For women, by women: how Singaporean YouTube channel Clicknetwork created a decade’s worth of relatable content

Clicknetwork used to publish features on plastic surgery and sex shops; now viewers are more likely to find videos on beauty tools, life hacks and workout tips

Its most controversial video was described as ‘a bit like porn’ and taken down, which the channel’s founder ascribes to the conservative nature of Singaporeans

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Clicknetwork’s infamous video of two influencers making out blew up headlines when it was released – and even after it was taken down. The channel remains popular, even though its content has evolved considerably.

Published: 7:45am, 18 Aug 2020Updated: 12:36pm, 26 Aug 2020

You know you’ve made it as a YouTuber when an 11-year-old video is still being talked about today – despite being taken down soon after it was launched.

When Singapore-based YouTube channel Clicknetwork released a steamy video of influencers Xiaxue and Yan Kay Kay kissing on a satin-draped sofa (replete with breathy close-ups, hair grabbing and suggestive ASMR), it spawned a wave of opinion pieces and pearl-clutching by conservatives who complained: “What about the children?” Some even described the video as “a bit like porn”.

It hasn’t been the only video in Clicknetwork’s provocative repertoire to stir controversy – just the only one to be banned.

Since its 2007 inception, Clicknetwork has published numerous YouTube features on plastic surgery, sex shops and even a long-running series titled “Bored In Bikinis”, which saw two blasé female hosts do mundane things – such as attempting to induce brain freeze by drinking a frozen drink, or casually sunbathing in the middle of Singapore’s bustling Orchard Road – clad in nothing but two-piece swimsuits.

A still from a 2011 episode of Bored In Bikinis about moral education and respect.

Clicknetwork’s founder Gillian Tan says her intention was never to titillate or produce clickbait – she just wanted to make videos that she wanted to see herself.