In this episode, our storytellers share two very different experiences of dressing up and playing different characters, while using a wheelchair. Host Kamand Alaghehband talks to Jessica Guerrero and Renee Lopez. They talk about their journey with Cosplay and Halloween in their stories Cosplay and Witchy Woman. Renee Lopez Renee Lopez a 60-year-old woman with a physical disability and uses a wheelchair. Renee was born and raised in Austin, Texas where she has lived her entire life. Renee graduated from the University of Texas in 1984 and 1986 with a BA and an M.Ed. respectively. Renee worked for the State of Texas for 30 years and is now retired. Renee has a long history of advocating for the rights of people with disabilities since 1982 when she was a student at The University of Texas. As a student with a life-long physical disability, Renee joined other students with disabilities for campus accessibility. She continues to advocate to this day. Renee is on the Advisory Board for SAFE Disability Services since 2010. She has attended conferences on behalf of SAFE as a workshop presenter teaching and informing conference attendees on issues of violence and abuse against persons with Disabilities. Renee is also a member of a core group of a coalition put together by the VERA Institute of Justice on ending violence against people with disabilities. Jessica Guerrero She has lived independently in Austin for around 10 years and has been with the Speaking Advocates program from its very first class. She told us, “I have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy but my wheelchair has opened the door to cosplay, martial arts, traveling, adaptive sports and so many other adventures.” She also really enjoys helping out in the community. HOST Kamand Alaghehband was born in Austin, TX and has Autism. In 2020, The CDC reported approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with autism. This ratio is more than all cancer patients combined. Kamand has spent her life supporting all generations with disabilities. Kamand loves the Special Olympics and her favorite sports are swimming, basketball, and track. Kamand is a member of the executive committee of Special Olympics Athletes Leadership in Texas. I have created podcasts, Tik Tok videos, video games, and a variety of health activities during the pandemic to keep the athlete’s mind occupied in a healthy way. Kammand’s mission within her population is to bring peace today and create a vision for tomorrow’s disabled population. Kamand hopes that she’ll be able to teach others to turn denial into acceptance. Instagram: Ka.special Tik Tok: KAspecialglobal
Welcome to The True Tales by Disability Advocates. Authentic voices of people thriving with disabilities. Were individuals use the art of storytelling to change the world. True Tales by Disability Advocates podcast is produced by Art Spark Texas Speaking Advocates Program. Keep listening to hear how lives challenges can spark a desire to speak out and advocate for ourselves and others.
MsBoye:
You're listening to The Power of Dressing Up, episode Six of True Tales by Disability Advocates. The podcast where advocates harness the power of storytelling to build community with their peers and hope to develop empathy in others. A team of disability advocates creates True Tales to give voice to the personal stories and lived experience of disabled storytellers. We offer our unique and often underrepresented perspective to the growing community of podcast listeners worldwide. According to the CDC. One in four Americans live with some kind of disability that 61 million adults with 61 million experiences and points of view about what it means to live with a disability. Everyone's life is enriched by the inclusion of multiple voices. So Art Spark Texas has been training disability, advocates as storytellers for over 20 years. In this episode, our storytellers share two very different experiences of dressing up and playing different characters while using a wheelchair. Some people love costumes, dressing up, fancy dress parties, and Halloween, Halloween is their favorite holiday. Dressing up, allows us to shift out of our every day and become someone else. As kids playing dress up and becoming different characters allows us to express our imaginations and and have the experience of being a hero or even the bad guy. For most kids, Halloween and trick-or-treating is the ultimate expression of this form of play. They really believe in the power their costume has to turn them into someone else and they go out into the night secure in the magic of their fantasy. But what if ableism extinguishes the glamor and the rest of the world sees only your wheelchair and not the magic of the character you're playing? What if all the houses on your street have steps up to the porch? The porch that holds the kingdom of free candy. In her story,"Witchy Woman" Renee Lopez tells us how ableism took the shine out of her childhood Halloweens, despite her father's best efforts to give her a magical experience. And then as adults dressing up allows us to get out of our selves, you know, try on hidden aspects of our personality, uh, safely challenge, other people's perceptions of who we are. For a few wonderful, magical hours we could become our heroes or be freed from being nice and become someone evil. Being someone else can allow shy folks to experience being outgoing, loud, outrageous behind the protection of their costume and the personality of the character they're playing. Our second storyteller, Jessica Ferraro has found acceptance and inclusion in the Cosplay community, where the focus is on her costume and her wheelchair is just part of an unknown plot twist. After hearing Jessica's story and her obvious enthusiasm for Cosplay, I wanted to know more. So I asked her some bonus questions when Kamand had finished her interview. Ultimately, this episode is about being allowed to play and have fun and allowing yourself to be willing to do whatever it takes to welcome everyone into your playground.
Kamand:
Welcome to The True Tales by Disability Advocates, the podcast where we change the world one story at a time. I'm Kamand Alaghehband, and I'm your host. Our first storyteller today is Renee Lopez. So welcome Renee, before you share your story, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself? And how you got involved with Opening Minds, Opening Doors?
Renee:
Yes, good afternoon Kamand. As you said, my name is Renee Lopez and I've been with OMOD for about six years now. I first became aware of Art Spark when I saw Actual Lives put on by people with disabilities and I was so enthralled that I,I wanted to be a part of it, except that I was working at the time and didn't have the time to do it. But when I retired, I noticed that OMOD was having a class and I signed up and took about two classes, I guess, which is where I wrote my stories.
Kamand:
I'm so glad you could join us today. I can't wait to hear your story.
Renee:
Again, my name is Renee Lopez, and I wrote this story when I was in Opening Minds, Opening Doors, class. I wrote this around Halloween. I wrote it on October 11th of 2017. So I'm here to share it with you. And I have titled this Witchy Woman. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, even more than Christmas. I think it's because we get to dress up as characters and we get candy. One of my favorite characters to be on Halloween was a witch. I think it all started when I was little and I was watching the TV show Bewitched. When I was about six years old, I got a witch costume. I was so excited, as was my brother who was going to be a pirate. We headed out at dusk to Trick-or-Treat in our neighborhood. All the houses in our neighborhood had four to five steps to get to the front door. My dad would lift me up onto the porch and for, I don't know how many houses for at least two blocks. I never realized what an act of love that was from him, to have to carry me up every single house, up four or five steps, and take me back down again. We arrived at one house with a bunch of other kids and we line up at the door yelling,"Trick-or-Treat!" in unison. One by one each kid gets candy while the server commented on the costumes. Like,"What a scary ghost." Or"Ooh, a scary pirate!" Or"What a beautiful princess." And then I get to the door and what does she say? But,"Oh, hi Renee." My heart sank. She didn't recognize me as a witch. I am not Renee." I wanted to yell, I am a scary witch," but I didn't. It would have been disrespectful. I felt something change in me, but I didn't know what it was at the time. I continued to enjoy Halloween, but eventually Trick-or-Treating lost its luster and I stopped going out to Trick-or-Treat soon afterwards. I came to realize my body was the costume, as was my wheelchair. I could never hide it or cover it up. I was always going to be just a,"Hi Renee." Fast-forward to present day. I say, forget it! I'm a Witch, even if I do look more like Brunhilda than Elizabeth Montgomery. Thank you.
Kamand:
Welcome back. I'm here with Renee. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Renee, it seems like you have a very nice and supportive dad. Do you have any other good memories with him you would like to share with us?
Renee:
Yeah, you know, my dad was really, really was a very kind and supportive man. He was always very fair. And he wasn't judgemental at all. Um, he was also a musician so I grew up listening to a lot of music in the home so you know I have some really fun memories of my dad, uh one of my fondest memories is that he had an old Chevy truck and he would take our family all the kids There were four of us in the family and some of the neighborhood kids and throw us all into the back of his old Chevy truck and take us to the drive-in we would go and either see a scary movie or a Kung Fu movie because back then in the seventies kung-fu was really popular and we liked seeing Bruce Lee You know all those uh martial arts guys. And we really had a lot of fun doing that he would buy popcorn and Cokes for everybody. So that was one of my fondest memories.
Kamand:
Renee Halloween is my favorite holiday as well. On behalf of all of us do you have any special advice for giving out candy This Halloween
Renee:
Well, what I would advise people who are giving out candy is if a child shows up and they're in a wheelchair Or an adult uh and you have steps heading to your heading up into your house I recommend that you come down the steps and go over to the person in the wheelchair or the person with a disability so that they don't have to climb the steps or have to be carried up the steps I think that would be a good way of accommodating the second thing is um always try to recognize the costume that person has on Even if you don't know what it is exactly Just say something like,"Well that's a very interesting costume," or"You look wonderful." Or"You look scary," you know, because it's all about the costume and who you're trying to be, and not that you're just a wheelchair. So that would be my advice to, ah, people.
Kamand:
What special advice do you have to our fellow disabled kids or adults around Halloween Renee?
Renee:
Well, I say that if you have a disability and you want to participate in Halloween by wearing costumes, just go ahead and do it, have fun with it. It's, it's really about you having fun more than it is trying to convince others of what your costume is about. Um, unfortunately, people are always going to see our disability first and if you're in a wheelchair, then they're going to see the wheelchair first before they look at your costume. I say, well, go ahead and let them, and don't get a chip on your shoulder about it, just let it be and enjoy who you are. And if they don't know who you are just say, I mean, they don't know what costume you have got on to say, oh,"I'm playing a hobo!" Or"I'm, I'm, uh, I'm a pirate," you know, let them know. But Halloween to me is about having fun and wearing costumes and being somebody else. And just go ahead and do it. They may not realize it right away. But people will either accept it or not, it doesn't really matter. It's about you having fun.
Kamand:
That is so true. What a gift that would be.
Renee:
I enjoy Halloween, but because I'm much older now, I don't, and don't like being around big crowds, like on Sixth Street. I usually don't do anything. I've become the kind of person who goes outside to give out candy now. But back in the day, we would dress up in costumes. I know I was a rabbit once and a clown another time and we would go down to Sixth Street and party,[laughs] but I don't need that anymore. Now I give out candy[laughs].
Kamand:
That's great! Great chatting with you, Renee. Thank you for being willing to share your story and insights with us. I hope you have fun giving out candy this Halloween. Stay with us for a second story. Jessica Ferraro shares her story about Cosplay. Welcome back, our second guest Jessica Ferraro shares her story about Cosplay. She has lived independently in Austin for around 10 years and has been with The Speaking Advocates Program from its very first class. She told us," I have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, but my wheelchair has opened the door to Cosplay, martial arts, traveling adaptive sports in so many other adventures." She also really enjoys helping out in the community. Welcome Jessica, before you share your story, can you tell our listeners how you got started with Opening Minds, Opening Doors?
Jessica:
Sure I think I learned about about Opening Minds, Opening Doors after a little Summer volunteer work that I did with Art Spark. I've always loved storytellers and their, and their powers to teach and entertain. That said, Public Speaking wasn't my strong point in school, so OMOD looked like a fun opportunity to learn how to handle my nerves and share my perspective.
Kamand:
Let's hear your story.
MsBoye:
Note to listeners here. Jessica starts her story in the voice of Ichigo, one of her Cosplay characters, who is the protagonist of the manga and anime series Bleach. And she even recorded it dressed up as her character.
Jessica:
My name is Jessica Guerrero and here's my story. Yo! Name’s Ichigo Kurosaki substitute soul reaper..., high school student, how's it going? What are you staring at, this ginger hair of mine? sighs) Hey! It's natural! Where I come from, I stand out in a crowd like it or not. Bleached hair labels ya a punk. Well, I ain't no punk. My schoolwork is top-notch still, let's just say I'm a magnet for weird attention." My real name is Jessica Guerrero. Mild-mannered gentle woman. I'm also a Cosplayer. That means I dress in costume to play my favorite characters from TV shows, video games and movies. Take Ichigo, the hero of the Japanese animated series called Bleach. I've loved costuming and acting since I was a little kid, but by the time I got to college, let's just say I was a little too shy and quiet for my acting coach."Come on Jessica, just say something!" She would heckle me in every class. Until one day I was finally like,"Okay! I said something, SHISH!." But the satisfaction that I've got from snapping back at her that day ignited a spark that brought me out of my shell. That brought me to life. With encouragement from another professor, I did my first Cosplay as Goku, a well-known fighter from a TV show called Dragon Ball Z. I wore this bright orange gi top and pants with these blue accents like this blue, t-shirt under the top, blue wristbands, blue belt, blue boots. And to top it all off this black wig, of unruly spikes, one side sticking up the other kind of out flat, basically a serious case of bedhead.(laughs). Pulling up to my first Anime convention, which is a gathering for fans of Japanese comics, animation and pop culture. I saw all these other characters with equally colorful clothing and wild hair, but suddenly my stomach was in knots. How would they see me? Could I really pull off the flamboyant awesome fighter that was Goku? Well, it was too late to turn back now! So I unloaded and went in. And as I was sitting in a line waiting to get my badge, three Ninja came up to me and one of them asked, Goku, what happened to you, man?" And a second piped up,"Come on, just tell us who did this to you. We'll take care of them!" Oh guys, Vegeta and I and I and got into a fight because I think I, the last piece of his favorite sushi, that's all." I laughed. They thought my wheelchair was a prop, but as soon as it became a part of my story, I owned it. It isn't like I'm just acting, being in costume makes me someone else, but still myself. For example, back to Ichigo here, his hair renders him different at first glance. Well, my chair often has the same effect on me in the crowd. His hair labels him and the appearance of disability can label me. Ichigo keeps his grades up in order to challenge those labels and expectations. Well ditto me when it came to school. As for the weird attention there's nothing like difference to bring that on. But you see Ichigo and I we're both fighters, whatever challenges our lives throw at us, we don't back down. At university commencement the speaker instructed us to"Shake the gates of Hell. To make a difference." Well, showing up in the mainstream on a regular basis to demonstrate my ability and significance is how I shake those gates. Cosplaying my favorite fighters sparks up my own laughter courage and vitality, as I go forth on my own. In the words of Howard Thurman,"Don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Thank you.
Kamand:
Okay. Welcome back. I'm here with Jessica. Thanks for sharing your fascinating story. I really believe all of us with different disabilities are fighters. I can see your boldness and bravery. You have a talent for turning any negative attitude into a positive one? What message would you like your audience to get from this story?
Jessica:
Well, hmmm! You say? I have a gift for turning in a negative situation, into a positive one. Well, I'd say, that love is always been a factor in that. Whether it's a, whether it's a love for learning or a challenge or the joy that Cosplay brings myself and others. Another big thing is that, I probably wouldn't have gotten where I am today without the love and support in my family has always been, I mean, I mean a a big factor that really has helped me stay in the game when times get tough(laughs). Um, But again, this has also been very much about doing what I love and being accepted for it,(laughs). Yeah, I would say. Do what you love,(laughs) yeah!
Kamand:
Okay. Cool, thank you. I also noticed you've been traveling a lot and you spend some time in Japan, am I right?.
Jessica:
You're right. I did travel to Japan. It had been a dream of mine. I did so as part of a delegation sent to share our perspectives on disability, rights and culture. I remember being amazed by the level of accommodation we were given as we explored Tokyo and the surrounding area, only to learn that it was mostly because we were guests. Guests are a big deal in Japan. Our mixed ability group of delegates and volunteers drew quite a few weird looks as we explored Tokyo, because I don't think they were used to seeing such a big group of people with, ah, disabilities out and about just enjoying things, back then. Disability seemed a bit more behind closed doors then, but this cultural exchange seemed aimed at changing that. Challenging it by, you know, sometimes just, just going about exploring the city and hanging out(laughs) together. As well as discussing, as well as discussing what could be done. Yeah! Mmm! It was a real delight, exploring, seeing the sites, exploring the parks, um, actually getting to see Taiko drum performances. Every day was a new discovery, yeah. I was exploring different parts of the city, as we were again, taking in, um, cultural performances, or as we were helping out, as we actually were just helping out with our volunteer work at a local bird park. Just, just to, just as a bit of an act of goodwill and things like that. I mean, there's so much, it was such an exciting place, it was a real delight, and people were definitely very, um, we're definitely happy to try and practice their English with you, I noticed(laughs), when we were in Japan.
MsBoye:
Would you go there again?
Jessica:
Ah, I've been dreaming about going back for years(laughs). Of course, traveling is a little bit more difficult these days. But I would definitely go back, and, and check it out again. There were just so many beautiful places that I wanted to take my mom back there someday and show her a lot of the beautiful scenery. Um, the beautiful temples and gardens and things like that or of course, places like Akihabara where someone like me who's into anime and cosplay is just in hog heaven, because they have so many shops and arcades and things there, yeah.
MsBoye:
Did you see many other people with disabilities? Japanese, folks with disabilities?
Jessica:
No, I, I can't say that we really did. That's the thing, that's why sometimes it seemed a little shocking to most of the people or to some of the people around us to see us out and about like, that. As I said before, it's kind of, I got the feeling that maybe disability was a little bit more behind closed doors. I don't know, I haven't been back there, so I don't know how it's changed. They certainly seem to be showing more people with disabilities in their media. Um, um, and even their Manga and stuff like that. That's something that I've noticed in recent years, but when I went in 2005, I don't think they had anything like ADA or anything like that, yeah..
MsBoye:
Jessica, what I loved about your story was how you really showed how the Cosplay community is really inclusive and that's been your experience?
Jessica:
It is very warm, because you have to understand that these conventions, these people are very passionate about the shows and the comics and the movies and they just want to be with other people who love things the way they love them.
MsBoye:
Right, I love that!
Jessica:
Yeah, as, as I pointed out in the piece, I was nervous when I got to the convention, because I didn't know how I would be seen, but they just welcomed me right in...
MsBoye:
mm-hhh!
Jessica:
...without skipping a beat.
MsBoye:
And even though, um, up until more recently, there haven't been many characters in manga or anime that were disabled, right? Or their journey is about becoming undisabled, or getting fixed in some way.
Jessica:
Although there are, there are Manga that do now, cover topics like, yeah, I know that one that I came across as something called"Real", that was all about wheelchair basketball.
MsBoye:
Oh,? Cool!
Jessica:
It's been a few years since I've saw it, but it was beautifully done. I mean, the artist really captured the, the speed and the motion of the, of the game play, ball. Also, but also having someone who was, able-bodied kind of, um, learning about this, er whole new world that kind of opened up to him.
MsBoye:
Right!
Jessica:
Or even there was another person in this, in that same Manga who sustained an injury, a spinal cord injury at the beginning of the Manga and they were a star player, but they had to learn to adapt.
MsBoye:
Mm-hmm.
Jessica:
Yeah.
MsBoye:
So you, would you encourage other people with disabilities to go be a part of, uh, to investigate joining that community if they're into that kind of thing?
Jessica:
Oh, definitely!
MsBoye:
Okay.
Jessica:
Because, I mean, yeah, part of, um, what I love doing what I did because I've always liked, as I said, I've loved costuming and acting since I was little.
MsBoye:
Mm-hmm.
Jessica:
But the other part of it is I, I get out there and do it, not just because I love it because, but because if there's anyone on the fence, that's like, Maybe I'd like to try and do that?". Well, maybe I figured that if I, that if I show up to these conventions, if someone sees a picture of me or maybe they see me when they they're at the convention, but they're not in cosplay or something like that, Hey, maybe I can, maybe I can do this too?".
MsBoye:
Right!
Jessica:
"Maybe I can do this too?" And it's not just people with disabilities, I'm around, I've seen other people that were shy about... I've met other people that were shy about cosplay, but seeing me get out there and jump in and do it, helped them get up.
MsBoye:
Is there something about Cosplay that because you're playing a different character and this relates to the other question, the second question I really wanted to ask you, when you're playing another character, your real self doesn't have to be as vulnerable, you know? That's why shy people can do it. And I, what I'm interested in is most of the characters, I see pictures of you playing, are, male, what's that experience like, um, and why is that?
Jessica:
Why Cross Play? Well, initially, one of the reasons why I wasn't playing a lot of the female roles is sometimes the outfits. I don't like the style of clothing.(They laugh) They can be they can feel skimpy and things like that sometimes. Um, I guess I haven't found the right character yet in that respect. That doesn't mean I'm not looking. It's also fun to just get out there and play. I don't know. I have a lot of fun playing these roles and somehow I can pull them off rather well.(laughs).
MsBoye:
It is yeah, yeah!.
Jessica:
And just, I guess also just exploring those energies and things like that too. And the thing about cosplay is, yeah, it, it does put you in a position where you can kind of get out of your shell, but it also helps you to find parts of yourself that maybe you didn't even know, you had.
MsBoye:
Right.
Jessica:
Like, in taking on other roles that you can then pull out in other circumstances outside of Cosplay.
MsBoye:
Yeah. Yeah. I see that. Have you noticed that you feel different in the world when you play, uh, when you're being a boy, you know, like just, I'm going to take this on and I, do I talk to people differently? Do I engage more?
Jessica:
Well, I do. I do well in general I tend to engage more. The other thing is I've never really come up against it,now, I've never really come up against any criticisms or anything like that. Or if anyone thinks, if anyone has any problems with my Cosplay, they've never been able to, they've never come up and said anything.
MsBoye:
Right.
Jessica:
But that's probably because when I'm sitting around in these Cosplays, if anyone has any criticisms, they probably think,"If I say anything to this person, they're going to kick my ass."(They both laugh) Yeah, that character in a wheelchair is gonna probably kick my ass!
MsBoye:
Yeah, really? As an actor, I've played roles that were written for men and, and I just got cast in them and, and it's, it's a different way of inhabiting your body. And, and when you're trying to get into that character, you have, like you said, the different energies of yourself that you get to find.
Jessica:
Yes. And it's also been interesting that, that when I first started doing Cosplay, it was very common that no matter what, the character that I was playing, I would get that question,"What happened?" When I first started going to conventions, which I think I've been going since about 2007.
MsBoye:
Mm-hmm!
Jessica:
Um, there weren't as many people with disabilities, not many, as many people in chairs at the conventions when I first started going, but I've seen the numbers steadily increase, more with more people being in cosplay.
MsBoye:
Right, that's cool.
Jessica:
And some of us incorporate the chairs and will find roles that incorp...that have chairs or incorporate the chairs into the costumes that they make, the props that they make. I guess the chair's just the way I get around(laughs).
MsBoye:
Right! Yeah. The episode is called dressing up so, is there any last thing you want to say?
Jessica:
I don't know where this fits in, but I was just thinking about the other reason why I do it is I just love the reactions that it gets from people of all ages. All the way from, from little kids, all the way their parents. I'm seeing little kids just run up, ask for my, ask for a picture or ask for a hug or something like that. But I've also seen their parents turn into little kids at the sight of my characters too and, and that's one of the major reasons why I do it. It's just how much joy it brings to so many people of all ages.
MsBoye:
Perfect!
Kamand:
Well, great chatting with you, Jessica. I'm so glad you were able to come and share your experience and enthusiasm with our audience.
MsBoye:
Thank you so much, Jessica. Bye!
Jessica:
Bye!
MsBoye:
Bye!
Kamand:
You've been listening to The True Tales by Disability Advocates. Our show was hosted by me Kamand Alaghehband. This episode is produced by Kaye Love and is edited and mixed by Ms.Boye and Brittany Sessum. Special thanks to our guests, Jessica Guerrero and Renee Lopez. And don't forget to like us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Kristen Gooch:
All episodes of The True Tales by Disability Advocates are free on Apple podcast, Spotify and anywhere you get your podcast this program is funded in part by a grant from the Texas State Independent Living Council, the Administration for Community Living and individuals like you. To learn more about The Speaking Advocates Program, sign up for our newsletter at artsparktexas.org, that's A R T S P A R K T X dot O R G. This free virtual training program is open to people of all disabilities, no matter where you live.
