Portrait of a Fangirl is a web series created by Temple of Geek. At the core of the project is the importance of telling the stories of women who have found inspiration, growth, and power through fandom. In this episode, we interview Jade Valkyrie, who creates an entire spectrum of geeky and geek-adjacent content.
Portrait of a Fangirl: Episode Seven – Jade Valkyrie
Jade Valkyrie has a passion for creating diverse and inclusive communities that embrace geeks of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. She does that as a cosplayer, as a host, through her social media accounts, and through her Twitch community.
One of the things that fascinated us about Jade was her ability to be open with the fandom community while also setting up healthy boundaries for herself. Meaning that she is willing to be open and vulnerable about her struggles in life and fandom, but she also has a healthy understanding of when she needs to step back or draw a line. She is a bright spot in the cosplay and gaming community. Her Twitch channel bio reads “I stream wherever the serotonin is.”
You can learn more about Jade Valkyrie by following her on Instagram as @jadevalkyrie.
Portraits
This idea began as a photography project with the goal of capturing the rich and diverse manifestations of fangirling. We wanted to take portraits of geeky women as a way to celebrate their fandoms. We soon came to realize that, even though a picture—as the cliché goes—is indeed worth a thousand words, these women have stories to tell that require a more robust mode of storytelling. Our photos hope to break the stereotype and their stories are meant to praise their vast and unique expression—from sports to music, movies to books and history, and countless other fandoms.
We photographed Jade Valkyrie a few years apart. Once in early 2019 and again in 2021. Jade also provided photos from her personal collection. These photos only scratch the surface of who Jade is. However, they do begin to tell a story about who she is as a fangirl.
For more Fangirl stories, check out:
Alice Fanchiang- Portrait of a Fangirl – Episode Five
Tiffany Michelle Cagle – Portrait of a Fangirl: Episode Four
Victoria Male –Portrait of a Fangirl – Episode Three
Jordan Ellis- Portrait of a Fangirl – Episode Two
Utahime Cosplay – Portrait of a Fangirl – Episode One
Produced by Monica Duarte, Tiffany Cagle, Madison Morrow, and Nathaniel Peinado.
Camera Operator: Kelsy Joy Jarboe
Photography by Rus and Sebastian Sturtevant – Point Blank Shot Photography.
Additional photos were provided by Jade Valkyrie.
This episode of Portrait of a Fangirl was sponsored by That Hashtag Show.
Portrait of a Fangirl theme “Girls Say” by Coyote Hearing
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