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.
Carina Ho
As an artist with a disability, I rarely see others who look like me in media or in performing spaces. Often I’m underestimated, and people’s assumptions around people with disabilities usually leads them to hold the bar lower for me than for my non-disabled peers. Making art and putting myself in performing spaces where I often am the only disabled artist has shaped my views around using the parts of myself that I feel most insecure or uncomfortable about to inform my work. Read more>>
Kason Staples
As a male content creator, I’ve been misunderstood for a long time. People would see what I post, the humor, the creativity, the energy—but they didn’t always take the time to understand the person behind the content. They judged the surface without knowing the story, the grind, or the real feelings behind it all. That constant misunderstanding started to get to me. It made me feel like I wasn’t being seen for who I truly am, like people were so quick to assume without ever trying to connect. Over time, that pressure and disconnect led me to take a break—not just from content, but from social life in general. I needed space to figure myself out, to find peace away from opinions and expectations. During that time, Read more>>
Jennifer Kumiyama
As a singer and actress with a disability, I truly feel that the way our community is portrayed in the media is very flat and limited. We are often portrayed as being in need, or a burden, and what is shown to society by this limitation is that our disabilities are the center of our lives. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. People with disabilities are dynamic, and we intersect with every other marginalized (and not) aspect of life (we are immigrants, queer, black, brown and indigenous, trans, parents, employees, business owners, homeless, etc.) and that, in itself, gives us far more depth that writers, producers, and creative teams give us, as a people, credit for. I’d like to see a lot more range in the way stories about people with disabilities are created and told. Read more>>
Parhām Haghighi
This is a question I’ve revisited many times since I decided to pursue music professionally at age 25—about 15 years ago. Because I made this choice intentionally and wholeheartedly, I didn’t struggle much with doubt early on. I was aware of the risks and uncertainties, but every time the question of “What if I had a more regular job?” came up, I’d find ten good reasons to stay on this path. The most important reason being: this life makes me happy in a way that no other path could. Read more>>
Vivek Verma
Yes, I believe this has happened quite a few times. In the journey of creating art, it often takes time, sometimes years just to deeply understand your own work. It’s a process of growth and evolution. However, while you are immersed in this process, people around you tend to judge your work based on external markers like numbers, fame, or money. Over time, even their perception of art becomes conditioned by these metrics, and the emotional and creative magic of the work tends to fade in their eyes, replaced solely by a focus on measurable success. Read more>>
Khara Campbell
I met with a potential agent some years back, before the pandemic. I remember him taking a look at me and type-casting me as “cool Mom” which I realize wasn’t intended to be offensive. And I’m not offended by being considered worthy of motherhood, nor coolness – the problem is, it had to do with age. I was, in this salesperson’s mind – because let’s be honest, an agent has to sell you, this is show business, not show art, as we’ve all heard. The problem was how narrow the view of me – and all women – once we hit a certain age. He was limiting me and all of us. In his view, I was a wholesome mom, not a doctor, lawyer, junkie (compliment, I guess), firefighter, professor, or just sexy, single lady. Read more>>