Speaking at UNIQUES, the equality festival that aims to make inclusion topics concrete and accessible to everyone, the legendary Vinii Revlon, a pillar of the voguing scene in France and father of the House of Revlon, answered our questions about the representation and inclusion of LGBT+ people.
At what moment did you realize that your difference could be a strength?
Vinii Revlon : I don’t think I understood it right away. For a long time, my difference was something people made me feel like a problem. Then I understood that everything we tried to hide about me was exactly what could make me unique. My difference became my strength the day I stopped trying to fit into a box. I decided to take up all the space that people didn’t want to give me.
What makes you the most proud today?
What makes me the most proud is seeing how far I have managed to take the little boy I was. To see that who I am, my story, my culture, my difference, could become a strength for me but also for others. And above all, I am proud to create spaces where people who did not feel represented can finally look at themselves and say: “Me too, I have a place here.”
What do you think is the greatest inequality still affecting LGBT people?
For me, it’s still access to the freedom to be oneself. On paper, we may have rights, but in reality not everyone can live their identity with the same freedom, the same safety, and the same peace. Depending on your social background, your skin color, your gender, your family, or where you live, your experience can be completely different. Equality should not exist only in texts; it must exist in life.
What makes one feel included, in a school, a company, in society?
Feeling included means feeling that you don’t need to transform yourself to be accepted. It’s being able to be yourself without fear of being judged, discriminated against, or sidelined. And it also comes through representation. When you see people who look like you in positions of power, in the media, in culture, in companies, you understand that these places are also yours.
Which LGBT representation affected you the most while growing up?
Honestly, the lack of representation affected me almost more than representation itself. When you grow up not seeing many people who look like you, you can feel that your story doesn’t exist or has no value. That’s also why representation is so important to me today. I want to be the person I would have liked to see when I was younger.
What message would you like to convey to a young LGBT person who feels they don’t have a place?
I would tell them: your place doesn’t need to be validated by others. It already exists. Don’t let anyone convince you that you have to be less yourself to be accepted. Your identity is not a weakness. Your story is not a shame. And sometimes, the family you choose can become as important as the one you were born into. Keep moving forward, because the world you imagine for yourself can truly become your reality.
>> The UNIQUES festival, of which têtu· is a partner, takes place on September 12 at the Cité du Cinéma, in Saint-Denis. Free admission.
