Emilia Fart has made a name for herself (and no, Fart is not her real one) as a Montréal-based YouTuber with bizarre videos, a unique sense of fashion, and a down-to-earth attitude. While remaining a small creator for several years, she’s now approaching one million subscribers, having blown up after her May 2018 video titled, “Showing what I looked like when I was normal” went viral.
One noteworthy aspect about her channel is that there is absolutely no clickbait involved. If the video advertises her making salmon tartare in a library or dying her hair in a public washroom, that’s exactly what you’re going to get with every ounce of awkwardness that comes with it. Other videos will range from her vlogging while sitting in a bathtub full of water, fully dressed and eating pizza, to videos of her exposing her darkest secrets on a playground or lounging on an inflatable pizza slice in a fountain. They’re simultaneously fun to watch, hard to explain, and one hell of a ride.
When asked to describe herself, albeit as a food, to those unfamiliar with her work in an email interview, Fart offers: “I would be a slightly whack but surprisingly high-quality Caesar salad, like with some confit baby tomatoes or tarragon or something. It’s familiar but strange but comforting.”
Although Fart is entertaining, she also teaches viewers something deeper by fully accepting herself and her weirdness. In a digital landscape where appearances have inflated importance, where apps are regularly used to perfect selfies, where the fear of missing out (known on social media as FOMO) phenomenon is real and insidious, Fart is a breath of fresh air.
Detractors say that she seeks attention with her videos, and although every absurd choice she makes feels genuine, it also doesn’t matter. Even if she were seeking attention, the way she goes about it is innocuous and empowering, especially compared to the questionable deeds that frequently occur on the YouTube platform to gain notoriety — namely scamming subscribers, engaging in drama, and putting down others.
While Fart will have viewers laughing at her antics, she also doesn’t shy away from sharing parts of her painful past. She advocates that recovery from eating disorders is worth it, that it’s okay to accept your weight, and that it’s not necessary to rely on the validation of others to tell you your worth. The reason why Fart resonates with such a large audience is because she proves that it’s possible to heal from trauma, be yourself, and thrive in a culture that so often scrutinizes appearances.
In her aforementioned viral video, Fart explains: “For years, I worked really hard, in my own way, to be palatable, to be fuckable, to be wanted by dudes — which was the currency I thought you had to have as a woman to have value. Devoting a large part of my energy to trying to be palatable hid light within me that I didn’t know was there until I stopped trying to be digestible for other people.”
If wearing a toga and boa every day empowers her, she does it. If talking openly about childhood trauma gives her agency, that’s the video of the day. Fart’s the person we all wanted to be when we were young and untamed — someone uninhibited and free. Her channel is a glimpse into what happens if you stop caring what others think and focus on your own joy.
In a way, her YouTube channel has also been cathartic to maintain. As she explains: “YouTube has meant so much to me, and the most healing part isn’t the website or the world of social media itself — it’s the creative expression and the potential. To have a dream … to be creative as a career, to be able to have complete agency over my life and my time, to be heard, to go from imagining that as a child and seeing that it’s possible to design your life exactly how you’ve always felt it’s meant to be — it’s absolutely magical.”
The Emilia Fart channel shows no signs of decline or lack of inspiration. On the topic of where she plans to take it in the future, Fart says, “I definitely have a vision with my life, and the channel is a part of that. I follow my gut with each video, and each one is a step on a staircase leading me to where I’m meant to be. I know that’s mad lame to say, and I accept that.”
Although her channel might not appeal to everyone, that doesn’t stop her from doing what she loves and serving as a beacon of hope to many. The year 2019 was largely successful for Fart, but this is only the beginning of her career as a content creator.
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.