Cinzia Musio (she/they) is a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and Interim CEO of Code Coven.
Cinzia kindly agreed to share their experiences.
Thank you Cinzia!
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I’m Cinzia, a bisexual non-binary woman! I live in the UK, and have been for over 12 years now. When I moved to the UK, I worked in pubs, backpackers hostels, and customer service jobs. I slowly managed to make my way into working in the video games industry. Starting in a technical role, I worked my way towards working within my true passion: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. I now work full-time on it, both as a consultant for various video games studios, and as the Interim CEO for Code Coven, a great organisation that helps people of marginalised genders get into the games industry!
2. Tell us a bit about your own mental health experiences and being LGBTQ+?
My experience with gender and being bisexual came about quite late in life – A lot of it was due to heteronormativity – I kind of thought everyone around me felt the same way about women, so never thought to look any further! I experienced a lot of trauma growing up and into early adulthood, so any thinking about gender and sexuality didn’t come about until I was more settled in life, and ready to think about myself a bit more. Gender, in particular, was one that I only ever got to sit and think about during the pandemic – As our societal pressure to perform in our gender stopped being so present, I got to realise that the parts of womanhood I most associated with were to do with being brought up as a girl, and the experiences of discrimination around it. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud of the journey I took and where it lead me!!
3. What do you think LGBTQ+ people can learn from your experiences?
So much of my formative years were spent not thinking about my own experience with life and who I love – I do kind of regret not understanding myself more early, so I hope you can spend time sitting with how you feel and how your experience around attraction & gender feels, and not be ashamed of it. But equally, it’s never too late to rethink who you are!! When I came to understand myself, I was able to assert who I was, unashamedly. If people around you refuse to acknowledge your identity, and it is safe to do so – Cut them out. You are allowed to be you.
4. If you had one message for LGBTQ+ people what would it be?
It’s so important to acknowledge and celebrate each other, it’s very easy to only see your own experience with discrimination and struggling, and forget others may have a completely different experience. It isn’t a contest, and we can never forget about intersectionality when it comes to LGBTQ+ identities. Anyone that says they are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, believe them. It took so long to accept I was bisexual because I had been in relationship with men, and so for the longest time when I finally came to accept that I was bisexual, I didn’t feel that I was allowed to be a part of the community, because my experience was so different than most LGBTQ+ people I knew at the time. There is space for all of us, and strength is in numbers, so let’s put ourselves together and move towards a more open and inclusive world for all LGBTQ+ people!
5. Is there anything you want to add to the interview that we haven’t captured here already?
I’m so proud and hopeful for the new generation of LGBTQ+ people who are finding community and being so brave and forward with their inclusivity – so much of my journey to understand myself wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for the new wave of social media and people’s openness with their own experiences, so I encourage you all to continue forging the path, refuse to take no for an answer when it comes to being treated with the basic human decency and respect we all deserve, and fight the good fight! <3
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