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I’ve never been a big fan of using hashtags to try and make change happen.

I’ve never even been one to try and make change happen, so I guess my opinion is an outlier that shouldn’t be counted.

Especially since I’m a huge hypocrite when under stress.

In my previous two posts, the talk of cosplay enforced sexual harassment was the focus. In the first post, I mentioned people who were faced with the harassment, and why it’s important to know about. In the second post, I showed results to a survey I sent out to 25 cosplayers, asking them about their experiences.

I’ve mentioned a group called Geeks for CONsent a few times in the past posts, as well. They’re a group of two girls, cosplayers, that have booths set up at conventions and raise awareness about sexual harassment at conventions; such as trying to help place stronger rules against it in Convention rules. They’ve also given people a place to talk about their experiences, and even get help with it; almost like a convention buddy system. No one goes alone.

For my agent of change, I decided to go against myself and use a tag on a social media site called Tumblr.

I had rounded up a group of people and asked them to reblog/repost photos that were posted by cosplayers and tag it with:

Which would eventually link back to a post made describing the project.

(Original post found here)

Out of the people recruited, only a few actually got back to me with their participation.

The following screenshots (along with the links to the original posts with the cosplay featured, not posted directly due to personal rights.) are the few I gathered.

Original posts found here, here, and here.

Original posts found here, here, here and here

Originally, I had planned to do a video. It was to be a public service announcement type thing, where cosplayers sent photos of themselves with signs in cosplay and talked about the things they’ve gone through if they wanted. But, sadly, not many people actually wanted to take part, or just didn’t have the time. So the idea flopped/

However, a few people have given me the permission to use their photos for example. Credit being given where asked, of course. (They’re actually both from the same fandom- how funny is that?)

(http://that-multishipping-choirboy.tumblr.com)

Since starting this project, I’ve grown a lot more involved with this community. This project has changed my outlook on things, and made me realize that people become really good at covering things up about themselves until they’re actually asked about it. It’s also made people feel more comfortable with themselves. By talking about it with someone, they’re willing to face people with confidence, and they’re not afraid anymore. I think I can call this a success.

Moving forward, I think it’d be a good idea to keep this tag going, to try and expand it and make it a normal thing to do.

Make it kind of… a safe word.

There’s still a lot to do with preventing sexual harassment all together, not just at conventions alone, but we’re still fighting for it. And that’s what matters.

In my previous blog post, it introduces both social anxiety and public speaking, differentiating them from one another. It also elaborates on how many people are affected by social anxiety disorder in the world. Conducting more research provided me with more information that renewed my own knowledge about how social anxiety can be difficult to understand. So far, I’ve interviewed at least two people who have suffered from these conditions and are receiving physical therapy.

It took me a while to actually find people that were willing to get interviewed by me. I’ve sent out emails to people that were dedicated in helping people who suffer from social anxiety and other types of mental disorder that relates to it. No one had responded back, and I thought that I was just left to my last resort: sending out a survey. Sending out a survey to those who don’t suffer from these mental disorders wouldn’t mean anything, so I just can’t send a survey to a whole group of people and sort out those who do have them. Therefore, I just stuck to conducting interviews with those who are comfortable with having them. A friend (TK Saccoh) and I went to Philadelphia Mental Health Center to interview a professional. There was no one available at the time, so we were denied an interview.

Figures 1 & 2: These are emails I’ve sent out to psychologists and therapists, requesting for an interview.

Conducting interviews with actual people that have stories about their experiences made me realize that social anxiety starts at an early age. The people who I interviewed are around my age range, which is about 14-16. I chose to interview those people because I could relate to them more, and so could younger audiences. I’ve decided to not reveal their names and/or other personal information because of the fact that they did share some very personal and compelling stories with me.

Figures 3, 4, & 5: Conversation through email with a person suffering from social anxiety disorder.

I came to a conclusion that people, anyone, of all ages can suffer from similar things in a different way. Social anxiety just doesn’t “start at an early age.” It’s not like it’s something that just manifests itself inside someone. It’s a mental disorder than someone either has or doesn’t.

This information can help me in my Agent of Change by making me realize that I can’t just work with people who are suffering from social anxiety. It comes from a perspective, there’s also those who are relatives of those who suffer, and they are affected by social anxiety as well. They’re not directly affected (and unless they are), they’re just affected by the actions that their relative takes. They not only want their family members to get better, but to also receive the proper treatment. Sometimes there are therapists that don’t take in consideration the feelings of their patients. Therefore, the condition of the patient can decline from their previous state. Since, if they can’t talk to a professional or anything about their feelings or experiences, it’ll just stay bottled up.

Click here to view my sources.