Visibility is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the LGBTQ+ community. We had many conversations in the beginnings of Affirming Quakers that centered around providing visibility on our platform and why that was so important. So what is it?
Visibility is the state of being able to see or be seen, according to Oxford Languages dictionary. It seems so simple when you state it that way, but visibility can be a hard thing to come by in today’s world. Unless you are a cisgendered, straight, white male, it can be difficult to feel seen or to see others who look like you.
Wednesday with the Browns is a weekly posting segment we created in order to provide visibility for other Lesbian couples who might be in our community. We talked in our first post about how we spent so much time on social media or watching TV shows or YouTube videos that showcased other Lesbian couples. We were just trying to find other people who looked like us or lived a life like ours. We loved channels that showed couples doing “normal couple things,” like house projects, traveling, or taking care of their pets.
Visibility is an important topic to talk about specifically during Black History Month. It is so important for BIPOC to see themselves represented in their communities. As teachers, we always try to spotlight People of Color so that our Students of Color might be able to learn about someone who looks like them, or so that our other students can learn about people that might look different than them in an effort to bridge the gap that is so often created between races. We do our best at Affirming Quakers to platform BIPOC, as three quarters of our founding board are white women.
When you feel seen, or you see others who are like you, you feel less alone in this big world. When you see others who may be different from you living a life similar to yours, we don’t feel so different and disconnected after all. At the end of the day, each of us wants to feel like we belong. Feeling like you belong and feeling like others have a place in your community comes a lot easier when we have visibility.
So how can we make visibility happen? If you are in the LGBTQ+ community and feel safe and comfortable to share your lives on social media, or just in your own community, please do so! Hannah and I are teachers and our students know that we are a married couple and we share our lives with them in a way that is appropriate because we feel safe to do so. That is how we create visibility in our community. Be creative. If you are an ally and have a creative way to create visibility for an LGBTQ+ friend, relative, colleague, etc., please do so, in a way that is safe for them.
Visibility is important because it contributes to LGBTQ+ folk feeling like they belong in this world. It is a priority for us at Affirming Quakers to provide visibility, and we hope that, as members of this community, it is a priority for you as well!
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