If you missed it, Jackie Singh, a citizen cyber-journalist, wrote the article “EXCLUSIVE: Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes”

If you’ve been watching any maker videos, you might have had Naomi Wu’s videos suggested to you on YouTube’s sidebar. She has a wide range of skills, she says she used to be a Ruby on Rails programmer, but her videos mostly focus on 3D printing, soldering, DIY and tech reviews.

Naomi Wu

If you don’t remember having watched her videos, let me refresh your memory. Wu is one of the few women in the YouTube makers community. That’s not her only particularity. She also has massive breast implants.

To get a sense of the idea of the size, imagine the maximum breast size a non-overweight woman can have naturally. At this level, this imaginary lady would be medically recommended mammary reduction to prevent back pain, right? Well, triple this, and you have Wu’s breasts! According her interview in the South China Morning Post, her implants are 1,250 cm³ each… For her height and weight, this is the equivalent of two G size cups!

SexyCyborg

Because of repeated nasty comments on her appearance, the YouTuber answered in a video where she explains why she looks the way she does. In this video, she reiterates that she is homosexual. She then elaborates that she had breast augmentation surgery because, when she was younger, she was looking up to high-end prostitutes in her neighborhood. To her, these sex workers looked like they were independent, strong and powerful women. These were the qualities she wanted to have herself.

I can relate to her feelings. I think this is why she chose her nickname to be “SexyCyborg.” Her appearance plays a central role in her identity.

Popularity and worship

It shouldn’t be necessary to be stated, but to be clear, I don’t have a problem with Wu, her lifestyle or her choices. Why would I? They don’t impact me… She should be free to do whatever she wants with her own body, without being bothered. Also, it would be inappropriate as a gay man myself to judge her.

I think, however, that it should be recognized that SexyCyborg’s popularity on YouTube has little to do with the quality of her content. I will get erroneously portrayed as a sexist. But whoever dismisses my point is in total denial. To prove my claim, there is a Thai lady with breast implants and revealing clothing making street food on YouTube. In 2 years, she amassed 2.22 millions subscribers! You’re telling me, that Wu, with her breast implants and suggestive clothing, gained subscribers mostly thanks to her DIY content?!

Thanks to her thirst trap content, Wu reached 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube. This was enough for the press to just worship her. A young, photogenic, smart, LGBTQ woman being successful in YouTube’s STEM community? This was the perfect mix for the western press to embrace.

Since the internet, the traditional media have been going through an identity crisis. It’s expensive to do investigative journalist and sell subscriptions. Clickbait, low and inaccurate content has a better return on investment, and is much cheaper to produce. Outside a few idealistic publications, and state-sponsored media like Deutsche Welle or the BBC, the for-profit press had to take a little freedom with journalistic integrity. Of course, they don’t call this content clickbait but “engaging.”

The press started interviewing Wu and promoting her. They could put a photo of an attractive lady with large breasts on the social media card for the article. This attracted the clicks for articles about SexyCyborg on topics such as women in STEM, LGBT issues or civil liberties in China. If anybody were critical of Wu, they could be dismissed as either an incel, homophobic, a Chinese Communist Party supporters, or all three of them.

Wu’s contributions should not be downplayed. She releases most of her work under open licenses, and her content is not bad for somebody just getting started with 3D printing or DIY. She is a valuable member of the DIY, Open Source and 3D printing communities. However, I think that making Naomi Wu the beacon of hope and openness if a far fetch, and dismissive of the rest of the community.

Disappearance

Since July 2023, Naomi is silent. No new post, no new tweet. She did mention the issues on Twitter before going silent.

Naomi Wu 机械妖姬 @RealSexyCyborg

Ok for those of you that haven't figured it out I got my wings clipped and they weren't gentle about it- so there's not going to be much posting on social media anymore and only on very specific subjects. I can leave but Kaidi can't so we're just going to follow the new rules and that's that.
Nothing personal if I don't like and reply like I used to. I'll be focusing on the store and the occasional video. Thanks for understanding, it was fun while it lasted.

Jul 8, 2023

We can really only speculate on what really happened. But my best guesses are the same as what Jackie Singh wrote in her article. Somebody in the Chinese government didn’t like what she was doing, and asked her to stop, “or else.” If I were Naomi Wu, I would also shut up, because the “or else” is far, far worse.

YouTube garbage

Naomi is part of what I call the “YouTube garbage.” This content of poor quality, clickbait, and thirst trap. It is competing with even lower quality content. Because it is only marginally less successful than the worst garbage, Wu’s content is deified.

In my point of view, it is unacceptable for anybody, including Wu, to be silenced. Despite this, I think we shouldn’t make her the heroine of freedom and LGBTQ.

She has now been added to the growing list of people persecuted by the CCP. It is a sad day… But please, don’t make her the hero of LGBTQ and women in tech…