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.

Souren Mousavi

In 2010, whilst living in the UK, I sadly broke my spine in a fall which stopped me from painting for over two years. Before the accident I had begun to create a series called Modern Heritage – A Feminist Expression of Persian Culture. When I returned to complete the series, I did so in immense pain, but it was a labor of love in every sense. Read more>>

Oliver Dixon

Back in June 2017, I took the stage as Oliver Dixon, and since then, I’ve had incredible opportunities to perform at various venues in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. One of the highlights was being a featured performer at the Austin International Drag Festival in Austin, Texas. I’ve been involved in diverse shows, including burlesque variety shows, Dayton Prides, benefits, fundraisers, and an All-King revue show with the amazing Landon Cider for Columbus Pride in 2022. Read more>>

Candra Reeves

Many people underestimate the difficulty of blogging and influencing, mistakenly believing it to be an easy job. This misconception often results in people not taking our work seriously and a lack of fair pay. The truth is, this line of work comes with its own set of challenges, such as the pressure to always be “on” and the effort required to create quality content. Read more>>

Stauney Hansen And Sadie Anderson

Our podcast is called More Than a Muse and our purpose is uncovering the stories of women artists that are forgotten or misunderstood. One example of somebody we recently covered is Connie Converse. Before Bob Dylan, a young woman in Greenwich Village, New York wrote songs, sang, and played her guitar, becoming the first record of modern singer-songwriter. Read more>>

Kathy Ross

I once accidentally made a Borg. At least that’s what I was told. What’s a Borg? At first i thought: what! this was supposed to be Real Art. Then i finally thought: what do I care who likes it? Is a museum boss better than a science fiction freak? Its NICE when people like what you are doing. I dont need to be Michaelangelo. BTW they did give it the sculpture award at the sci fi convention. So I guess it was a borg. I ve enclosed an image of the piece. Read more>>

Sierra Harris

How I became introduced to speyside, I had a friend who had worked there tell me that the environment was better than my previous job. At first it was, but soon after I had began getting harassed a lot. I had made it known to my superiors. When I had brought it up, my boss had told me it was my fault due to him being “close friends” with the people who had caused problems for me. These people went as far as adding salt packets into my food, smeared chewed gum across my windshield, tried to get people to fight me, and get me fired. Read more>>

Savea Kagan

I have a history of compartmentalizing myself into a handful of categories: dancer, artist, choreographer, teacher, poet, sister, daughter, friend, among other surfacing identities both liberating and debilitating. Being an extremely sensitive person, if someone makes an observation of who I am, I habitually compare such remarks to all the things that I’m not. Labels, which are increasingly used generationally Read more>>

Love Atiya

I’ve been misunderstood my entire life and it’s one of my favorite things about life. When I was a child I knew that I was different and that people didn’t understand the way I dressed, the way I spelled, the way I talked, the way I fought for animals etc As a teen my confidence in my differentness began to dwindle. I felt invisible, I felt strange, I felt “wrong” in my existence. Read more>>

Giselle Tapia

Throughout my life as a female guitar player, I’ve faced the challenges of being misunderstood and mischaracterized. Growing up in Argentina, poverty and a religious environment clashed with my identity as a gay individual. Amidst these struggles, music became my refuge, understanding me when nothing and no one else did. It allowed me to authentically express myself and find solace in its melodies. Read more>>

LadyPerez

A little bit into starting my career, I finally got connected to social media, which was a pretty late start for me. My sister really had to push me to do it and that was my first mistake. As an artist, I should have jumped on the ball immediately when TikTok and etc came out – then maybe my following would have been a bit better. Read more>>

Zack King

At some point in their lives, everyone experiences the sensation of being misunderstood or misjudged. Personally, I have carried this sentiment throughout my life. It is not uncommon for individuals involved in creative pursuits to feel a sense of being misunderstood, but when combined with mental health challenges, it becomes an entirely different ordeal. Due to my mental health issues, I have always sensed that people fail to grasp who I truly am. Read more>>

Leno 615

It hasn’t always been an easy journey. When I first started in the comedy game I was I told that I would have to change my image, because I was “Too Hood” and I didn’t look like the rest of the comedians in the game. It wasn’t too many comics out here with dreads and tattoos. For the longest when I would go to a show people would ask me if I was a rapper, I’d just laugh and say “Nope, I’m here to try and make these people laugh”. Read more>>

Synthsie recently

I was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder in 2020 and it has become the most misunderstood and mischaracterized disorder online and IRL. It’s still so bewildering to me to hear people spout ignorant and oftentimes offensive things about my disorder so casually. I can’t tell you the many times people would reference the movie Split as an example of DID. That movie has been the bane of my socialization. Read more>>

Danielle Dreis

There are a lot of stereotypes, when it comes to dancers. I often feel judged when I share my career as a professional dancer. Some people tend to think that it’s “not a real career”. I’ve heard society criticize dancers as only dumb and pretty. When the reality is, it takes a lot of knowledge to make it in this industry. Dancers must be versatile and have an understanding of numbers, patterns, movements, musical insight, memorization, muscles, anatomy, kinesiology, pedagogy, stagecraft, lighting, and more. Others categorize dance as a hobby. Read more>>

JudaH Galt

This is a fantastic topic to be discussed. As it is still happening to this day, even 20 minutes ago before I started this interview. JudaH laughs with a cheer. I tell you, the life changing events that have occurred on a spiritual, mental and physical level over the years of this journey has taking me on an unforgettable ride and experience through the passage of time. Read more>>

Abie Groes

I think a lot of women in the fitness industry are seen as shallow or attention seeking simply because they share their bodies online. I share my body because I want others to see strong women. I don’t post it for attention or for views, I share it for the girls out there who are unsure of their bodies who need to see that it’s okay to be proud of yourself. Read more>>

Donna Dodson

In 2016 I created a monumental outdoor sculpture, names Seagull Cinderella with a bird head and a woman’s body. She is as common as the birds we see at the beach. Yet she is uncommon, like Marilla in Anne of Green Gables, bound by the sweet virtues of her character. Her full length gown is alive with neon daisies and flower power! This piece is celebrating a common sea bird as the iconic American princess, Cinderella. Read more>>

Ramon Ivey

My story is very complicated but I have learned to own it. I have found a sense of peace in it. Many think of me as just a Choreographer/Dancer, and it use to piss me off lol. Now that I have learned to focus on only how I feel about me, and much less of the outside world, I am happier. Read more>>

Elena Davies

I’ve always felt a bit “misunderstood”, I graduated from Bethesda Christian School in Fort Worth, TX, and while it was an incredible education and foundation for my life, I was always “too much” and simultaneously “not enough”. It took me experiencing academia in college to realize how smart and capable I was because I wasn’t forced into a box or constantly compared to “better” students (and better Christians). Read more>>