# Laci Green
**Laci Green** is an American sex educator and sex therapist, known as the creator of *Sex Plus!*, a YouTube sex education series that ran from 2009 to 2019 and became one of the platform's most popular channels on the subject.[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) She later hosted MTV's first original YouTube series, *Braless*, published a book with [HarperCollins](https://www.edgepedia.org/harpercollins), and was named one of Time's 30 most influential people on the Internet in 2016.[2](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript) • [3](https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/) Her career also became a widely discussed case study in online political conflict: after years as a feminist sex educator, she drew sustained attacks in 2017 from both anti-feminists and parts of the social justice community, a story covered by NPR's *This American Life* in February 2018.[2](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Signature work | *Sex Plus!*, YouTube sex education series, 2009–2019[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) |
| Audience | Nearly 1.5 million subscribers by 2016; 122 million total video views reported by Time in 2016[4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006) • [3](https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/) |
| Education | UC Berkeley, graduated 2011; studied legal studies and education with fieldwork on sexual assault and domestic violence prevention[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) • [4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006) |
| Recognition | Time's 30 Most Influential People on the Internet, 2016[3](https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/) |
| Book | *Sex Plus: Learning, Loving, and Enjoying Your Body* (HarperCollins, 2018)[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) |
| Speaking | More than 200 schools and conferences worldwide on sexuality, relationships, and violence prevention[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) |
| Current work | Full-time sex therapist in North Carolina[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) |
## Background and education
Green grew up in a small town near [Sacramento, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/sacramento-california), raised within the Mormon church, which she has described as stifling; she has said the church's strict teachings on sexuality produced shame and guilt in her early teens, an experience she cites as the origin of her sex education work.[2](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript) She began uploading videos to YouTube at age 18.[5](https://www.nylon.com/articles/laci-green-sex-positive-you-tube)
At the [University of California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california), Berkeley, she studied legal studies and education, with her internships and degree fieldwork focused on sexual assault and domestic violence prevention; she graduated in 2011.[4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006) • [1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) She has no formal training in anatomy or psychology, and has said her videos are self-researched and based on scientific studies.[4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006)
## Sex Plus! and YouTube career
**The channel.** Green launched her YouTube channel, the home of *Sex Plus*, while studying at UC Berkeley, starting the project in response to what she described as a nationwide failure to provide comprehensive sex education.[6](https://www.northrop.umn.edu/events/laci-green) Her first viral sex education video was *You Can't Pop Your Cherry*, about the hymen, which combined basic anatomy with cultural analysis of the hymen myth.[2](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript) By 2016 the channel had nearly 1.5 million subscribers and viewers in 196 countries, and Time reported 122 million cumulative video views.[4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006) • [6](https://www.northrop.umn.edu/events/laci-green) • [3](https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/)
Her videos covered topics from [hookup culture](https://www.edgepedia.org/hookup-culture) to body positivity and consent, and she was billed in mainstream coverage as a millennial "Dr. Ruth."[3](https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/) • [4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006) Consent and campus sexual assault prevention were recurring themes; her video *Wanna Have Sex Consent 101* drew wide attention in 2015.[4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006) She argued that many young viewers lacked anyone else to talk to, saying the most common fan response she received was "I can't talk to my parents, I feel unsupported, thank you for being there for me."[4](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006)
**Beyond the channel.** Time named her one of the 30 most influential people on the Internet in 2016, noting her work as host of MTV's digital series *Braless* and as an ambassador for Trojan's "Consent. Ask For It." campaign.[3](https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/) She also produced educational series for the [Discovery Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/discovery-channel) and MTV, and hosted for [Planned Parenthood](https://www.edgepedia.org/planned-parenthood).[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) • [7](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/laci-green.html) Her speaking brought her to campuses across the United States; a student-organized event at [Concordia University](https://www.edgepedia.org/concordia-university) paid her $16,000, a figure that drew local controversy.[8](https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/the-cost-of-an-unsafe-event) In 2018, HarperCollins published her first book, *Sex Plus: Learning, Loving, and Enjoying Your Body*.[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html)
## The 2017 backlash
Green's position online shifted sharply in 2017. In March of that year she announced a livestream debate on gender with Blair White, a conservative, anti-feminist transgender creator; many fans accused her of betraying her feminist roots.[9](https://dailydot.com/laci-green-feminist-youtube) A two-part video series on gender identity, *How Many Freakin Genders*, was criticized by transgender activists, who said she misrepresented the science of trans biology and took a tweet by trans activist Zinnia Jones out of context; Green said the video argued that there are more than two genders and that trans people exist, and that the response in her own community was positive.[9](https://dailydot.com/laci-green-feminist-youtube) • [10](https://www.thepinknews.com/2017/07/17/FORMER-LGBT-FRIENDLY-YOUTUBER-LACI-GREEN-ATTACKED-A-TRANS-ACTIVIST/) The following month she drew more criticism after announcing her relationship with Chris Maldonado, an "anti-SJW" YouTuber known as Chris Ray Gun.[11](https://knowyourmeme.com/news/prominent-feminist-youtuber-laci-green-draws-backlash-from-internet-social-justice-community)
The attacks came from more than one direction. *This American Life* documented how she had first been targeted by anti-feminists after her 2014 video *50 Reasons Why I'm a Feminist*, then faced hostility from parts of her own audience over words she had used, including a 2009 video in which she used a slur for transgender people, which she apologized for and unpublished in 2012.[2](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript) A Tumblr post titled "Masterpost: Why Laci Green Sucks" collected 93 entries accusing her of hypocrisy and insensitivity.[2](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript) Increasing death threats and media rumors following her "red pill" video prompted her to leave YouTube for five months; she returned in May 2018 and rejected claims that she had been "brainwashed by the alt-right," saying the year felt like "a fever dream."[9](https://dailydot.com/laci-green-feminist-youtube) NPR's *This American Life* broadcast a segment, "Words You Can't Say," about her harassment on February 2, 2018.[12](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/laci-green) • [2](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript) A French analysis in *Le Monde* framed the episode as an example of the difficulty of open debate online, noting that Green had concluded that freedom of expression should be neither total nor completely controlled by a dominant discourse.[13](https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2017/08/06/laci-green-ou-l-impossible-debat-en-ligne_5169287_3232.html)
## Later work
In 2019, citing growing polarization on social media about sexuality issues, Green started the podcast *Indirect Message*, exploring perspectives on digital life, sexuality, and culture with a range of guests; she retired it in 2022.[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) She now works as a full-time sex therapist in North Carolina and continues to post videos about sexuality and mental health as her schedule allows.[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html) Her stated approach emphasizes informed consent as the heart of her advocacy, along with viewpoint diversity and a "brave space" model that welcomes disagreement in dialogue.[1](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html)
## References
1. [About Laci Green, lacigreen.tv](https://lacigreen.tv/about.html)
2. [637: Words You Can't Say, This American Life (transcript), February 2, 2018](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/transcript)
3. [The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet, Time, 2016](https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/)
4. [Meet Sex-Ed YouTube Star Laci Green Whose Channel Has Nearly 1.5 Million Subscribers, ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Health/meet-sex-ed-youtube-star-laci-green-channel/story?id=43723006)
5. [This Sex-Positive YouTuber Is Taking Sex-Ed Online, Nylon](https://www.nylon.com/articles/laci-green-sex-positive-you-tube)
6. [Laci Green, Northrop, University of Minnesota](https://www.northrop.umn.edu/events/laci-green)
7. [Laci Green, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/laci-green.html)
8. [The Cost of an Unsafe Event, The Link (Concordia University)](https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/the-cost-of-an-unsafe-event)
9. [Laci Green Returns From a 5-Month-Long YouTube Study Break, Daily Dot, May 29, 2018](https://dailydot.com/laci-green-feminist-youtube)
10. [Former LGBT-friendly YouTuber Laci Green attacks trans activist, PinkNews, July 17, 2017](https://www.thepinknews.com/2017/07/17/FORMER-LGBT-FRIENDLY-YOUTUBER-LACI-GREEN-ATTACKED-A-TRANS-ACTIVIST/)
11. [Prominent Feminist YouTuber Laci Green Draws Backlash from Internet Social Justice Community, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/news/prominent-feminist-youtuber-laci-green-draws-backlash-from-internet-social-justice-community)
12. [Laci Green, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/laci-green)
13. [Laci Green ou l'impossible débat en ligne, Le Monde, August 6, 2017](https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2017/08/06/laci-green-ou-l-impossible-debat-en-ligne_5169287_3232.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Human health and medicine › Mental health › Psychiatry, care systems & society › Psychiatric clinical roles & care delivery*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license