Sasha Trabane went viral - and then saw the ugly side of the internet
As a part of a recent article I was fortunate enough to interview Sasha Trabane, also known among the fandom and cosplay community as the TARDIS Princess. A photo of her brilliant TARDIS dress cosplay went viral on the internet on websites such as Gizmodo, Fanboy Fashion, boingboing.net, and Mental Floss. She even created a TARDIS Princess fan page for her newfound viral stardom.
Despite all of this positivity, Sasha saw a very ugly side to the internet community. She faced an onslaught of body shamers and bullies online, and is now sharing the story of how she overcame the hate.
Anonymity and a feeling of lack of responsibility for one’s actions make internet bullying and shaming more prevalent than ever for someone who’s pictures flood the internet. It seems no one can become big on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, or the E-News without being criticized and berated. What makes people so willing to attack other people from behind a keyboard, saying things they would never say in real life? We may never know, but we can follow Sasha’s example by turning other’s hate into our strength. Sasha’s story of body confidence despite the internet trolls and haters is an inspirational one and should be shared far and wide to let the world wide web know: body shaming is not ever acceptable, and to always be proud of the body you’re in.
Sasha said: “Even prior to internet stardom, I’d always been a person who stands out in a crowd, via my personality.”
“I’d always loved costumes but felt I couldn’t find my niche among friends at the time”. Fortunately for her and many others, cosplaying helped her feel accepted into a close knit community. Cosplay is short for costume play, and cosplayers dress as various interpretations of characters or iconic figures for everything from conventions to professional photo shoots.
“It wasn’t until I found cosplay that I began to feel accepted”, Sasha said. “That was the greatest experience in the world, no longer feeling like an outcast from society.”
Cosplayers almost always agree that the positive attention and community atmosphere , as well as creative genius that goes into costume design and creation, are the best parts of the experience.
However, it’s not all glitz and glamour. Sasha’s seemingly overnight internet fame for her brilliant costume and gorgeous photograph also created the circumstances that led to her horrible experience with internet bullies.
“My worst experience came with the Internet fame. There is something about the emotional disconnect people have over the Internet that they don’t portray face-to-face”.
While the internet is a great tool, especially for artists and creatives, to express themselves and share their work, internet bullying has become a massive problem in recent years. The internet promotes a type of anonymity where people don’t feel responsible for their words and actions.
Sasha’s image spread like wildfire.
She said: “The TARDIS Princess flooded the internet over night it seemed. There was a bombardment of people who admired my creation. However, then the judgmental comments rolled in; not about my dress, but on my body. Body shamers were commenting about how overweight I was and just saying awful things that you would never say to someone. From there my fans took it into their own hands defending me against those who were body shaming me.”
Luckily, Sasha’s internet fame brought her many loyal fans in addition to the haters. Many people who deal with internet bullying don’t have people to come to their defense. But even then, her fan’s defense became part of the problem.
“I was contacted personally by one of the body shamers to stop the bullying from my fans. But what was I to do at this point? I didn’t have the TARDIS Princess page, I didn’t know how to contact so many people….”
It seems outrageous to call those defending her the “bullies” in this situation.
The uncalled for attention was very hard to keep up with for Sasha.
“The internet is so vast and I was just trying to keep up with the articles being written about me. With each article that would pop up, and each share of my pictures, comments would ensue and it would reignite the fire. Pages that would share my picture would then have to deal with the body shamers and those who stood up to them. The conflict still continues as my picture pops up every so often.”
Sasha had been feeling great about herself prior to the hater’s comments, and luckily, today is feeling positive again, but it was an uphill battle. She said: “At the time of the picture, I was at my lowest weight. I had been in a good place, going to the gym every day and eating healthy, I felt so good about myself. Then all of a sudden, reading all these comments, my self esteem took a really big hit. Suddenly I didn’t feel the same way about myself. I even started to believe the negative things people were saying about me.”
Sasha eventually found the courage to realize that the negativity should and would not affect her confidence and outlook, and her comment below is an incredible statement and push back against body shaming and bullying everywhere.
“The positive comments helped, but it wasn’t until I started thinking about how all these people who were so negative and how none of them should matter to me that I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I found myself after a month of depression. I want to share the fact that I was shaken by people who write nasty things only to cause pain and anxiety to those who are different, whom they don’t approve of, but I thank them. I thank them only because I have become a stronger person. I am who I am and I will not change for anyone but myself. I may never have found that out if it hadn’t been for cosplay.”
Like most women, Sasha still struggles with worries about body image from time to time. “I do have my worries every so often, but more so when pictures are taken. Only because of my experience, and I want to make sure it’s a picture I approve of, to reduce the risk of similar incidents occurring.”
Despite this, Sasha continues to be a great example to those facing body shaming and cyber bullying everywhere. Her experience has made her a stronger person and her viral fame gives her a platform to speak out against body shaming and cyber bullying. Sasha stands out as a true role model when it comes to staying strong, courageous, and body positive, even in the face of bullies. Her story can help remind others- whether you’re an internet star or there are just nasty people creeping on your prof pic- that you are so much stronger and better than the anonymous cowards behind the keyboard.
Interviewing Sasha gave me a much needed reminder that our worth is not based on how others see us, but on the wonderful, diverse, and talented human beings we are. Perhaps those who have faced body shaming will even have the courage to stand up to the haters, as Sasha did, and thank them for making them that much of a stronger person.
Sasha kept her head held high and her crown on, and is a reminder that everyone else can, too.