She used to be a magazine editor, then moved writing to the Internet. The 38-year-old published her first book this fall. A conversation about expectations that are too high and about personal things that she would rather not talk about on social media.
I'm a "sunglasses junkie", laughs Christl Clear as she puts on her nude cat-eye glasses. Christl, whose real name is Christiana, admits right at the beginning of our meeting that she has just received bad news privately. A planned project does not work out yet. You have to get rid of that briefly before we start the interview.
So straightforward and honest The 38-year-old Viennese is known from Instagram: There Christl Clear talks in a good mood - and mostly in top style - about her everyday life between appointments and photo shoots and also says when she and her husband Markus have unnecessarily struggled again.
Her openness is well received: Thousands of people now follow the former lifestyle editor on the social platform. Another thing that Christl is valued for by her community is that she too serious and feminist issues an opinionHas. The blogger has now packed her thoughts in a book. In "Let me be Christl Clear", the 38-year-old gives instructions in an entertaining way to deal with yourself and others in a self-determined manner - and in some cases allows even more insight into her private life, as she explains in an interview with WOMAN.
WOMAN: Right on the first page of your book, you write that you hate expectations. Aren't these inevitable when working on projects?
CLEAR: I already have expectations of myself - but really only of myself. Because I believe that if we didn't all expect too much from people and situations, some of which we have no control over, we would be better off. Then everything would be a little more relaxed.
Do you have the feeling that a lot is expected of female influencers in particular?
CLEAR: Yes, but it's no different from real life - more is asked of women than men. We can afford far fewer mistakes. With male influencers they say "went bad", with women the news is much more emotional and often below the belt when something inappropriate is posted.
A German influencer was recently criticized for being insensitive to the incidents in Afghanistan. She wanted to create awareness for the topic, but combined it with advertising. On the other hand, there are those who do not express themselves politically at all. What is better?
CLEAR: I understand that it irritates some people when people with a high reach do not comment on political incidents. That's why I have already unfollowed someone. Nevertheless, it is your decision how you use your platform. We always have to remember that we don't know what is going on privately in the background. It is often very easy to judge someone.
“More is asked of women than men. We can afford a lot less."
You don't talk about everything on Instagram that concerns you privately either - you only discuss your desire to have children in the book
CLEAR: Yes. I think I'm not going to talk about it so openly online because this platform is too unpredictable for that. For a long time I wasn't sure whether and how I would put it in the book, because I want to pick up women who are the same as me. So I thought, why don't I just take what thoughts I wrote down during this time. Now it's very personal and approachable.
It's the only chapter where you're not looking at the male perspective. When it comes to fertility, men are often left out of the picture, and women are first expected to get checked out
CLEAR: That's right, but it's a very personal subject and I didn't want to pick up anything that wasn't on my notes. These are my thoughts when I was sitting in the waiting room or when I came home from what felt like the 1000th examination. I couldn't look at it from a male point of view. My husband Markus experienced everything very differently. It is partly a question of helplessness because only a few men deal with the issue of fertility before they have to. It can be a huge burden on us women.
You write that women generally sacrifice themselves too much. When did you become aware of this?
CLEAR: There were many conversations with my sister and friends in which we realized how tired we all are. Because we shovel everything and we are expected to fix it as women. And we do it too! Many sacrifice themselves because they have been socialized that way. It’s awesome!
It is also typical to do something out of sheer politeness. The situation when you sat out on a bad date describes that well. How do you learn to just walk in such cases?
CLEAR: You have to ask yourself: why am I doing this to myself? For what? To say no, I'm too bad for that, also does something to self-worth - and that's ultimately what it's about. Saying no is a matter of practice! At some point you realize that nothing happens when you leave, and then you do it more often.
So do you see your book as a guide to self-help?
CLEAR: I don't want to stand up and say I wrote a book that will rip you all out. If you can take something with you, fine! If not, you at least read briefly and didn't look at your cell phone. (laughs)
