Thread by @TheOperaGeek

Just a smol thread:

There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding, quite often, about being a personality/brand.

I've been asked a lot if 'The #OperaGeek' is a fake personality or character, since I've said that my public persona can be different from me privately.
No.

1/7

When you are a public-facing artist/performer/creator, you ARE the product. You are what you sell. That is indisputable.

What is ALSO indisputable is you can't keep up a solid brand 24/7 as today's environment requires if that brand isn't also YOU.

People don't like fake.

2/7

Where the misunderstanding comes in is thinking that the entirety of my (or anyone's) life is up for public consumption; that artists/creators aren't allowed to hold back any part of themselves.

That, my hedgehogs, is some grade-A bullshit.

3/7

Being a performer, artist, or content creator - and the lines can blur often - is a job.

Is it work we love? Yes. Is it still work? Yes.

So now imagine if your boss/co-workers demanded to know all aspects of your private life/past/personality in order to keep your job.

4/7

You, the consumer, are not entitled to know everything about a public personality's life.

You are not entitled to facts about their private life, demand details, or become angry when you don't get it.

There are parts of anyone's life that aren't for public consumption.

5/7

So when you respond with, "Oh, so its just a character" when we try to explain this, you are insinuating that if we don't give every aspect of ourselves for public view, we are fake.

Again. Grade-A bullshit.

6/7

"The Opera Geek" is me. Always has been, always will be. But that doesn't mean that the public part of my life is my ENTIRE self, nor does it mean people are entitled to it.

Keep this thread in mind when you interact with creators in the public realm (or anyone, really).

~fin~