#espera/vesselettes/choir version

[sleepanonymous]

I can't remember exactly where I saw it or even if it's true, but I've read somewhere that the Espera girls said they do not like being called "The Vesselettes" because it's demeaning, or something along those lines, yet you continue to refer to them as such. Why? Isn't that disrespectful? Please do not take this question as an attack on you by the way, I'm simply curious as to your reasons for it.

Hello Anon 🖤 Ty for the question, I'm happy to answer it, actually.

TLDR Answer #1: I'm too lazy to go back and change 100+ tags. TLDR Answer #2: I keep the #the vesselettes tag for visibility, especially for new or casual fans.

For a longwinded answer, Espera technically have three names: Espera, the official name for the background trio; The Choir, which encompasses their identities/part in Sleep Token; and The Vesselettes, which is a fandom created name given to the trio before they revealed their identities. I have actually called them Espera in the non-utility tags, and I've also thought about adding/editing the tags as well to include #espsera and/or omit #the vesselettes. It's just... a lot at this point 😅 Also in my mind Espera does not equal Sleep Token, but The Vesselettes and The Choir does equal Sleep Token.

As far as I know, and with a tiny bit of research, the girls in Espera didn't say they disliked being called The Vesslettes, only that they preferred to be called Espera. Granted this was in an Espera Q&A that was on the Espera Instagram page (hence why Espera does not equal Sleep Token in my mind). I wasn't present, and I haven't found a screen recording of the Q&A, but the consensus is that they didn't specifically state they disliked the term "Vesselettes" or found it offensive. The reasoning behind their preference is because they're a for-hire group and work with different artists outside of Sleep Token.

The its disrespectful point of view most likely came from fandom doing it's thing and expanding on what was said with their own feelings. There's been a lot of discourse I've seen on Reddit and in the band's Discord about the fan name. Its one of the things brand new fans or casual fans get jumped on for doing when there's actually nothing inherently wrong with what they've said. Case and point:

In addition to my extremely unnescessarily long-winded answer: the lady who claims to have coined the name "The Vesselettes" is actually a very lovely, fellow nerodivergent, woman. She's been using the name for over two years now, and (from what I can tell) it has picked up in popularity between fans. She never intended for this sort of discourse to happen; it was never disrespectful, demeaning, or sexist in any way.

Also if you want to get super ultra technical Vessel's name is not Vessel and he's literally the First Vessel of Sleep, or I, but fans kept referring to him as "Vessel" instead of "I" and it stuck and he rolled with it because early band lore was kind of a mess for reasons i probably cannot safely get into

ANYWAY if I have actually missed something, and Espera have publicly stated "Do not Call us the Vesselettes" or "We do not like the name Vesselettes," then please tell me and give me sources and I will force myself to correct all of the tags on my blog.