Beauty influencer Lanie Volant always knew she was different. Learning to express herself and show the world how her differences are beautiful has been a long and difficult journey. Today, Lanie is proud to mix her passion for makeup and beauty with art and dance to create powerful messages for her followers.

Originally from Iran, Lanie was unable to practice anything even remotely feminine growing up. She was grounded for dancing and looked down upon for participating in any artsy hobbies like drawing and painting. She always had a passion for makeup, but her concern about it being taken away kept her from using it. Growing up in a religious community where queer people could be put to death made Lanie’s childhood difficult and scary. One of the things that stood out to her was that there was no one in the media like her. Thinking about how she would have liked to grow up with a role model, Lanie thought about starting a YouTube channel.

When she was sixteen, Lanie convinced her parents to let her try her hand at makeup. Upon turning seventeen, she immediately left Iran for both a safer and better life. Today, her YouTube channel has over 45,000 subscribers, and she has nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram. Her content is focused on makeup, art, dance, and speaking out about the hardships that the LBGTQ+ community faces in the Middle East. She treats YouTube like a personal diary, letting fans in on her story so they have someone to relate to. Lanie loves making content that merges her love of makeup and fashion with dancing and other art forms.

One of the most exciting things Lanie has been able to do is change people’s perspectives on LGBTQ+ youth. She receives many comments and messages from other Persian people who are able to relate to her. Others reach out to say that her content has made them understand why the oppressive culture in Iran is wrong. Lanie receives kind messages from young teens, teachers, and parents, acknowledging that they will treat the LGBTQ+ community in Iran with more respect because of her videos. Representing the Persian LGBTQ+ community and giving people a new perspective is an honor for Lanie.

With the good comes the bad: Lanie receives just as much hate online as she does kindness. A veteran of ignoring hateful messages, Lanie tries to focus on the people who support her rather than the ones who do not. She has experienced plenty of hardship just for being herself and is trying to build a safe space for her community online. Lanie loves the community of people she has found through her social media presence. Her corner of the internet is filled with others who, like her, never felt as if they belonged and are now able to celebrate being different.

Lanie Volant learned how to love expressing herself through beauty and art. Sharing her passions online has given her a new community of love and support. Being a role model for other Persian and LGBTQ+ people has given meaning to all of the difficult things she has been through… and she is only just getting started.