History WebVideo / ContraPoints

* CastFullOfGay: Many of Natalie's characters are trans or otherwise gender non-conforming people... even if they are Neo-Nazis.

* AnAesop:
** In "Cringe", Natalie points out that cringing at your past self is not necessarily a bad thing. This kind of embarrassment teaches you how to better interact with others, but there is a kind of cringe that is based on contempt for people, which might demand some self-search to understand.
** In the closing chapter of "Gender Critical", she exposes the trans exclusive radical feminist (TERF) movement for what it really is: a hate movement fueled by disgust and contempt for trans women.

* DoorStopper: ''Twilight'' (a video essay about [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga the media franchise of the same name]], and also about romance fiction/human sexuality in general) shattered her previous records, coming at around 2 hours and 50 minutes. As many fans eagerly pointed out, the video is longer than ''Film/Dune2''.

* TransgenderFetishization: Often discussed, both seriously and in a comedic way.
** In "Are Traps Gay?" Natalie argues that "chicks with dicks are very in right now, they're very trendy".
** The trope is discussed in the "Autogynephilia" video, in which she points to J. Michael Bailey's "The Man Who Would Be Queen" as popularizing the trope for modern audiences. In the book Bailey and his assistants refer to trans women as unnaturally attractive (to the point of UncannyValley), and with a natural affinity toward sex work.

Her videos provide left-wing counterarguments (hence the channel name) to stances upheld by conservatives, classical liberals, fascists, and the alt-right, and their lengths range anywhere from "average meal time, give or take" (20-40 minutes) to "feature film by any other name" (80-110 minutes). They are well-known for [[SignatureStyle the recurring stylistic techniques Natalie uses]], which include [[BlackComedy dark]], sarcastic and [[SurrealHumor surreal humor]] alongside elaborate setups with intricate set design, colorful lighting, and [[DragQueen flamboyant costumes]]. However, the foundation of her content is Natalie's sharp, oft-empathetic approach to arguing complex sociopolitical topics, with great influence from philosophy and sociology[[note]]the former of which she actually studied academically, eventually dropping out of a [=PhD=] program[[/note]]. Journalists have called her the "Creator/OscarWilde of [=YouTube=]" as well as a modern Creator/{{Socrates}}. She has gone on record stating that she handles nearly all aspects of video production -- writing, research, camerawork and editing -- herself.

Natalie has [[http://contrapoints.com a website]] and accounts on [[https://twitter.com/ContraPoints Twitter]], [[https://instagram.com/ContraPoints Instagram]] and [[https://www.facebook.com/ContraPoints Facebook]]. She also has donations available through [[https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=HDNO9KJMUAMf0P-XrVxQ11dqR3c7tVg-fq-qLaiNT-lplibc7jRuRh3qKD0NKXyXjb6Ezdy_UFNsm_qe&locale.x=US PayPal]]. Her channel is financed through [[https://www.patreon.com/contrapoints Patreon]], where she currently has almost 10,000 patrons and was at one point among the site's top 20 creators. (As such, her videos do not contain sponsorships or promo deals.) She states on her page that her upload rate is roughly once every six weeks; [[ScheduleSlip take it with a grain of salt]].

Her videos provide left-wing counterarguments (hence the channel name) to stances upheld by conservatives, classical liberals, fascists, and the alt-right, and their lengths range anywhere from "average meal time, give or take" (20-40 minutes) to "feature film by any other name" (80-110 minutes). They are well known for [[SignatureStyle Natalie's stylistic techniques]], which include [[BlackComedy dark]], sarcastic and [[SurrealHumor surreal humor]] alongside elaborate setups with intricate set design, colorful lighting, and [[DragQueen flamboyant costumes]]. However, the foundation of her content is her sharp, oft-empathetic approach to arguing complex sociopolitical topics, with great influence from philosophy and sociology[[note]]the former of which she actually studied academically, eventually dropping out of a [=PhD=] program[[/note]]. Journalists have called her the "Creator/OscarWilde of [=YouTube=]" as well as a modern Socrates. Natalie has gone on record stating that she handles nearly all aspects of video production -- writing, research, camerawork and editing -- herself.

Probably the most common theme on the channel is topics related to transgender identity. In early videos, Natalie identified as a crossdressing man, before coming out as genderqueer (nonbinary) in 2017, and then finally as a transgender woman six months later. As of early 2020, she has removed her old pre-transition videos (up to "Decrypting The Alt-Right"), explaining that watching them is very painful for her as it triggers intense dysphoria, and those videos being available on the Internet for everyone to see eventually became too much for her to feel comfortable with[[note]]That hasn't stopped them from [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes being shared in some capacity]], however[[/note]]. To watch her earlier videos is not only to watch her evolve in technique and style, but to watch a woman coming to terms with her own gender identity.

* HeManWomanHater: "The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling" portrays socialist streamer Vaush as one of these, capitalizing on leftists' hatred of [=TERF=]s as an excuse to make misogynistic statements and then disguise them as "[[JustJokingJustification edgy humor]]" directed at the Left's enemies.

* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: If she's not at least conversational in German, she's pretty good at faking it, especially when [[ThoseWackyNazis Freya]] speaks. Overlaps with GratuitousGerman in some cases, such as saying "Teil Eins" and "Teil Zwei" and so forth for "Part One," "Part Two," etc.

->''Condoms and orgies and mass immigration,\\
malt liquor 40s and miscegenation,\\
boys who use dildos and girls with cock rings\\
these are my favorite degenerate things''

estrogen, crying, and fruitless orgasms\\
antifa furries and NB drag kings\\
these are my favorite degenerate things''

Her videos provide left-wing counterarguments (hence the channel name) to stances upheld by conservatives, classical liberals, fascists, and the alt-right, and their lengths range anywhere from "average meal time, give or take" (20-40 minutes) to "feature film by any other name" (80-110 minutes). They are well known for [[SignatureStyle Natalie's unique stylistic techniques]], which include [[BlackComedy dark]], sarcastic and [[SurrealHumor surreal humor]] alongside elaborate setups with intricate set design, colorful lighting, and [[DragQueen flamboyant costumes]]. However, the foundation of her content is her sharp, oft-empathetic approach to arguing complex sociopolitical topics, with great influence from philosophy and sociology[[note]]the former of which she actually studied academically, eventually dropping out of a [=PhD=] program[[/note]]. Journalists have called her the "Creator/OscarWilde of [=YouTube=]" as well as a modern Socrates. Natalie has gone on record stating that she handles nearly all aspects of video production -- writing, research, camerawork and editing -- herself.

While [[OlderThanTheyThink Natalie began posting videos as early as 2008]], she began [=ContraPoints=] in 2016 as a direct response to the Gamergate controversy, the ascendancy of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, and by proxy the increasing prevalence of both right-wing voices on [=YouTube=] and the alt-right on the Internet as a whole. What started as an attempt to deliver information on social issues eventually grew into a more individualized long-form style that incorporates high production value, a full musical score, and ''many'' cartoonish characters ([[ActingForTwo most of them played by Natalie]]) and plotlines, with her videos at one point often structured as debates between several characters.

** "J.K. Rowling" examines treatment of trans women and trans men under a MenActWomenAre lens when bigotry comes to play. Natalie argues that Trans women are often stereotyped as seductive predators--"men" who fetishize femininity and use it to appear harmless but are really out to hurt "true" men and seduce the women; while she argues that trans women are really ''infantilized'' rather than seen as actively harmful, treated like insecure, vulnerable and gullible "girls" (not women, girls) who [[DamselInDistress need to be rescued]] from people willing to prey on their gender and body worries.

* TakeAThirdOption: When Natalie describes her inability to identify with any gender in an early video ("Non-Binary Genders"), she says a [[MemeticMutation now-famous]] quote:

* TakeAThirdOption: When Natalie describes her inability to identify with any gender in an early video ("Non-Binary Genders"), she says that rather feeling like a man or a woman she feels like shit.

** ''Is Casual Sex Bad for your Soul?'' is a video response to The Distributionist, but because of his icon [[note]]A photo of Catholic author and theologian, [=C.K. Chesterson=][[/note]], she accidentally calls him Chesterton. She decides to just run with it for the entire video.
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: In her video on JK Rowling, she looks through some of the transphobic buttons from "Wild Womyn Workshop" and finds one that says "Sorry About Your Dick, Bro". She promptly quips "That one's good, I'd wear that one!"

* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: The topic of gender is explored thoroughly on her channel, with the help of her characters. When she started transitioning, so did her non-female characters. This is explicitly pointed out with Lady Foppington and Fritz (now Freya) [[note]]Some fans have taken to the headcanon that Bruce is a pre-transition Tabby (Despite not being half-cat and declared dead in "The Left")[[/note]].

** In the closing chapter of "Gender Critical", she exposes the trans exclusive radical feminist (TERF) movement for what it really is: A hate movement fueled by disgust and contempt for trans women.

* AnAesop: In "Cringe", Natalie points out that cringing at your past self is not necessarily a bad thing. This kind of embarrassment teaches you how to better interact with others, but there is a kind of cringe that is based on contempt for people, which might demand some self-search to understand.

* DidNotGetTheGirl: Justine admits to her frienemy Tiffany that she is in love with her in "Transtrenders", prompting Tiffany to leave and get drunk without reciprocating.
* DoubleStandard: In "Gender Critical", she points out that transphobes come down much, much harder on trans women for "reinforcing patriarchy" by presenting as hyperfeminine, than they do on similarly hyperfeminine cis women like Kim Kardashian.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Her earlier videos lack the MoodLighting that has since become her trademark. Since she had yet to come to see herself as a transgender woman, those videos also see her with a deeper voice and occasionally more masculine clothing. Most of them feature her exclusively as herself, with her bevy of characters not yet appearing. Her humor style was also drier and more blunt.

** Lampshaded in "Is BDSM Feminist?" with Contra just making up a name for the host on the spot. "Whatever, it- it doesn't matter." After all, the talk-show format is only the framing device for the dialectic.

* TheHedonist: Studied in "Pick Up Artists" and "Is Casual Sex Bad for your Soul?" and played up in "Degeneracy".

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Jackie Jackson falls for all of Fritz's lies no matter how blatant they are, serving as a commentary on how centrism can be swayed into far-right ideals.
* TheHorseshoeEffect: Deconstructed in "Punching Natsees" as the debate breaks down into an argument, as Internet debates are wont to do. Unlike most versions of this trope, the argument is between a far left anarchist and a centre left liberal.

Natalie has [[http://contrapoints.com a website]] and accounts on [[https://twitter.com/ContraPoints Twitter]], [[https://instagram.com/ContraPoints Instagram]] and [[https://www.facebook.com/ContraPoints Facebook]]. She also has donations available through [[https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=HDNO9KJMUAMf0P-XrVxQ11dqR3c7tVg-fq-qLaiNT-lplibc7jRuRh3qKD0NKXyXjb6Ezdy_UFNsm_qe&locale.x=US PayPal]]. Her channel is financed through [[https://www.patreon.com/contrapoints Patreon]], where she has over 11,600 patrons and was at one point among the site's top 20 creators. (As such, her videos do not contain sponsorships or promo deals.) She states on her page that her upload rate is roughly once every six weeks; [[ScheduleSlip take it with a grain of salt]].

* {{Corpsing}}: Natalie sometimes has trouble taking herself seriously when filming extra-silly bits and occasionally leaves in moments where she breaks character.