Illustrator Gerard Costa poses as a woman for profit – Room of Danger –

If there’s one thing that never seems to end, no matter how long it takes, it’s that some people abuse their privileges. Instead of supporting targets with this power, he undermines them for profit. And that’s what happened to the illustrator Gerard CostaWho She posed as a woman on the networks to earn from selling comics and illustrations.† But let’s start chronologically to understand what it is and why this app is still terrible.

Yesterday, 6 July 2022, cartoonist and writer Mamen Moreu publicly condemned excitement what was there signing a “companion” by profession with a female name. It is clear that many people are starting to ask themselves questions with references to such practices in the cultural sector. The author did not comment on her name or username at the time, but two names soon surfaced: Helena Anillo and Gerard Costa†

Helena Anillo’s Instagram account is devoted to comics with an ostensibly feminist twist on everyday topics. Thanks to his content during the pandemic, his followers increased and he has fourteen thousand seven hundred followers at the time of writing this article. Although it’s pretty obvious that the stage name is a nicknamesomething very normal The person behind him posed as a woman for a long time.

Besides always expressing herself in feminine terms and presenting herself as a writer, she uploaded stories as you can see above; when other authors like it Mamen Moreu they wrote to her on their networks and addressed her as if she were a woman, kept them from her mistakes and even answered interviews as they told her. Furies Magazine In December 2021, again, without removing the interviewer from his mistake, Christina Sierra† Regarding this issue, the magazine itself made an addition yesterday, assuring that they did not know the real identity of the person they were interviewing.

Although he has contributed to several publications, one important detail stands out, such as the review and subsequent publications discussed in this interview. If he’s going to defend himself in the end and hasn’t deceived anyone, why is he signing under two different names and promoting a publication as if it’s a collaboration using both a pseudonym and a real name? On this account it says: I’m about to post a story WITH @helenaanillo and then proceed to promote the sale of the publication. On the cover you will see the “signatures” of “both” authors.

Again, I want to make it clear that it is not bad practice to use pseudonyms or artistic names to sign works. For example, we all know: Flavia Ivarez What Flavit Bananaarticle Farrokh Bulsara What Freddie Mercury† This is something. Hiding behind an alias and using ignorance for financial gain is a completely different matter. Something I’ll comment on later.

Helena Ring’s true identity is revealed almost by accident. On July 5, 2022, Renfe brought together some sixty cartoonists for the book’s reprint. with humor on the AVE† Helena Anillo’s name appeared on the guest list of an event attended by almost everyone who participated in the book. However, in the article Daily Search On the same day, the following sentence appeared:

Gerard Costa explains the patient who drew it as Helena Anillo, as it’s the name of the character he’s drawing

That’s when all the alarms go off and where the first complaint came from Mamen Moreu on networks and from other people inside and outside. Before publicly presenting the case, clarification of the following is requested: Gerard Costa privately, both by phone and via text. And here’s a bunch of authors, including those already mentioned Mamen Moreu Y Flavit Bananalike Paula Bonethe believes, among other things, that he should apologize and think publicly about why what he did isn’t helping anyone.

For this reason Due to the social pressure he felt this morning, Gerard Costa made his name on Helena Anillo’s networks.† She hasn’t put anything about her real name in her Instagram bio until now. And he wrote an article about himself. Frankly, without understanding anything, let it at least be reflective.

So far I have gathered all the information more or less chronologically. I will use the platform. danger room explain Why is everything Gerard Costa has ever done harmful to both female comics writers and society at large?†

Let’s start with your explanations today.

I’ve always told you my name is not Helena. Few people know that my name is Gerard. this is completely wrong as demonstrated during this article. Also, many of the publications he worked on discovered who was behind the alias in the last twenty-four hours. If he had been upfront about his identity, he probably wouldn’t have gotten some of the jobs assigned to him. And before anyone talks about quotas or anything like that, this person is selling a supposedly feminist brand image that has been confirmed to be the opposite.

I apologize if this nickname has caused any ambiguity and offended or offended anyone. I feel bad that there are people who think I’m taking advantage of this mess. As seen in the interview Furies Magazine The use of ambiguity is deliberate.

I don’t live with it, I post the vignettes because I like it and thank you for your support from the beginning† She obviously doesn’t live with that. The comics industry in Spain is very weak and it is very difficult to work in it and stay a writer. Especially if you are into critical humor and are also a woman. There are also group photos of the event. renfe Only four of the more than seventy people are women. Two more were invited but were unable to attend due to schedule issues. If it is difficult to conquer areas that are traditionally said not to belong to us, how can we not be outraged by such a practice?

And related to that, as the title of this article suggests, all of this is designed for one purpose: to make a profit. Another thing is whether it has managed to sell a large number of comics or not. Or whether well-paying jobs were created for him as a result of his successor in the networks. He may not have made enough money to retire, but his intentions are clear. And what we criticize is the use of our gender and that is our intention. We do not want it to be used as an excuse that the benefit is more or less, because the loss is not reflected in the amount of money. But in deeds.

It started as a pun (El enanillo) and became a justification for the role of men in feminism.† And no, yes no. Can men be feminists? Of course it is, and I hope it gets even better. Is Gerard Costa a feminist? Obviously not. Feminist men, especially white heterosexual cis men who are the pinnacle of privilege, are feminists when they use all their privileges to support and steer causes. Giving loudspeakers to women and their speeches. Feminist men understand that feminism does not want to take away their privileges, it wants to give everyone exactly what they have. A feminist man does not pretend to be a woman, take up space, or use his speech for his own gain.

Don’t let privilege deprive you of empathy Is there any greater privilege than believing that actions have no consequences and that empathy is one-sided? With a minimum of empathy, Gerard Costa respected the work of comic book professionals and comic readers.

And now the best part of this post: Sign as Helena Ring and then type: I feel the disappointment. I don’t have bangs and I’m not blue either. Let’s talk about privilege again: belittling what’s happened, an obvious insult to creative women, and denying the damage this has done not just to the comic book world but to the feminist cause. By the way, by women, I mean ALL women. Another problem caused by this kind of attitude is that it gives wings to the discourse of TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminists).† Since that time danger roomand in particular the undersigned Iria Ros PineiroWe have already warned that we will condemn any tweet on Twitter that the damage done by this author is being used to attack our trans brothers and sisters.

We were not disappointed, what we are angry about because we have to face again and again the same structures that endanger us again and again. The first reactions to all this can already be seen, especially on social networks. We’ll see how the case unfolds. Because, as has been said several times in this article, the issue is much more complex and worrying than it seems.

As always, we welcome you to the networks to clear your doubts on this and other issues. And Remember, True empathy never hurt anyone.