to replace the "ask a question" $15 reward (which hasn't been very popular) with a monthly Google hangout. 2017-03-31 19:56:34 +0000 UTC View Post

NEW VIDEO! Is BDSM Feminist?

Trying the dialogue-between-characters form again, and I think the talk show works better than the Skype call. Let me know what you think!

Also, welcome to a lot of new patrons this months, and thanks as always to all of you for making this happen! New patrons will be added to the credits starting next month.

<3

Contra

P.S.  I'm going to post again later this week with some information about updated patron rewards.

Live Stream with The Distributist

Hi all,

Just letting you know that in about half an hour I'll be doing a live stream with The Distributist, i.e. "Chesterton" from my casual sex video. We'll probably be talking feminism, the sexual revolution, pick-up artists, MGTOW. If you can't make the stream (as I'm guessing those of you in Europe in particular cannot), it will be archived on his channel and available to watch whenever you have the chance.

Also, I promise to do some streams soon earlier in the day so more of you can...

Guest Appearance on Polite Conversations with Eiynah (podcast)

Hi friends,

Thought you all might want to check out my appearance on the podcast Polite Conversations with Eiynah, where we discuss Islam, secularism, cross-dressing, BDSM, and dicks. 

I recommend listening to other episodes of the podcast too: past guests have included Sam Harris, Dan Savage, and other people generally more famous and venerable than me.

Eiynah does podcasts about religion, sex and politics from an ex-Muslim perspective, and is equally outspoken against anti-M...

NEW VIDEO! What the Alt-Right Fears

So this is the result of about the most work it's physiologically possible for me to put into a video in eight days. Hopefully it pays off! I didn't read credits aloud at the end, because with the singing it didn't make sense. What I did instead to distinguish the $10 and $5 levels is give the $10 people each their own stylized credit screen and put the $5 people in the regular rolling credits. I think that captures the spirit of the thing and you don't mind that I didn't read names this time. 2017-02-28 19:35:18 +0000 UTC View Post

NEW VIDEO! Is Casual Sex Bad for Your Soul?

Finally! My focus this time was improving the visual look of the video. My big epiphany was that—having my camera and software requirements pretty much fulfilled—what really matters is what's in front of the camera in the first place. So I'm trying to devote more attention to costume, makeup, lighting, props, "sets." Most of this video was filmed using only colored bulbs and candlelight. I think it looks cool, but let me know what you think!

Also, this video is about as complicated as I ca...

New ContraPoints Live Stream Channel

Hi team,

Just letting you know that I've just created a new channel where I plan to start hosting live streams. When I've done social streams in the past, people tend to complain that I'm too shy and don't talk enough. So I'm going to start doing my own streams where I'm the dictator and just talk to the chat. Basically I just want to use it as a way to chat and hang out with my subscribers more casually.

Link: 2017-01-31 21:40:46 +0000 UTC View Post

NEW VIDEO! Punching Natsees

I really tried a lot of new stuff this time, so I'm extra eager for any feedback! If people like this "dialogue" type of video I might do more like this. One of the advantages is it's a good way to present multiple sides of a contentious issue, which is what you want to do in response to a question without a an obvious answer.

Anyway, hope you like it! 

Alt Version of Video for Blocked Euro Countries

Hi all,

My new video is blocked in several European countries due to bogus flagging of the video by Nazis. But I want to make sure all of you can view the video, so I've uploaded a copy to Veoh, link attached! Let me know if you have any trouble viewing it.

NEW VIDEO! Why White Nationalism is Wrong

It's finally done! This one took longer than any video I've done, because I'm using a new camera, new mic, new operating system and new software all at once. Speaking of which, thank you so much!!! Your support for this channel has allowed me to make videos at a frequency and quality level that would never have been possible otherwise.

The biggest upgrade this time is honestly the switch from iMovie to Premiere. The ceiling for what I can do editing-wise is just way higher now, though I'm admi...

NEW VIDEO! Psychiatry | ALSO: Production Update

New subject matter for me on YouTube, but something I have some serious experience with at this point. Looking forward to hearing a range of perspectives on this topic.

This'll hopefully the last video I do with my current setup. Here's my plan for future videos: my brother is letting me borrow his very nice Canon DSLR, which I may buy from him eventually. I just got a shotgun mic for it. So I'm going to be able to upgrade lots of things at once, including software (I think I've pushed iMovie ...

NEW VIDEO! Baltimore: Anatomy of an Uprising

At last! So sorry for the delay, this video required more research and editing work than anything I've done before. Hopefully it's worth it! Lots of new people in the credits this month, I'm happy to say. And if you're a newer patron you'll be included next month.

I'll be posting here soon with an update about my upcoming camera/software upgrade, and there will also be a new outtakes video sometime in the next month.

Hope you like the video, and let me know what you think!

New Patrons Will Be in Next Month's Credits!

Hi all,

I've gotten a couple messages from people wondering why they aren't in the credits yet. The answer is that Patreon doesn't charge you till the beginning of the following month, so if you became a patron after November 1, you'll be in the credits starting with my December videos. Sorry this wasn't clear—I'll try to make it more obvious in the future!

NEW VIDEO! Fat Acceptance

Enjoy!

GOAL REACHED!

Dearest Patrons,

I simply cannot thank you enough. In less than two months my support here has doubled, and I'm now able to do this full time. It's a somewhat precarious existence, admittedly, but I'm certainly better off than I was before, and, for as long as this lasts, it's really a fairy-tale-ending best-case scenario for me. 

The increased funding means that, in addition to spending more time on videos, I can also continue to increase the production quality. As promised, this w...

NEW VIDEO! President Trump

High information to entertainment ratio in this one, but I think the subject matter demands it, and these are desperate times... Let me know what you think! (The next one I do will be superfun to make up for all this horror.)

NEW VIDEO! Cultural Appropriation

Discusses racist costumes, Native American mascots, white dreadlocks, black music, and more! It's a prickly topic, I know, and complicated. Let me know what you all think!

NEW VIDEO! Pick-Up Artists

As you'll notice, the lighting is much better in this video. It makes a huge difference! Thank you all for making that happen! <3

As always, hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think!

New Reward Levels!

Hi all, as I mentioned earlier I've added some new reward levels. Let me just explain each level so you know what you're getting:

$1: this gives you basic access to my Patreon feed, including updates, previews, and input about which gold hot pants I should wear, for instance.

$2: this level now gives you access to outtake videos. I've promised this from the beginning, but I'm ready to actually deliver now, as I've accumulated enough footage to put together an outtake video of me trying n...

GOAL REACHED!

We did it! Just hit $250 per video after my last post, and as promised I'll be getting some better lighting to improve the look of my videos. Doing a little research on what to get, and I'll hopefully have the new lights for my next video!

I'm very happy with the rate of growth I've seen on YouTube and Patreon over the last couple months, and I can't say how grateful I am to you all for helping me do this.

I've set a new goal of $500 per video. If I get there, I can basically do this pro...

NEW VIDEO! Alpha Males

I decided to defer to you guys' preference for the shiniest possible hot pants. It was the right call. Oh, and I will update the reward levels later today or tomorrow, so there will be another post about that. Anyway, enjoy!

Trying to decide which pair of gold hotpants to wear for my response to The Golden One...

An important artistic decision.

NEW VIDEO! Non-Binary Genders

Had a lot of fun with this one. Enjoy!

New Reward Tiers Coming

Hi all,

Just want to notify you that I'll be revamping the pledge options/rewards next month. I'd like to provide more tiers (maybe $1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20 or something) and offer some better rewards. The only reward I'm really happy with on the current system is the credits. People haven't been taking me up on the "ask a question" option, and I don't find I have many outtakes worth watching. So I'm going to do some research, see what other creators do, and try to come up with some better rewards....

Livestream with The Skeptic Feminist

Thought you guys might enjoy this. Livestreamed with The Skeptic Feminist last night. The video should start at 51:27, where I discuss the backstory of the "Anita Shrine" prop.

NEW VIDEO! Pop Feminism

Lots of editing man-and/or-woman-hours went into this one. You can see your Patreon support at work! Hope you enjoy it! <3

NEW VIDEO! Why I Quit Academia

Let me know what you guys think! :)

New Video Coming Tomorrow!

Hi all,

I'm putting the finishing touches on my next video, which I should have up tomorrow. This one's about my reasons for leaving academia, which I know is a little bit of a deviation from my usual subject matter. I hope you will find it interesting, though, and relevant to the general content of my channel. Academia is a central battleground for the whole "SJW" debate, and so discussing its merits and demerits seems important to me. Anyway, I will be back from traveling next month (editing...