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Interview

Muriel

Do you know who's the new champion of LGBTQ+ rights and body positivity? The beautiful and colourful Muriel. We at TheCornerZine have had the immense pleasure of meeting her in the happiest month of the year, and we've got to know a girl full of ideas and with a burning desire to speak up. Don't waste another second and find out more about Muriel, our LGBTQ+ icon of the month!

Hello Muriel, if you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be and why?

I’d describe myself as empathetic and a creative dreamer, because I was born under the sign of Pisces and I often like to fantasise about my future and goals. I also want to understand the stories of the people I meet and, finally, I like to create things. Taking videos, drawing, listening to music, playing dress up, decorating the walls of my room....everything and more!

Muriel

I’d love to live in a freer way. It may be a cliché, but you just have one life and it's absurd that some people think they have the right to decide for your body, your tastes, your appearance and lifestyle.

The first time we met was on the set of a photo shoot where you were modeling. Today, you’re an entrepreneur with your own clothing line and a wallpaper designer. Which of these professions do you like the most?

Today I have a small brand, I do art and I have a store with my mother. I mainly recognize myself as an artist. My main goal is to make my brand grow. When I talk about art, I speak believing that art goes hand in hand with the act of creating. You create art by drawing a shoe, taking a picture, or making an installation. The field of art is vast and I don't want to ever put limits on it.

Today, having a beard is one of the most popular trends for men. Can you explain the reason why you decided to let it grow and how you groom it?

I’ve always liked the beard trend. I was impressed by a model from the 90’s who had a beard and really reflected those canons of beauty. Despite my booker's requests, I decided to keep my beard. I’m simply straightforward: I wash it like everyone else, nothing fancy.

Always staying on the fashion topic of look: how would you describe it? What can’t absolutely be missing from your wardrobe?

My look is simple, but complex at the same time. I prefer to wear casual jeans than classic trousers. I'm going from a look , that we could call the ‘rocker’ look, to a cleaner look. My look is about comfort; what can’t be missing from my wardrobe is a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt and a leather jacket.

You said, "My tattoos are my life, I want what’s drawn on my body to stay forever." How did this passion for tattoos come about? Which of them are you most attached to and why?

Tattoos are part of my life, their memories, their decisions, their doubts and certainties. Everything that concerns my journey. The tattoo I’m most attached to is the one I have on my right arm, it represents birds as a symbol of freedom. As to the right leg, at the end of the tattoo session, I borrowed the machine and tattooed a phrase that was important to me at that time. The passion came when I was little with the famous temporary tattoos.

Being a model, it’s important for you to take care of your body and stay healthy, and clearly you’ve done a very well job! For you, what works best? do you follow a diet in a particular way? Do you practice any type of sports?

Thank you very much (Laughs E.D). I’m very lucky and I have to thank my parents for this. I don’t follow particular diets. I'm careful not to eat too many ‘unhealthy’ foods. I prefer vegetarian and vegan dishes to meat-based ones. I like to do sports, it keeps me active and recharges me. I do go to the gym, but more so I practice many sports like soccer, karate, volleyball and CrossFit.

Talk to me about your clothing brand. Can you explain its philosophy and characteristics?

The brand is called ‘Shine on District’. It’s a mixture that embodies all my different tastes, as if it were my closet, inside of which you can find research pieces from my travels. The city that inspires me the most is New York City: in this wonderful city, you can really find every kind of style and people. Textile research is also essential.

You have an Instagram profile with almost 150K followers. What do you particularly like about the world of social media and what don't you appreciate? Have you ever been faced with criticisms that ultimately helped you in your career and beyond?

The world of social media is fun and I also experience it as a job. However, I'm not obsessed with it. I’m interested in following accounts about art and some ‘spiritual’ profiles. Social media is a great means of communication: it can make you reach a visibility that wouldn’t have been possible without it. Or, at least, definitely faster. It’s a bombardment of images, that's true, but if you make a good selection, it can be a great starting point for personal research. What I don't like about social media is their superficiality. I don't really care about the criticism I get on social media. What interests me are the critics of the people I care about.

Any big plans for the future?

For the future, I hope for unlimited happiness for my loved ones and myself.

When did you realise the job of YouTuber could be the right one for you? How did you start your career?
I started uploading videos on YouTube in 2012, but I began to take it more seriously in 2015, because my community grew more and more!

Muriel, when did you really understand who you are? And, above all, did you have moments in your life when you didn't accept yourself for what you were and tried to be a different person?
Maybe that moment still has to come, I think life is a constant discovery. Of course I can now say that I have everything under control, but when I was younger I often felt wrong, like the black sheep of the group. Anyhow, I never tried to change and homologate. I preferred to suffer and remain myself, instead of wearing a mask.

Was there anyone who advised you to leave it alone? On the contrary, who, or what, was your source of motivation, making you understand that what you were doing was really useful and right?
To be honest with you, no, nobody tried to stop me. I was and still am fortunate enough to be surrounded by fantastic friends and relatives. Maybe, sometimes the question is: "Are you sure you can earn enough? Isn't it better to find another job?", but nothing more...in the end, this is a new and sometimes complex job to understand for those who know nothing about it. My community played a fundamental role: growing more and more, I understood the weight of my words and numbers, the impact they could have on some people's lives. I like the idea of being able to help those who may feel wrong, like an old wise woman basically.

You came out on YouTube in 2016. How did you get the idea to tell something so important on such a channel? How did you approach your audience?
My channel started as an online logbook, and I’ve always been open about my life. In fact, as soon as I accepted my sexual orientation, I decided to share it online, but in a very lighthearted way. I don’t even consider it as a proper coming out. The video was entitled “The Three Things You Don’t Know About Me”, or something like that. I simply shared three new facts, such as having dropped out of university and being attracted to girls.

Recently, the singer Lizzo published a video on Instagram, where she expressed her will to have the body that she prefers and that makes her feel good both inside and outside. What do you think the greatest body positivity-related teaching you gave your community was?
Surely, patience. They often ask me: "How can you be so sure of yourself?" and it’s difficult to find an answer! Mind you, it's not that I'm this self-esteem bomb, but I learned to talk to myself, becoming aware of my body and stopping insulting myself all the time. To achieve all of this, you need to have a lot of patience, respect your time and not be in a hurry to find solutions to your problems.

This year, there’ll be no parade, or better, it won’t be the same way as last year. Anyhow, if you had to parade this month, what would be the first cause that you’d really like to address?
For sure, the transgender one. We talk about it very little here in Italy or, if we talk about it, it’s always due to the stereotype of the trans prostitute. When talking about the LGBTQ+ community, it always seems to me that reference is made to love and sexual orientation, but never to gender identity or transgender people. It'd be really nice to be able to share the right information and raise awareness also on this topic.

And what outfit would you show off at this Pride parade?
Many, many, many, many glitters. I won't say anything else.

What do you think of all those people who believe this parade is only and exclusively a circus or carnival? What’s its importance today?
The Pride parade is many things, it’s a party to celebrate and a tradition to remember who fought for us, but above all it’s important for the civil rights that are still missing, not only in Italy, but also in the rest of the world! In addition to this, now it's not only for the people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, but for all the individuals who want to take a day to celebrate themselves and feel "proud" about themselves!

Do you think perfection exists? If so, what is it?
Maybe yes, maybe no. Each one of us has a different perception of perfection, it's a concept that varies according to your sensitivity and taste. Nobody can truly decree its concrete existence.

What's the most beautiful comment you’ve ever received? How about the one that hurt you, but perhaps also strengthened you?
There are many beautiful comments, it’s too difficult to pick one. Surely knowing that I can, somehow, make people feel at ease excites me. Among the ugliest ones, I'd say death threats, because as far as I’m concerned I wouldn't wish death on my worst enemy.

What advice do you give to all the people who are bullied both on social media and in real life?
It’s difficult to give advice, those are situations that everyone manages in their own way. I think it's too easy to say: "Ignore them”. Sometimes words can seriously hurt, so much so that you can hear them rumbling in your head for years. Let time take its course, and eventually it'll pass. Sooner or later in life, you'll meet special people, so much so that you'll be able to forget all that badness. Once I finished high school, I found true friendship, and stopped caring about negative comments, because I knew that I was surrounded by wonderful people who loved me, and that was enough. I didn't want any more negativity in my life. Anyhow being able to leave negativity behind takes time, it's a long journey!

From the 13th to the 18th of June, you published, on your accounts, the “BE YOU” project, featuring some members of your community. Can you explain to me what it’s about?
Since there will be no parades, I thought it would’ve been nice to try and involve my community in this project that I’ll be carrying out, on my Instagram profile, for the whole month of June. So I decided, together with photographer and friend of mine Chiara Glionna, to create collages with portraits of some members of my community. Featuring their answers to the question: “What does it mean to be yourself?”. The name of the project came from this: I didn't want to be the only one to speak and convey messages in this project, I wanted to widen the circle of people and I couldn't help thinking about something for my community as well.

Muriel, if you had to make a wish, what would it be?
A wish? I have at least 10. I’d love to live in a freer way. It may be a cliché, but you just have one life and it's absurd that some people think they have the right to decide for your body, your tastes, your appearance and lifestyle. I just wish that people weren’t so shawl sometimes, and realise that, at the end of the day, we’re all on the same boat and living human beings.

I learned to talk to myself, becoming aware of my body and stopping insulting myself all the time. To achieve all of this, you need to have a lot of patience, respect your time and not be in a hurry to find solutions to your problems.