Love the video. It kinda reminded me of how I was about to start a Luna Lovegood-cosplay like right before JK really exposed herself as the TERF she is, and whilst I still have fondness of the series and character I quietly put it aside and used the materials for something else because I wouldn't want people I care infinetly more about than a book series about to feel upset of uncomfortable by something I'd done
I've been getting rid of my wearable HP merch aggressively for a long time now. It's sad but I can't support someone who actively thinks my friends shouldn't exist and that they are evil
I want to point out that if someone says, "I don't think you SHOULD do that," it doesn't mean, "I want to put you in jail for doing that or trying to do that." You have the freedom to do it. But my freedom of speech means that I'm allowed to criticize you. That's not dystopian, that's democracy. It's a great taboo in our society to call, or even imply, that someone is racist. It's treated as worse than most slurs. So people become really sensitive about it. But I think the slurs are worse, because it's easier to change your behavior than your race.
I think about this when looking at folkwear patterns and clothes. I really like more working/rural traditional clothing but a lot of that is also deeply cultural. I just want to wear pretty things but I need to make a more concentrated effort to understand the history and whys the clothing exists. If anything so I can justify any changes I make like leaving out certain embroidery or details that may have been essential to the original design. Good vid and good food for thought.
Love the ~gentle advice~ with going forwards with projects. I have a project that is sitting in a closet because half of me says its an okay cosplay to do and the other half of me is saying "but what if it isn't and I don't think the correct thinks until later and I'll end up feeling like a horrible person". So I want more conversations like this to happen! and for it to be okay to say "hey, I have an idea that I haven't fully thought through yet, but could you help talk with me to see if I should be back peddling on it?"
Yes, all of this. It's always "fun" to find the really problematic spots in your research and realize you've got a lot to unpack, but I'd rather take an extra few minutes to make sure that I'm being respectful than to hurt someone.
A failure to stitch in time saves face -- _at least it did mine._ I paused making new tutorials last month after I had a "fabulous" idea that was pretty viral-worthy but did not represent my beliefs and would actually be embarassing to me if people I respect and admire would see it. Not even problematic historically speaking, just skeevy. It made me realize how easily view-chasing can become obsessive and encourage rationalization. You didn't say this in the video but I am hearing it as "good job for dropping a bad idea!" 😊 Thank you for exploring such an important topic. 😍
I love your video essays! Thank you for all the work you put into these. They really help me think more deeply about these issues and put words to feelings that I have been unable to name.
This is great and needed. I'm hopeful you'll share a bit about that wedding dress though! As a latina I'll take literally any Latino dress history information like, at all.
This is a great video! It’s good to self reflect and to prioritize kindness. Also: you gave me homeschool vibes I freaking knew it. (I was a homeschooler too so * spiderman pointing at spiderman meme*
As soon as you mentioned moths I went "oh no, I can guess which moth it is" but I didn't know they were destructive or that that's why they got that name! How horrible. Thankfully there are tens of thousands of other lovely moth species to be inspired by, with so many different colours and patterns. Someday I'd really love to do a luna moth garment, or a tailcoat patterned to look more like a beetle exoskeleton. Bugs are so inspiring! This also reminds me that some years ago I planned to do a costume of Louis from Interview With The Vampire, and more recently I've been glad I never got around to it, because he owned a whole entire plantation at the beginning of that story and it's just kind of glossed over?? I do still like the book and movie, but that part is.. hmm :/
It's so rare to find a vampire with an unproblematic past SMH. You'd think the bloodsucking would be enough villainy to fill out a character. I do plan on taking some inspiration from lovely buggies in the future. Because as you pointed out - there are so so many!
You touched on this but it may not be clear to viewers that the Entomological Society has acknowledged the problem with the common name and has delisted it so it will no longer be referred to in any official documents or journal articles by that name. Once the new name is decided on I think that might be the perfect time for you to proceed with the project if you are still interested. It would be a way of championing and publicizing the change in name. Since it will probably take a generation for the old common name to fade away any positive highlighting will make people aware and hopefully accepting of the change.
I think it might be ok to make a moth dress to draw attention to this, but pretending to be gassed would still be extremely insensitive in that context (the people that are meant with that slur were put in concentration camps by the nazis in WWII).
@@miri2810 oh absolutely gassing is off the table, that is not cosplay material at all. I was trying to frame the make as something that could be a positive educational moment if she stills feels drawn to the project. My thought was making the only the costume into a sort of PSA of "theres this bug that was given a terrible name but now that's changing" is an educational moment that could lay out the arguments for why this change is good in an approachable way. We all know the die hard old timers are going to be pissed off and stubborn about adopting the new name that's why I said it would be something that happens over a generation, much like it took a generation for casual use of the n word to die off. But the sooner the new name starts being used by the general public the quicker the process will be. But Miah Grace knows the ins and outs of the farming communities involved better than I ever will, so of course if she feels that there isn't a way to make it that would feel comfortable to her I respect that.
I feel like you need to be kinder to 17 Miah, she wasn't stupid, just ignorant. Ignorant of the world at large and unaware of some nuanced cultural context. In the very niche and quirky context of the town you grew up in it probably would have been funny and not ruffled any feathers. Do I think, ultimately you probably did the right thing by not making it, yes. If for no other reason then just not having to cringe at yourself. But the very fact you're making this video proves that you aren't stupid. Thank you for having the courage to have this conversation out loud. Obviously you've grown since the ideas inception but there's really very few examples in media of people owning up to their past errors and really reckoning with their own ignorance. Learning something new and adjusting your viewpoint isn't something shameful and being compassionate to both ourselves and others as we all collectively grow is so so important.
We have Luna Moths rest on the side of the house all the time in the summer, and they're always so beautiful. I've found that if a pretty project stresses someone else out, it stresses me out, and it's easier and simpler for me to simply acknowledge the issue, make amends, put the project down and walk away, rather than soldier on. Not always the best attitude at times, but it does the job mostly. But yes, the cringe is eternal, and I'm learning to look back and laugh, going forward and erring...less. Also, I love how you have the same paperback copy of the Hobbit that I did ages ago. Edit: clarity
This isn't the same as costume, but I figured this info could be useful. As someone who writes stories, and likes to have diverse characters, I keep my own list of rules in mind as well. One of the most important values to me when writing a character who is marginalized or part of a minority in real life, is to be writing their story for that community as my target audience. Like writing a queer indigenous person for queer indigenous people to read about. Keeping who the audience in mind helps me to put in as much dedication to accurate and relatable representation as I can, so that hopefully my audience will find this character to be someone compelling that they connect with. I do this also because of I problem I see in how representation is made, which is that diverse characters are usually written for the majority audience. Racial minorities are written for a white audience, queer people are written for a cis/het audience, disabled for an abled audience, and so on. And this causes two Major problems, one that the writing is focused more on making the character "acceptable" and entertaining for a majority identity, this making the people who'd identify with that character feel left out and like their identity is being used. And two, is that this shift of focus means that the writer will be far more likely to be unempathetic and unaware of the impact of how they portray the character, this making a mistake like yours of playing onto harmful stereotypes for the sake of entertainment. I Know this advice is for writing, but I think you can use it in any project that intersects with representing various identities or cultures.
In the US people outright frequently haven't MET a Rrom, ever, and most European literature about them is written by white people and contains offensive stereotyping. The closest they get is Hunchback and Dracula, and they don't have the cultural context to realize many of the Rroma in Dracula are enslaved. Europeans on the other hand love to say "I have a Rroma friend" or "It's not a slur where I come from" and most people again, haven't met or dont care about Rroma, so its rare that people call them out for lying. It's tempting to try and wiggle around the issue: you could've even used the new alternative name and not mentioned the old one at all, or the history behind it. It's more "comfortable" to edit down that sort of thing. However when we do this we do a disservice! I think its really mature of you to not only avoid doing that, but also to publicly discuss the problem.
Love the video. It kinda reminded me of how I was about to start a Luna Lovegood-cosplay like right before JK really exposed herself as the TERF she is, and whilst I still have fondness of the series and character I quietly put it aside and used the materials for something else because I wouldn't want people I care infinetly more about than a book series about to feel upset of uncomfortable by something I'd done
I've been getting rid of my wearable HP merch aggressively for a long time now. It's sad but I can't support someone who actively thinks my friends shouldn't exist and that they are evil
I want to point out that if someone says, "I don't think you SHOULD do that," it doesn't mean, "I want to put you in jail for doing that or trying to do that." You have the freedom to do it. But my freedom of speech means that I'm allowed to criticize you. That's not dystopian, that's democracy.
It's a great taboo in our society to call, or even imply, that someone is racist. It's treated as worse than most slurs. So people become really sensitive about it. But I think the slurs are worse, because it's easier to change your behavior than your race.
PREACH
I think about this when looking at folkwear patterns and clothes. I really like more working/rural traditional clothing but a lot of that is also deeply cultural. I just want to wear pretty things but I need to make a more concentrated effort to understand the history and whys the clothing exists. If anything so I can justify any changes I make like leaving out certain embroidery or details that may have been essential to the original design. Good vid and good food for thought.
Love the ~gentle advice~ with going forwards with projects. I have a project that is sitting in a closet because half of me says its an okay cosplay to do and the other half of me is saying "but what if it isn't and I don't think the correct thinks until later and I'll end up feeling like a horrible person". So I want more conversations like this to happen! and for it to be okay to say "hey, I have an idea that I haven't fully thought through yet, but could you help talk with me to see if I should be back peddling on it?"
Yes, all of this. It's always "fun" to find the really problematic spots in your research and realize you've got a lot to unpack, but I'd rather take an extra few minutes to make sure that I'm being respectful than to hurt someone.
Ngl, I cackled at moth story, but then the realisation hit me
Right! So innocent. But SO SO DARK once you think about it in context.
A failure to stitch in time saves face -- _at least it did mine._
I paused making new tutorials last month after I had a "fabulous" idea that was pretty viral-worthy but did not represent my beliefs and would actually be embarassing to me if people I respect and admire would see it. Not even problematic historically speaking, just skeevy. It made me realize how easily view-chasing can become obsessive and encourage rationalization. You didn't say this in the video but I am hearing it as "good job for dropping a bad idea!" 😊
Thank you for exploring such an important topic. 😍
I love your video essays! Thank you for all the work you put into these. They really help me think more deeply about these issues and put words to feelings that I have been unable to name.
This is great and needed.
I'm hopeful you'll share a bit about that wedding dress though! As a latina I'll take literally any Latino dress history information like, at all.
This is a great video! It’s good to self reflect and to prioritize kindness.
Also: you gave me homeschool vibes I freaking knew it. (I was a homeschooler too so * spiderman pointing at spiderman meme*
*Spiderman to Spiderman* indeed!
I love how you are addressing this topic and encouraging self-reflection in others. We need more people like you. This was very well done.
As soon as you mentioned moths I went "oh no, I can guess which moth it is" but I didn't know they were destructive or that that's why they got that name! How horrible.
Thankfully there are tens of thousands of other lovely moth species to be inspired by, with so many different colours and patterns. Someday I'd really love to do a luna moth garment, or a tailcoat patterned to look more like a beetle exoskeleton. Bugs are so inspiring!
This also reminds me that some years ago I planned to do a costume of Louis from Interview With The Vampire, and more recently I've been glad I never got around to it, because he owned a whole entire plantation at the beginning of that story and it's just kind of glossed over?? I do still like the book and movie, but that part is.. hmm :/
It's so rare to find a vampire with an unproblematic past SMH. You'd think the bloodsucking would be enough villainy to fill out a character.
I do plan on taking some inspiration from lovely buggies in the future. Because as you pointed out - there are so so many!
You touched on this but it may not be clear to viewers that the Entomological Society has acknowledged the problem with the common name and has delisted it so it will no longer be referred to in any official documents or journal articles by that name. Once the new name is decided on I think that might be the perfect time for you to proceed with the project if you are still interested. It would be a way of championing and publicizing the change in name. Since it will probably take a generation for the old common name to fade away any positive highlighting will make people aware and hopefully accepting of the change.
I think it might be ok to make a moth dress to draw attention to this, but pretending to be gassed would still be extremely insensitive in that context (the people that are meant with that slur were put in concentration camps by the nazis in WWII).
@@miri2810 oh absolutely gassing is off the table, that is not cosplay material at all. I was trying to frame the make as something that could be a positive educational moment if she stills feels drawn to the project.
My thought was making the only the costume into a sort of PSA of "theres this bug that was given a terrible name but now that's changing" is an educational moment that could lay out the arguments for why this change is good in an approachable way. We all know the die hard old timers are going to be pissed off and stubborn about adopting the new name that's why I said it would be something that happens over a generation, much like it took a generation for casual use of the n word to die off. But the sooner the new name starts being used by the general public the quicker the process will be. But Miah Grace knows the ins and outs of the farming communities involved better than I ever will, so of course if she feels that there isn't a way to make it that would feel comfortable to her I respect that.
I feel like you need to be kinder to 17 Miah, she wasn't stupid, just ignorant. Ignorant of the world at large and unaware of some nuanced cultural context.
In the very niche and quirky context of the town you grew up in it probably would have been funny and not ruffled any feathers. Do I think, ultimately you probably did the right thing by not making it, yes. If for no other reason then just not having to cringe at yourself.
But the very fact you're making this video proves that you aren't stupid. Thank you for having the courage to have this conversation out loud. Obviously you've grown since the ideas inception but there's really very few examples in media of people owning up to their past errors and really reckoning with their own ignorance. Learning something new and adjusting your viewpoint isn't something shameful and being compassionate to both ourselves and others as we all collectively grow is so so important.
We have Luna Moths rest on the side of the house all the time in the summer, and they're always so beautiful. I've found that if a pretty project stresses someone else out, it stresses me out, and it's easier and simpler for me to simply acknowledge the issue, make amends, put the project down and walk away, rather than soldier on. Not always the best attitude at times, but it does the job mostly. But yes, the cringe is eternal, and I'm learning to look back and laugh, going forward and erring...less.
Also, I love how you have the same paperback copy of the Hobbit that I did ages ago.
Edit: clarity
"cringe is eternal" the perfect thing to Cross Stich into a throw pillow XD
@@MiahGrace yes
This isn't the same as costume, but I figured this info could be useful. As someone who writes stories, and likes to have diverse characters, I keep my own list of rules in mind as well. One of the most important values to me when writing a character who is marginalized or part of a minority in real life, is to be writing their story for that community as my target audience. Like writing a queer indigenous person for queer indigenous people to read about. Keeping who the audience in mind helps me to put in as much dedication to accurate and relatable representation as I can, so that hopefully my audience will find this character to be someone compelling that they connect with. I do this also because of I problem I see in how representation is made, which is that diverse characters are usually written for the majority audience. Racial minorities are written for a white audience, queer people are written for a cis/het audience, disabled for an abled audience, and so on. And this causes two Major problems, one that the writing is focused more on making the character "acceptable" and entertaining for a majority identity, this making the people who'd identify with that character feel left out and like their identity is being used. And two, is that this shift of focus means that the writer will be far more likely to be unempathetic and unaware of the impact of how they portray the character, this making a mistake like yours of playing onto harmful stereotypes for the sake of entertainment. I Know this advice is for writing, but I think you can use it in any project that intersects with representing various identities or cultures.
@MiahGrace can u do a video on a project diary making/setup or maybe a portfolio set up
oh boy howdy are you in luck ;)
Thank u so much
I also cannot figure out how to pronounce ko-fi
Isn't it supposed to be like coffee?
Honestly, I switch about every other time XD
In the US people outright frequently haven't MET a Rrom, ever, and most European literature about them is written by white people and contains offensive stereotyping. The closest they get is Hunchback and Dracula, and they don't have the cultural context to realize many of the Rroma in Dracula are enslaved.
Europeans on the other hand love to say "I have a Rroma friend" or "It's not a slur where I come from" and most people again, haven't met or dont care about Rroma, so its rare that people call them out for lying.
It's tempting to try and wiggle around the issue: you could've even used the new alternative name and not mentioned the old one at all, or the history behind it. It's more "comfortable" to edit down that sort of thing. However when we do this we do a disservice! I think its really mature of you to not only avoid doing that, but also to publicly discuss the problem.