I Want to Be Naked

Hi, my name is Dee, but you may know me as DeLa Doll. I’m a cosplayer and blogger in addition to being a college student, a mom, and a generally artsy nerd. My writing has been featured on The Huffington Post, and my cosplays have been featured on various platforms as well. Now, you’re probably wondering about my post title. Yes, you read it right. I do. I absolutely do. I want to be naked, or rather, I want the option to be naked. I want to be afforded the complete bodily autonomy that is afforded to the wealthy eccentrics and the self employed artists. I want to be self sufficient enough that I have the option to post photos of myself stark naked with the confidence that I will not lose my job or be otherwise disciplined for feeling good about my body and engaging in a little harmless exhibitionism. That may make some people uncomfortable, but that’s the truth. Why do I associate nudity with artistic freedom and financial independence? Well, maybe I’m a sucker for metaphors, and maybe I’m kind of a pervert. Who knows?

I wear many faces, but are any the face of a pervert? The world may never know.

With this in mind, I’m not saying that I want a career in nude modeling (though I have thought about it, but I like wearing a costumes just a bit more than wearing nothing at all), but I am using that freedom to make a point:

I want to be self-employed. 

I want to be my own boss. Completely self sufficient. An independent artist, but one without that whole cliché “starving” part. I want a career in multimedia content creation, specifically writing and cosplay. This is me being upfront and honest about my goals and intentions in a concrete way. My passions are writing and creating. Through my involvement in the cosplay community, I have been able to explore them in ways I would never have been able to otherwise. I’ve received opportunities to write for large publications like The Huffington Post. I’ve been able to attend conventions and events like Holiday Matsuri and DragonCon as official press. Now, I’m getting to the point where I am being invited to conventions and other cosplay/gaming/nerdy events as an official cosplay guest. I want to continue to do this, but such things require capital (that’s a fancy word for money). 

hameless plug, but while we’re on the topic, I’ll be a cosplay guest at WasabiCon this year! Buy a pass and come see me <3

I don’t want to have to turn down opportunities that will help me in my journey, but life is expensive and time consuming. I’m in school, I’m a mom, and I make minimum wage working at my college. Cosplay and keeping up with my website require time and money. I don’t want to stop doing what I enjoy, and so I want to turn it into a living. I have wanted to be a content creator of sorts for a while, one who can support herself and her daughter through her art. I want to get to a point where my writing and cosplay pay my bills, and I know that I have the skills and talent for that to happen, and so I am going to make it happen, but that’s what artists do. They create. I’m creating space for myself to flourish by putting my goals out there and making them known. On my official social media accounts, I have over 5000 followers on Facebook, and nearly 2000 each on Twitter and Instagram. On my website, I average a couple thousand views per post. Surely, there are people out there who enjoy my work and want to see me succeed and go further in the cosplay and blogging world.

I have tried my hand at the popular artist platform Patreon before, but until recently, I hadn’t found my footing. Now, I know what I have to offer and what I want to do, and I’m not afraid to be real about anything. I support artists and creators who’s content I enjoy, and I feel that I deserve support as well. No, nobody has to do anything for the artists whose media they consume, but I think it would be cool if everyone valued art in the same ways. Even so, not everyone has the ability to do so financially, and that’s totally fine! For those who want to and are are able, here is a little bit about me and what I have to offer in exchange for your support on Patreon:

• Cosplay Tutorials (I’m often asked about how I went about making certain things, what products I used, etc.)
• Cosplay Polls to Determine Which Characters I Cosplay Next
• Exclusive blog posts
• Gaming and cosplay creation live streams (when I reach my first 25 patron goal)
• Cosplay Photosets (SFW and NSFW ranging from cosplay photoshoots of well known characters to more risqué, pin-up styled photosets inspired by different characters or original character designs created by me)
• Exclusive discount codes in my merch shop

As things progress, I’ll be able to add more to this list. For now, this is what I’m able to do, and what I’m happy doing. If that floats your boat, you can pledge now for as little as $1 (You can check out the upcoming rewards rewards for August pledges here). 

Even if you can’t pledge right now, but still think my work is super neato, you can still show support by:

• Following me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• Subscribing to this very website so that you get updates when I make a new post
• Sharing, liking, and commenting on my posts when you see them

That’s how I like to support my fellow artists, and you can do it too! In this way, you can help me be theoretically, hypothetically naked.

~DeLa Doll

 

DeLaDoll

DeLa Doll is a culture writer, cosplayer, and artist based in Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2016, with some of her work being featured on sites like HuffPo and /Film. She is an advocate for meaningful diversity and representation in media, a gamer, a mom, and an avid user of DIY hair dye.