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.

Fatima Hye

Being a Muslim immigrant girl growing up in America, of course I was misunderstood. (FYI I started veiling in college – as a kid I dressed like everyone else.) But it wasn’t just an issue with “society”: family, teachers, classmates, etc. I was culturally caught between my place of birth (Bangladesh) and my place of residence (Texas). So in a way, I misunderstood myself. For a long time, I questioned what it was to be me. Read more>>

Justen Best

It’s very easy for me to be misunderstood in many situations. When it comes to being an artist, especially in Hip Hop, everyone is a “rapper”. It’s always been tough for me to even tell people that I make music because in their head I know their saying “You too?”. I like people to discover me. Read more>>

Glory Magana

I am a clean comic. What does that mean? My material is clean and not vulgar. People assume I work clean due to me being a Christian. The moment other comics realize that I am a Christian, they treat me differently. I’ve heard different types of passive aggressive comments regarding their life choices assuming that I am judging them because of my faith. Read more>>

Dominique McGee

Misunderstandings and mischaracterizations run rampant in the entertainment world, my dear friends. It’s like a never-ending game of “Guess Who?” where people mistake confidence for arrogance. So, my darlings, it’s a constant balancing act – strutting your stuff while remaining open to learning from others. No one wants to be labeled a know-it-all, now do we? Read more>>

Harris Chrys

I’ve always been a dreamer from a really young age growing up in London, England. I’ve always known deep down inside what I wanted which was to live in California and to be on TV. I had a vision of me getting into fitness which I fell in love with early on in my life, around the age of 13 or 14 which was frowned upon as working out and eating a healthy diet to build muscle wasn’t something everyone understood back when I first started out especially at that young age. Read more>>

Char Miller-King

I jokingly tell people I identify as a white male. Why you ask? Unfortunately, we live in a world where each one of us is burdened with one or more stereotypes based on societies “norms”. Some of us have developed ways to cope or hide them. Read more>>

SUUVI

It’s hilarious to me that people think of me as the cool girl now because I was probably the most uncool child you could ever meet. Most of my formative memories revolve around being painfully shy and nerdy and heavily bullied for being so. I came from a very academic and intellectual family that emphasized my scholastic development and virtually little else, which meant that I was trilingual and did math workbooks for fun as a toddler but was horribly socialized, awkward, and dressed like a tomboy (and not in the fashionable way). Read more>>

BrizzNicole

I create and post many videos but not all of them deliver they way I intended them to. I try to give as much information as possible, but depending on the type of content it may be beneficial leaving some details up for interpretation. Comedy, for example, allows for an unique delivery when it requires some thought to be put towards it. Read more>>

Arian Armenta

I think a big misconception about being a performer is that we crave attention at all times. For me, my routines come with a lot of mental preparation. It’s give and take. The energy of an audience fuels me for sure, but in my daily life I’m very private and shy in a lot of ways and attention hits me different when I’m not ready for it. It’s silly to know I’m the same person in and out of costume, but Mars Attax! Read more>>

Arthur DeHart

Growing up I was always interested in art or just anything creative. However, this doesn’t mean I was any good at it. I’m from Roane County TN originally, and I am also a gay trans man from a pretty religious household. Being misunderstood is something that just comes with that territory. Read more>>

Jaslynn Gholson

When you tell your life story it can come with many criticisms, questions, and judgement. As an author I have learned to embrace this and just accept that people will either love me or they just won’t. Either way, I want to know that I stepped out into this world with my head heald high, knowing that I still love and accept myself whether other people do or don’t. Read more>>

Zybrena Porter

I remember when I made the decision to create art that better represented me, my experiences and my hopes for those who view my work. After the societal dissonance of the past few years, I found that by not being fully honest about my need to see Black Americans better represented in creative spaces, I’d given both friends and family a false impression of what issues are important to me and how I planned to be a part of the solution. Read more>>

Aaron Tanyhill

As a black man in America I know what it’s like to be misunderstood, to be mischaractorized, society has tried to place me in boxes either physically and figuratively. Read more>>

Jaime Wright

Before I was an astrologer, I was pursuing a “career” in theater and performance in the downtown scene here in New York. I consider my move to astrology to be less a career transition though, and more that I just finally found the correct medium for my creative practice. There are some astrologers who have the story of leaving a fancy job in the corporate world to pursue astrology, but I don’t have that kind of background. Read more>>

5ifth Element

I love when i get a chance to do an interview cause I hope it paints me in a better light of not being “Mean”, I’ve gotten that quiet a few times, I’m Mean, or I’m unapproachable which just isn’t true. I’m not the small talk person at all, but i really dig meaningful conversations, especially when it comes to music, equipment, Prince, etc. Read more>>

Eric Hodges

In our studio we live and breathe our motto of #Changethestandard. Too us this is a blanket statement about how much of our beautiful industry is viewed because of such a small percentage individuals actions. So much has changed within our industry with many necessary new changes still to come. Read more>>

Tyler Johnson

I feel as if I’ve been misunderstood and mischaracterized in almost every aspect of my life I hold valuable enough to recognize such treatment. My career choice, my race and culture, my sexuality, my art styles, the list goes on. Combating it, I walk into situations with an open mind, forgiveness, self-awareness, and direction in the sense that if I want something I will have it and nobody can change my stance upon that. Read more>>

Burger The Monster

I think one challenge that I face is trying to convince people that my videos can be funny not just for children but for adults as well. A lot of individuals automatically assume that because I am a fluffy monster, I only know how to entertain children. And sure, I do like to perform for kids. But the awesome truth is that I love to entertain people of ALL ages! Read more>>

Megan Rakos

Being misunderstood/mischaracterized Read more>>