Today we’d like to introduce you to Celine Manning.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Celine. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2016, I discovered that film and photography was a talent of mine that I did not even realize. My sophomore year of college was the year that I accepted that I had an eye for cinema. This epiphany later prompted me to call myself the “Goddess of Cinema.” Truly, I was gaining confidence when bookings started rolling in. Growing up, technology has always been something that was natural to me. I was always tech-savvy and where I am today correlates with the foundation of my upbringing. In 2015, I started to post YouTube videos. After posting a couple of videos and learning the ropes of a few video editing software, I found more confidence and began doing promotional videos for upcoming businesses. With only a cellphone, iMovie, and my vision, I became noticed by a large number of people. After a well-known company noticed my talent and offered me an internship, I had a strong feeling that I had a natural talent for creating content and making visions come true; then Celine Images was born.
Fast forward to 2019, after graduating from Florida State University, I decided to pursue my passion: Sex education. By mixing my passion for Sex educating and my talent in the area of Digital Media Production, I am truly walking in my purpose. This Summer, I decided to be brave and embrace a part of me that has been hiding from the world. My sexual side has always been repressed because many individuals still view this topic as something shameful. Although I do not attach shame to sex, it is still nerve-racking to be different when everyone (including your family) is watching you. I had to muster up a lot of courage to be able to publicly promote sex positivity and I am having so much fun with it. I feel free and I am able to express myself to others. I am proud that I am providing a space in which people feel open to share their experiences with me and with the world. This was a big change and adjustment for me, but I am understanding more with each day that passes that this change will prompt a transformative experience in each individual at a time.
Has it been a smooth road?
With my business, Celine Images is completely opposite of my challenges with being a sex educator. In videography and photography, it is a male-dominated industry and one of my biggest challenges with that is that I used to feel like people may view my work as less because I was female. I quickly learned to let my work speak for itself. When it comes to the human sexuality field, I realized I have officially stepped into a field that people are so nervous to talk about but yet sing it in songs every day. When I realized my passion and where I wanted to direct my efforts, I noticed people were very shocked about it. That feeling of possibly not being accepted was a big fear, but it does not matter because I can not live a fulfilled life with a piece of me missing.
Another challenge I faced is being hyper-sexualized by men. They listen to you talking about sex every day and they believe that it becomes open territory for unsolicited penis pictures and the occasional you must be a freak DM. Oh and boy oh boy, did I lose some followers! I realized not many people are open to sex humor and sex education and that is okay! However, it can be very discouraging when you know your purpose is to benefit the world in a positive way. I have to accept that I am doing something very different and people may not be receptive to it. It is up to me to start shifting the mindsets of people around me and around the world. Sex has been around forever and there still so much to learn. And I am ready to teach! Advice that I will give young women is to not allow someone to step on your purpose before you step into your purpose. In other words, try your hardest not to let outsiders influence your path. If you feel a pull, make sure you push. Push through all the negativity, push through doubts you are having, Know that faith will keep you going. Push push push and keep pushing! No pun intended.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Celine Images | Sexuality and Pleasure Educator Celine Manning story. Tell us more about the business.
Celine Images films and edits videos for weddings, events, marketing videos for companies, documentaries and much more related productions. My brand has been developed by my presence at my university. I have held leadership positions in many student organizations. These student organizations aided to my personable personality and also my ability to be a leader in any capacity. I also interned for FSU Men’s Basketball team as the Video Intern where I gained skills in video production for social media purposes. My proudest achievement was when I received an award for the Best Long light feature on the First Four African American Football players at Florida State University for the Florida Associated Press award (2019). Another proud achievement of mine is completing a documentary in which I was the Producer, Cinematographer, Editor and one of the lead stars. I worked with a team of determined classmates and the hard work and sleepless nights in both productions were well worth it for my growth in Digital media.
Shrink documentary
The First Four Sod Talk Legends
As a Sex Educator, I spread healthy conversations surrounding taboo topics about sex and sexuality that affects us on a daily basis. Using Digital Media, I create sex educational videos on my social media platforms. When people watch my videos, they are inspired by my unconventional willingness to put myself out there for a greater cause. I plan workshops that promote sexual health, sexual confidence, sexploration. I believe what sets me apart is that I encourage people to be free and to feel liberated. My goal is to make my audience feel like I am their big sister or that cool auntie that they never knew they wanted or needed. I use entertaining humor as a stepping stone towards conveying important messages.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
The biggest barrier today to female leadership, in general, is that women are confused about’how’ we should balance our projection between stern and kind. That perfect balance is expected upon women, and that pressure in itself is a mental barrier. It gets tricky when you don’t find that balance and you get labeled emotional or reactive. It’s a common belief in our world that emotionally reactive people don’t make great leaders when in my opinion, that’s not necessarily the case. It all depends on how effective your method of channeling your emotions is. The best way to channel your emotions for great benefit is to yourself, as well as whom you are leading. But how can we do that effectively when the world may view it as weak?
The barriers to female leadership most times have nothing to do with the emotions some may express, but more so the way society views emotional beings as “lack thereof’ or inadequate.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.celineimages.com
- Phone: 9316323049
- Email: contact.celineimages@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamcelinem_?igshid=1l9ji25lfuxet
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamcelinem/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SexwithCeline
- Other: https://instagram.com/celineimages?igshid=1cp72smpg3t0g
Image Credit:
@celineimages
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