the nerd community has a problem. (ft. veridis joe)

special thanks to ‪@VeridisJoe‬ for helping me out with this one! in this video we talk about the community and all the issues within it. please do not see this video as a call-out post to anyone, we just wanted to have a discussion about some inconveniences.
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[@VirtuosoI]

I remember putting together my final Luz cosplay after the Owl House ended so excited to wear it at a con and this white girl walked up to me and said "Oh cool your black Luz. I mean I'm not trying to be racist" I wanted to curse her out so badly bc what else was she trying to do? 🙃 I tried explaining Luz's ethnicity and she immediately snapped saying Luz isn't black in any way.

[@rhejwkeh1822]

whaaaaaaaat isn’t luz literally black too 😭😭😭

[@tarinblanding1584]

@@rhejwkeh1822yeah she’s literally Afro-Latina

[@whoomie]

What the fuck im so sorry that happened to u :(

[@mygoodfriendcosmo]

“luz isn’t black” SHE IS THOUGH????? AND EVEN IF SHE WASNT WTF ARE U SUPPOSED TO DO, CHANGE COLORS??😭😭😭😭

[@andiman44]

But honestly? If you don’t know she’s Afro-Latina, it is easy to make that assumption. Luz looks ambiguously brown, not really anything specific.

[@sophitiaofhyrule]

I'm a simple girl. I see Hobie Brown, I click.

[@26.stunna]

Real

[@heiressananiah8788]

Exactly

[@chrisblass4954]

Yeah same

[@shanikamensah7288]

Literally though

[@jamwrightiam]

I'm another simple girl

[@tyjordanflophour]

Elitism is such a huge problem in these communities. And the wild thing is I don't even think a lot of these people are having fun. If it really hurts your feelings that a bunch of people didn't wanna see it, at the end of the day, you probably didn't either. And classism is awful. I can say with pride that I actually like and want the stuff I bought; so disgusting that some people just use it as a flex on everyone else. A coin's got two sides. I barely post art because I haven't liked drawing much for years, but when I used social media more often, I always looked out for artists that were in the early stages and complimented them on their work. Everybody starts somewhere. Sometimes it's the "I really like the way you did that!" that can make the difference between someone that quits a hobby and someone that keeps it for a lifetime.

[@Tirrrb]

New hariyanna drop, okay I am seated 🪑

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

I think that something that really isn't discussed with cosplay is that a lot of materials used in a lot of cosplay can be quite uncomfortable for people who suffer from sensory issues, or people with eczema

[@epicazeroth]

Pre-watching thoughts: I expect I will agree that the things you point out are issues, but I don't think there's really a nerd community anymore honestly. "Nerdy" things are now the mainstream in pop culture, to the point that at best you have specific fandom communities and at worst you don't really have a community at all. Though that might just make it worse cause general culture also has a lot of issues.

[@unseenmolee]

thats exactly how ive been feeling lately, but you said it better than i could have

[@SpoopySquid]

Nailed it

[@best_of_ant]

Harri and Joey, the best nerdy duo 💙

[@liciee14]

Best duo EVER!!!! I'm so happy about the inclusion and diversity of online communities & and fandoms, but society have a LONG way to go due to individuals being prejudice and racism. As an upcoming book author of my own superhero universe that has diverse characters in there,it's so annoying that people telling me my characters are "woke" when diversity is normal.

[@andiman44]

Yes!! There are genuine critiques to be made about badly done diversity in media but TOO many people see a hint of diversity and automatically scream woke.

[@liciee14]

@@andiman44 Don't get me started on how some people think that people of color as main characters in genres like cyberpunk,fantasy, steampunk won't sell like the books with white protagonists

[@thelingeringartist]

This was an amazing listen. Its horrible, really-the systems that are in place that make it difficult for brown cosplayers to rlly enjoy stuff…….the feature-ism shit is real; and it expands and is especially noticeable in the art community today; with tutorials for drawing people usually center around eurocentric features; and other features being considered “inaccurate” or “not pleasing to look at” if it ain’t those Eurocentric beauty features…..

[@unseenmolee]

TYSM this yes. i went to an art school for hs and omgg the internalized white supremacy is really really bad in art spaces. like the idea of "high art" and like the way artists are forced into boxes to please capitalism (and by doing that it means playing into the white male gaze lets be real)... im not trying to generalize, this is just what ive noticed, and its a really big issue. like its literally being taught to children, indoctrinated even. im still unpacking a lot of the stuff i learned in school, most of it was bs honestly

[@timtam3730]

I remember watching Us (2019) and seeing Umbrae from the movie and I thought she was just so creepy and since I like dressing up as creepy characters I dressed up as her for a local con and people did no know who she was but I was happy to explain to them who she was and why I liked her so much because of how creepy she was in the movie :)

[@theradionicrevival8068]

I’m right here at the elitism section at 27:52 and had a whole discussion with myself with the shampoo bottles for 15 mins about this topic so imma try to summarize and drop it here. While I obviously don’t support it, and this doesn’t make it excusable. I feel a large part of where this elitism is rooted in is due to a lot of the people need and geek culturing growing up in cruel environments that either encouraged or brutally forced them to hide these parts of themself and what they like. And due to putting so much of yourself into these things, an attack on it makes it feel like it’s an attack on them. So when they go out into the world and encounter people who set these alarms off, their default response is to put up walls and be hostile, regardless of if the intent was intended to be. This helps reinforces when they were right to steer clear and often just creates a cycle of more people with all these unchecked issues and attachments huddling together and alone and being hostile to one another because it’s all they knew to survive. Ntm, while all fandoms are the same, most do have their own specific traits and sadly a bad fandom encounter can uncontrollably color your view of the fanbase and the media it’s based around. While even if it’s not literally yours, it’s pretty understandable to be shellshocked when you had something that was yours blow up and suddenly be everywhere and occasionally to be twisted into something that it might not be about at all, and far from what it even meant to you. There’s the more subjective but mostly ultimately harmless stuff of shipping culture, redesigns, oc’s powerscaling etc But then when we tip into the serious issues it’s a whole different ballgame. I’m just a dragon ball fan, but There is a genuine sexism problem in the fanbase and generally weird obsessions with things like eugenics going on, and some people even use the series and characters to peddle these beliefs. Literally just today on twitter a guys going viral for claiming that men don’t like romance because men aren’t emotional creature like women, they’re creatures of “action” and using dragon ball as the hallmark to this. DB has a lot of problematic stuff in it, but one thing that it consistently taught was the value of emotions and how it’s ok to feel them and that being in touch with them and expressing them healthily can push your farther. Like??? A super saiyans roots are literally in sadness and anger. And I can’t even imagine what it means to be a K-ON fan when so many of the fans are notoriously racist and or pedophiles. Same thing with rick and morty or South Park fans using nilhisim as an excuse to justify being an apathetic asshole despite the shows often preaching the opposite. When people are capable of turning something you love, into things like that, I can understand operating on high alert. Obviously these issues are inherently personal problems and it’s not a rando’s responbility to deal with whatever insecurities and emotional trauma’s you deal with, but I still thought it was important to point out.

[@theradionicrevival8068]

Ay dawg, Joey said he’s WATCHIN’ one piece Don’t listen to him Harry, just read the manga The anime stretched 1 10 page chapter into a whole ass episode the anime’s pacing is ass, unless you got a fan cut of the series or a filler guide, you better off not touchin’ Someone save my mans 😭😭

[@lucyandecember2843]

@@theradionicrevival8068 i've never watched a fan cut of one piece but i must say i really hope they dont leave out g-8, its technically filler but lowkey one of my favorite arcs, its so good lol

[@espeon871]

As a huge kon fan who's an enby poc who is progressive starting off cuz context of my proverbial position in the fandom omg the racism is insane they saw a cute show thats literally just human connection is great, have fun and take a break ft harhar the edgelords from 4chan saw that and started using that to peddle a white ethnostate cuz theyre like see this only happens cuz same ethnicity like jp and eugenics which was crazy 😭 i agree w ur comment like some fans genuinely see things as theirs and its like you like it its not urs ur feelings for it and connection and relationship is urs but u dont own the thing and some fans can be insane like stop its an independent property ur connection to it is normal and awesome but u have to know that its not urs and when someone critique it its not u cuz ure not the property u may not be that but these r criticisms and if they fit, they fit. You can like and critique like i love sailor moon with my whole heart but the body shaming there is wild and i will critique it i know its off its time but its reflective of society so u can jump off from there for eg.

[@affsteak3530]

Dragon Ball Z has great romances! They just happen offscreen because Akira Toriyama doesn't know how to write romance dialogue. Seriously, Vegeta's journey from genocidal monster, to deadbeat dad, and finally to devoted husband and father is so great. Android 18 is redeemed with the power of love, not punching!

[@rubyred6608760]

Lol did the person who made that tweet not know what a brony is? There’s plenty of “girly” shows with romance in them that have large or decently sized male audiences.

[@TheAnimeTea]

Appreciate this discussion on elitism and consumerism in nerd communities because it’s rarely talked about. It’s also complex since some people buy to support their favorite franchises, others make a living on fan creations of their fav series and some people over consume because they want to show off and you touched on all those topics. Very chill discussion video overall!

[@harriyanna]

love your channel btw 💙

[@ku8408]

My dream is to cosplay a character from a old manga that nobody would recognize, i just love and relate to that character soooo much that I NEED TO COAPLAY HIM AT SOME POINT IN MY LIFE i do have a closet cosplay of him (which i did go to a small con dressed in it and it was super fun) but i still want a proper one eventually

[@ku8408]

Other than that I've never really cosplayed before

[@Otaku_Loaf]

Amazing video Captain! Joey and Harriyanna, the duo we need but don’t deserve

[@lightlouis]

It legit feels like their is a hierarchy in the blerd community. Like if you don’t have a following or just go to this stuff casually, you’re not allowed to know let alone kick it with the royalty on the internet

[@annabelconstantine1241]

I'm ok with it

[@devinsauls9137]

harriyanna hook and Veridis Joe collab?! 👀

[@WillTheGreatest]

I've somehow been lucky to dodge the much more toxic parts of the cosplay and blerd cosplay communities but I've seen many discussions from friends and what not that haven't had it so easy. Tho I'm out the loop what happened at dreamcon??

[@avermalt]

WOOOO GREATEST CROSSOVER!!

[@joonbee]

been waitin for this collab 👏🏾👏🏾🔥🔥

[@gregorysteffensen3279]

I haven't been to as many conventions in the last five or so years as in the early-mid 2010s, when I was going to like five a year, but with the exception of Otakon (which used to be in Baltimore MD so has nearly always been Black af) basically every convention I've been to has gotten more and more racially diverse and especially Blacker with time. Feels good to watch happen in real time, also to watch some cons that used to feel anti-cosplay become more cosplay-positive spaces

[@gregorysteffensen3279]

Conversely, I have seen one con I used to go to regularly, Katsucon, become a magnet for the cosplay community in a way that's attracted the worst of the elitist networking cliques in the past few years. It's an incredible con to see and be seen and get your follower counts boosted, but there are a ton of people whose entire personality is based on trying to out-shine others for money and clout

[@annabelconstantine1241]

I don't think otakon is black

[@gregorysteffensen3279]

@@annabelconstantine1241 honestly there's a real chance Ota got *less* black moving to DC than it was in Baltimore (which was most of the years I went so my sample size is biased)

[@annabelconstantine1241]

@@gregorysteffensen3279 yea because I saw instagram and normally when it's a percentage of like 95 non black to 5 black that means not black thoe

[@zheahra]

I enjoyed every second of this vid. It's a convo that needs to be had and addressed.

[@marajones1828]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this whole feature length film production *chef’s kiss* Also, I loooove Word Girl and I love that you cosplayed as her. Brought back good memories. I didn’t even realize that what I do can count as cosplay. My brain latches on to a character I like and I make outfits “inspired” by then or if my best friend is gonna play a video game for me like Deathloop, I dressed up as Juliana each time I watched. I always admired cosplayers but never felt “worthy” of calling myself that (I constantly wished I was one). But after listening to you guys and following you for so long I feel proud to say that what I do is cosplay and I love it cuz it’s just so freakin fun! Like you I love to dress up and I love fashion so it’s so fun to do! ❤️

[@PancakemonsterFO4]

Oh my god Verdis Joe is totally real life Spiderpunk

[@chillmill_08]

such a good video! i crocheted while watching it highly recommend

[@rudetuesday]

This was a dope conversation. I'm an older blerd, so it's been really interesting to see more Black people of all ages going to certain cons. When I see a whole family, I just smile. Such a vibe.

[@unseenmolee]

boosting this vid, and i also just wanted to say i wish you the best harriyanna

[@harriyanna]

💙💙💙💙

[@rachael5025]

ive been excited to see what content youll make during the current strike!

[@kymeruh]

YES NEW HARRIYANA VIDEO!!! oo and veridis joe too? this is totally going to be something im going to watch n listen too!

[@mierenierez]

1:36 THE RENAISSANCE- ok that made me so happy

[@jojohanna8795]

Living outside of the US is it also difficult to participate in the international big communities because everything is So expensive and difficult to even like, find let alone buy. Especially living in a regional city where all the conventions are 20hour drives away. I've been to a convention before and it was truly the best experience and I made a lot of friends but it is disheartening to see people being so competitive about stuff when you don't even have a chance. Also I've made 2 cosplays and people expect you to own so many more then that.

[@grizzledmillennial4765]

Enjoyed this convo

[@ozziedylan9903]

I love hariyanna hook videos amazing content

[@theradionicrevival8068]

Ay dawg, Joey said he’s WATCHIN’ one piece Don’t listen to him Harry, just read the manga The anime stretched 1 10 page chapter into a whole ass episode the anime’s pacing is ass, unless you got a fan cut of the series or a filler guide, you better off not touchin’ Someone save my mans 😭😭

[@andiman44]

Exactly. One piece manga over anime any day!!

[@riverbanzachamploo9725]

iconic collab

[@nitrofairywing1541]

Saw @epica put their pre-watching thoughts ao I'mma put mines and then update afterwards of course. I see, because your gonna see it eapecially if your on the internet. I remember not rwally seeing a whole bunch of black people, for example in the anime community, bw into anime and have all types of bullcrap to say about it, then when it got into mainstream more so all of a sudden they wanna start liking shid without no real apology to thw black kids they bullied because of them liking anime and I have to sideye sometimes because of that even though I do see a lot of people that are finally and have been finally comfortable in liking what they like and saying an eff you to the stereotypes of what they should like in general and show that black people are not a monolith. However, what comes with it is the very prominent unfortunate racism that come into the community and other nerd communities I see as well, like Marvle and DC for example....lawd. People's prejudice, racism, and just plain blatant ignorance come out to play, hate, and do harm to the community as a whole because the anime community is supposed to be fun, fun and happy and then you have these people that go too hard even to the creators of the animes because they're heads qre ao far up their a** and in the internet workd that they don't comorehend that what they do has consequences and that's just also in general. It's very dishartening and makes me almost want to cry because this is something that people love, this is something that people create, they enjoy and you have these evil people just come to desimate it for everybody. EDIT: 💎My Personal Experience💎 I was watching anime before I even knew what anime was since I was a little girl, I loved Tokyo Mew Mew while it was playing as Mew Mew Power on 4kidsTV, I saw the english version, or at least what they had of it, and then saw the original version, Shaman King always has a special place in my heart, Hikaru No Go, Yu-Gi-Oh all the way up to 5D's, SonicX, as for a few of childhood animes that I watched, and I loved/love animation as a whole and it has made a very loving place within my life and my interests, and I wish to do cosplay myself, to go to a con(when I get enough money cause biiiish them dollas😭),I used to pretend of course as many children did and do, that I was apart of those shows and one of my favorite films into adulthood is Spirited Away and will always have a special place in my heart along with The Cat Returns💕💕💕 EDIT: Points Put Down As Video Goes 🚫 Elitism and Classim🚫 I remember when I looked at all the really cool cosplays and everything, and felt a little sad honestly, that I could not do that, I came from the mindset of "You can't do this unless you have them money cash dollas and blah blah blah" so I did feel a littke defeated especially cause I thought that was what I was supposed to do if that makes any sense, cause then you also have people that use the fact that they have the funds to do this all the time to rub it in people's faces irl and on media that makes it worse cause not everybody needs to cosplay to enjoy something, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of these people do this to have a following and that is all it is and that also goes into the needing for attention and validation from people on the internet but that is like a whole nother even in of itself amd that mixed in with the big dawg and everybody else is jealous and less than mindset that it essentially is, is a very toxic mixture. You do not need to put yourself in such a bad position to Keep Up The Joneses, cause it never that serious, and validation from complete strangers should not be THAT important to an individual to find happiness within self in something that you supposedly love so much that you make it your hobby. EDIT: ⚠️Is Indiviuality Vanished Within The Cosplay Community?⚠️ I can see it, I can totally see it, it goes into validation, it goes into attention seeking, it goes into even clout is a mfing droog(censord just in case), it goes into even probably being afraid to just do shid for yourself, the feeling of that you need to do this in order to be viral, to be seen, but also when you don't look a certain way you will not get that, and then it goes into a deeper issue that is underneath it all yet blatant at the same time and I completely agree with that point because I see that in many other facets of life not just in the nerd community. And I am going to say a contraversial statement but a good number of why speaking on cosplay specifically that a lot of POC people don't go viral is because they do not majorly have attractiveness that was and is mainly found in yt women.

[@ozziedylan9903]

I Am An Otaku I Am Proud

[@user-mg7rl2my4b]

HOBBIE 🛐

[@tashibalampkin8555]

Man, toothaches are hell on Earth. Good luck to you, my sister.

[@Effexxor]

I do feel like so much of this is also general group dynamics, especially with niche, nerdy groups. Im big into dog shows and soooo much of this is also shit that we have, especially with the classism. Capitalism, man. Its got its roots in everything.

[@Jayday12345678910]

When I tell you I rushed to this video when it was you and Joe💀💀

[@harriyanna]

hehehehehehehe

[@Infinite_Repeat]

Do you guys have a podcast or something you guys are really smart

[@heroicgangster9981]

The true and only starting Sailor Moon experience is the live action tokusatsu show. It's straight up a disney channel drama show AND a live action power rangers show but Sailor Moon.

[@RodriguezDominique305]

Second 🎉

[@samlosophy5894]

Yo

[@piplupz1586]

Get at least to the second arc of one piece, Alabasta has a lot of fantastic characters

[@LittleBlackFoxInali]

Fun fact: historically, a popular form cosplay elitism is handcrafted vs bought (esp bought from a mass cosplay company). As cosplay has roots in the DIY/crafting scene, a big issue for years is where your cosplay comes from. As someone who has been adjacent to the scene for 15 years, a lot of the higher up cosplayers have had a dismissive attitude towards people who buy (specifically non-commission) cosplay. If you didn't make your whole outfit complete with hand embroidery and resin props that you didn't personally pull from a mold, you're not a real cosplayer. And I hate to say it but in some fandoms, that's kind of the only choice to begin with. I'm not gonna be able to cosplay an armor set from Monster Hunter without making it myself or commissioning it. You have to remember that Jessica Nigiri was a controversial figure for YEARS because even though she was the most conventionally attractive, skinny white woman, the fact that she never made her cosplay herself made her absolutely hated by most of the cosplay community.

[@yadongon]

39:59

[@TheDarkAdventure]

High School DxD. A man of culture.

[@questioningespecialy9107]

3:36 _hears hair_ . . . I'm sorry, can I just envy your hair for awhile? thx

[@ladygrey4113]

Just to answer the rhetorical statement of the title, hopefully everyone watching this video already knew this.

[@neoxochitl]

I love this video but this format is harder for me to hear for some reason.

[@raT.L0rd]

what are joey’s pronouns? i noticed you used both he/him and they/them but for the most part they/them was used so i was wondering if they use they/he or just they/them

[@sharmanitascos]

Can we talk about the hyper fetishization in anime. It honestly seems like literally nobody wants to say anything but its so brazenly apparent and we need to stop pretending everything is okay. Most of those characters look like little girls and its not by coincidence.