Kilala sina Dinny Grayson bilang bantog na cosplayer sa Pilipinas na mayroong di bababa sa isang daang characters na na-cosplay sa kanilang lookbook.
Na-cosplay na nila si Harley Quinn ng DC, Jim Hawkins ng Disney’s Treasure Island at mga anime characters, video game characters at kahit pa si Critical Role na galing sa popular na Dungeons ang Dragons campaign ni Matt Mercer.
Bilang manlalaro ng League of Legends, na-cosplay na din nila ang iba’t-ibang characters mula sa Runeterra katulad nila Ahri, Miss Fortune, Akali, Seraphine, at Jinx.
Oo, sila, hindi siya.
Nag-iidentify sila Dinny Grayson bilang non-binary
“Right now, I am comfortably non-binary,” ani nila Dinny Grayson sa ONE Esports.
“That means I don’t follow the rules of being stereotypically male or stereotypically female. I prefer being neither. I prefer being just me and gender doesn’t have to be part of that equation.”
Preperensiya din nina Dinny ang mga pronouns na they/them at matagal na silang ganito. Kahit pa nabubuhay sa lipunang dinidiktahan kung ano ang dapat gawin ng lalake at babae, tingin nina Dinny na nakalilito ang ganitong gender expectations.
“When I was a child, I’d be told ‘this is the boys’ section and this is the girls’ section.’ I was so confused, why does there have to be a boys and girls section? I don’t care if I’m not a boy, just let me be there,” sabi nina Dinny.
Paano i-cosplay nila ang mga lalake at babaeng characters
Hindi nakikita nina Dinny ang importansiya ng gender roles. Sinisiyasat din nila ang ganitong uri ng pilosopiya sa pag-cosplay.
Malaki ang naging ambag ng pag-cocosplay sa kanila para hanapin ang tunay nilang gender identity at maging kumportable kung sino sila. Kahit pa lalake o babae ang i-cocosplay, hindi importante kila Dinny kung swak ito sa kanilang gender identity.
“I don’t really care or mind if this character is supposed to be a male or female. It’s just another challenge for me to portray that character. I take gender out of the equation completely.”
Bilang isang propesyunal na cosplayer, natutunan din nila Dinny na paghiwalayin ang kanilang sarili sa characters na isinasabuhay nila.
“I really look at cosplay as an art. When I don a costume, whether it’s this super manly man or this hyper-feminine sexy lady, I’m thinking I’m that character,” said Dinny. “Din is not in the equation. I don’t feel uncomfortable because that’s how the character is supposed to look like.”
May mga karakter na “hyper-feminine” o di kaya naman ay “hyper-masculine”, pero para kila Dinny, mga katangian lamang ito na kailangan nilang kuhanin para mabigyang buhay ang mga karakter.
Masaya sina Dinny sa pagdiskubre ng mundo gamit ang pag-cosplay. Binibigyan nito sina Dinny ng pagkakataong makita at maranasan ang buhay ng mga karakter na ito, kahit ano pang kasarian, at walang bahid ng panghuhusga.
“One time, I was at a convention and everyone really saw me as the guy character I was cosplaying. They never questioned who I was underneath. I was able to find where I’m comfortable. That’s how I see cosplay relating to yourself because then you can see how you want to be more like that character and apply it to your real life,” banggit nina Dinny.
Ginagamit nina Dinny Grayson ang kanilang plataporma para maturuan ang iba
Dahil sa patuloy pa rin ang laban ng LGBTQ+ community para makuha ang pagtanggap ng lipunan, alam nina Dinny Grayson na ang diskurso patungkol sa non-binary gender ay bago pa.
Kaya naman pakiramdam nila ay kailangan nilang magsalita tungkol dito at gamitin ang plataporma nila para maturuan ang mga tao.
“I need to tell myself it’s okay to be misgendered by people and it’s okay to have people still call me Miss. Maybe they just don’t know about all these weird gender stuff that’s new to a lot of people. So, I want to educate them and tell them about it,” banggit nina Dinny.
Alam nila na marami pa ang hindi tanggap ang landas na tinahak nila kaya naman kinukuha nila ang bawat tiyansang ituro ang pagiging non-binary sa ibang tao lalo na ang kanilang mga fans.
“You should be kind to everyone. Respect everyone and you’ll get respect back. I’m thankful I’ve found people who have been very open with my journey, not just in cosplay, but with my own identity. It’s great,” dagdag nina Dinny.
‘It’s okay to be confused’ payo nina Dinny Grayson
Para naman sa mga taong hindi pa alam kung ano sila, may mensahe sina Dinny para sa inyo.
“It’s okay to be confused. In fact, I still don’t know. Right now, I’m non-binary but maybe down the line, I’ll want to refer as something else,” ani ni Dinny.
“It’s okay to change and to progress over time. People feel like they need to put a label on themselves right away. Here’s me telling you that you don’t have to. If your label is ‘confused’, come join me. Let’s be confused together.”
Maaari mong i-follow at suportahan sina Dinny Grayson sa kanilang pages sa Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Patreon.
