Christy Gior is an adoptive mother of five. She's not a celebrity or famous influencer, but Christy is using her YouTube channel and Instagram page to help make a difference.
"I just kind of like had a revelation like six months ago, like this is my purpose on YouTube, this is what I want to share," Gior said.
She has gained hundreds of thousands of followers by sharing her family's experiences with other blended adoptive families.
Gior's husband is Filipino, three of her children are African American, and two of her children are Brazilian and Japanese. She describes their family as "transracial," and says instilling cultural identity into her kids is extremely important.
"I have learned more in this past year than I have my entire life about my children's background and about racial equality, and I can go on and on and on and on," said Gior.
Haircare videos have become part of her most popular online content. Gior provides step-by-step instructional videos for adoptive mothers of African American girls.
"I've seen, you know, Black women grow to like chop off their hair and hate their hair and not embrace their natural hair, you know, because it's common knowledge. It's so crucial, and I'm like, OK, so, if I can teach these white families and non-Black families how to appreciate their hair and care for it, so that these little girls can grow to be Black women and appreciate it into their adulthood, that helps with their identity, especially being in homes that are not Black, so I kind of ran with that," Gior said.
She is not only teaching her followers through these lifestyle videos, but she's also learning from them, too.
"I am learning so much in the comments and from my feedback that it's making me a better parent to my kids," Gior said.
You can connect with Gior on her YouTube page and Instagram, where she hosts weekly Q&A sessions for adoptive parents.
