Often, those who tread off the beaten path are misunderstood or mischaracterized and so we asked folks from the community to reflect and tell us about the times they’ve been misunderstood or mischaracterized.

Deyanna Denyse

Of course, it has. I am nude. The Art of Misunderstanding comes with the territory in this modern society. As mentioned in my recent #MyNudeMyTruth campaign, being nude (especially in poc communities) has a negative stigma. Being nude on social media doesn’t make it any better however my attempts to clear the confusion with explanation help bring a sense of clarity and healing in most cases. Read more>>

Jasmine Small

It can be said creating a safe space, for ones’ self, within this world can be difficult. My work is a story of my life whether it be an ensemble pulled together or a concept photo, using myself as a muse. It is a display of who I am. Of course, in life one goes through ups and downs, the ups and downs frame individuals, molding them into their true identity. Read more>>

S.V. Hailei

I definitely feel as if some if not all of my work has been misunderstood. In music, and particularly in hip hop, ppl feel the need to try and put you in a box, and this doesn’t really work in my case because the things that i create are just so different & i say that humbly. A lot of ppl like to call my screamo songs “trap metal” & while yes I do have a couple trap metal songs in my discography, I wouldn’t call the majority of my screamo songs trap metal. Read more>>

Christina Wong

Oh, all of the time! I spend half of my time explaining not just what an oddities artist is, but what oddities and curiosities are, and the other half explaining my cruelty-free methods. I don’t expect people to know what oddities and curiosities are and find myself discussing the realm of taxidermy, freak shows, and antiques. In almost every area of my life, I have received skepticism and disapproval. Read more>>

Derek Flores

I think the biggest misunderstanding about me is that I’m difficult to work with, which could not be further from the truth. The problem is that I want to do great work. If I’m on a gig, I want to show up and be sound check before the start time. I’ll make flyers, put up promo videos, and post in every Facebook group to get the word out, but I do NOT put up with people who don’t care. One example is when I was working with this gigging band from Brownsville, TX. They were talented guys, but they had a habit of showing up and starting late. If we were supposed to start at 7, Read more>>

Rio Frank-Bantell

Like most artists I started off uploading my music to SoundCloud. I adopted some of the flows and topics that most artists would thrive on. Artists such as: ski mask the slump god, xxxtentacion, and smokepurp. But I quickly found out that the lines of dark humor and profanity was not for everyone. So I decided that I would keep the songs that had a more SoundCloud style, on SoundCloud. Now, most of my songs that display my clean artistic talent are on all other platforms such as: Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. Read more>>

Jaylynn Harrison

I believe people are regularly misunderstood, be it in-person, over a phone call, or especially through nonverbal communication like text, for instance. I’m one of those people that has been misunderstood A LOT growing up because as a child, I was very shy, quiet, and—some might even go as far as saying stand-offish. Because of just how often I’ve felt misunderstood, I always yearned to be understood; and I think at some point I just realized that I have to be open and want to understand others first. Read more>>

William Brigham

I have had several well-known knifemakers (and even customers) tell me that the people out there really do not understand how remarkable my knives are. There are a large number of other makers forging damascus and creating knives today, and many of them produce excellent work. I can say with confidence that there is no one else making blades out of pattern welded stainless steels as I am today. Read more>>

Jessica Meshaun

Most definitely my work has been misunderstood. The biggest misconception is that as a small business owner I shouldn’t be so personal and/or involved in or with my business. My thought is that as a double minority owned business. I have to work twice as hard and apply twice the amount of self-pressure in order to be seen as an equal or in the very least, to just have a lane in this industry. Some people will not choose to work with you because you are too involved or do to much, and others won’t work with you because you’re not personal enough. Read more>>