queer visibility

a blog dedicated to conversations of queer visibility; focusing on bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and demisexual erasure; focusing on POC sexualities, and their invisibility in comparison to white sexualities; considering who is repressed and who is celebrated; considering who is invisible and who is hypervisible.

[curseofthefae]

This is so very important.

[queerlyvisible]

On Celebration and Repression:

While homosexuality is not universally celebrated, accepted, or even remotely tolerated (in some places), there is a sharp contrast between sexualities that are deeemed worthy of celebration, and those that are constant repressed - in a word, those that are celebrated are the hypervisible, and those that are repressed are the invisible.

Above are two sets of pictures in conversation with each other: various gay pride celebrations, and the top Google search results for “ace/demi/pansexuality is...” Whereas gayness is a thing of a celebration, a thing of pride, other queer sexualities do not receive the same treatment. The narrative of ‘queerness as a sin’ is common among all non-heterosexual sexualities, but for asexuality, demisexuality, and pansexuality, another narrative has also become incredibly apparent: is my sexuality even real? 

This question is the result not only of lack of information due to erasure and invisibility, but also the result of repression and oppression. Gay pride is a time to celebrate homosexuality, and gay men in particular; meanwhile, non-gay and non-lesbian queer people often find themselves questioning everything about their sexual identity because they do not fit under the label of homosexual. Both inside and outside of the LGBTQ+ community, pansexuality, asexuality, and demisexuality are pushed aside to make room for gay men and lesbian women to celebrate their sexualities instead. 

In no way is this meant to say that pride shouldn’t happen, nor that gay men and lesbian women shouldn’t celebrate and be proud of who they are. Rather, it is quite simply this: queer sexuality can be very hard to come to terms with in a heteronormative society, and we should be giving bi/ace/pan/demisexual people the same amount of love and attention and understanding and celebration that we give to gay and lesbian people. When a queer person’s sexuality doesn’t line up with hypervisibile queer sexualities like lesbian or gay, even finding reassurance that their sexuality is real can be a difficult thing to come by - it’s imperative that those with non-gay and non-lesbian queer sexualities are given the opportunity to celebrate their sexuality, just as gay men and lesbian women are given the chance to celebrate theirs. 

[queerlyvisible]

The paradigm of gay liberation and emancipation has produced all sorts of troubling narratives: about the greater homophobia of immigrant communities and communities of color, about the stricter family values and mores in these communities, about a certain prerequisite migration from home, about coming-out teleologies… Queerness here is the modality through which ‘freedom from norms’ becomes a regulatory queer ideal that demarcates the ideal queer.

Jasbir Puar, Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times (p. 22)

[littlefear1]

Dan levy serving pansexual realness. 

[huffpost]

Stunning photos debunk the myth that queerness is “un-African.”

Mikael Chukwuma Owunna created “a queer African home for myself and others where we can be LGBTQ, African and whole.”

[queerlyvisible]

On Hypervisibility and Invisibility:

As per Megan Ryland’s “Hypervisibility: How Scrutiny and Surveillance Makes You Watched, but Not Seen”:

“Hypervisibility is a type of scrutiny based on perceived difference, which is usually (mis)interpreted as deviance” (Para. 2) Hypervisibility, perhaps the complete antithesis of invisibility, occurs when someone is not only seen by society because of a ‘perceived difference’, but is watched because of it. This can, for example, be attributed to gay men and lesbian women. Homosexuality is policed, surveyed, and closely watched, in many cases because of its apparent ‘deviance’.

“You are being looked at, sure, but you are being watched and judged, so it’s not kind of visibility that people tend to seek if given a choice.” (Para. 2) Hypervisibility and visibility are not equal to each other. In the case of queerness, gay men and lesbian women are hypervisible in a world where heterosexuality is visible - rather, where heterosexuality is the ‘default’. When someone does not conform to the ‘default’, they stand out from the crowd. This is where the hypervisibility of homosexuality comes from. However, only some sexualities are hypervisible. Whereas gay men and lesbian women are hypervisible, subject to stereotyping and tight policing, bi/ace/pan/demisexual individuals are made completely invisible. 

“If hypervisibility threatens overexposure and harsh scrutiny while invisibility enforces silence and erasure, marginalized groups are left in a precarious position. Visibility therefore becomes a double edged sword that seems dangerous to wield at times. Is it worth trying to be seen if it really just opens me up to be judged?” (Para.  8) There is an unfortunate narrative that often appears in the queer community, where it is said that bi/ace/pan/demisexual people should feel lucky that they aren’t visible, because their invisibility shields them from scrutiny, violence, etc. However, what many people fail to understand is the difference between visibility and hypervisibility: that some people can simply move through the world being seen, but not being watched. But Ryland poses an interesting question: “is it worth trying to be seen if it really just opens me up to be judged?” Do queer people of colour and non-gay non-lesbian queer people want to be visibile if it subjects them to the same harsh treatment that gay men and lesbian women receive?

“In fact, hypervisibility really is just another way to deny people recognition and the right to be truly seen. It is the trial by fire version of invisibility; instead of freezing you out, we’ll put you on the hot seat. It’s still not a place at the table.” (Para. 13) While hypervisibility and invisibility may be on opposite ends of the spectrum, what’s important to note is that they have the same effect, and are used for the same purpose: to shame, ignore, and eliminate. So, while those who are hypervisible may envy those who are invisible because they are not in the direct line of fire, and those who are invisible may envy those who are hypervisible because at least they are seen at all, both the invisible and the hypervisible are on the same side. It is not any better to be “put on the hot seat” than it is to have been “frozen out.”

[queerlyvisible]

cis lg tumblr: there is nothing good about being visible, hypervisibility literally kills us, you should stop complaining about not being visible because there are no privileges for being visible!!!

bi/aro/ace/nb tumblr: okay then can we have a name for our community which doesn't put you guys or anyone else at the front?

cis lg tumblr: new phone who dis

[cooldads]

i have seen 0 posts on my dash about pansexuality and the fact that it is hardly ever recognized in lgbtq+ posts, blogs, etc. so i thought i’d make one (ur welcome)

[queerlyvisible]

It's obvious, because of our sexuality, we've been treated as outcasts, to be gay or to be lesbian is not to be black. To be black is to be heterosexual.

Marlon Riggs, “Black Is...Black Ain’t” (1994)

[moca]

Quote excerpted from Marlon Riggs’s seminal film Tongues Untied, a deeply personal and lyrical exploration of black, gay identity in the United States.

The exhibition Tongues Untied at MOCA Pacific Design Center was named after the film and featured it alongside a selection of works from MOCA’s permanent collection by John Boskovich, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and others.

[vintagesalt-deactivated20181115]

Paris Is Burning || 1990

[amanitacaplan]

[queerlyvisible]

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (2013 - Present)

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has not only broken boundaries in representing queer sexualities, but POC sexualities as well. Rosa Diaz, a bisexual Latina character, came out in episodes “99″ and “Game Night.” What was almost revolutionary about this was the fact that the word ‘bisexual’ made multiple on-screen appearances - Rosa is bisexual, and says as much. 

The scene pictured above, from “Game Night,” is an incredibly important moment for both Rosa, and for bisexual viewers of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” Not only does Rosa come out to her parents as bisexual, but must deal with the aftermath of her parents not accepting her, and not believing that bisexuality is even real. This moment is paramount, for many reasons: one, bisexual viewers get to see themselves and their stories represented on-screen; two, through Rosa’s explanation of her sexuality, non-bisexual viewers gain an understanding of what bisexuality is; three, parents of bisexual children may gain an insight into the way society treats their child because of their sexuality. Bisexuality is often dismissed, called a ‘phase’ (as Rosa discusses above), or forced into invisibility by those who claim it doesn’t exist it all (like Rosa’s father). “Game Night” presents a way in which non-gay and non-lesbian sexualities can and should be treated in their media representation - concretely, firmly, and loudly. 

Not only is Rosa a bisexual character, but she is also a bisexual character of colour - to not acknowledge and discuss this would be to contribute to the invisibility that queer people of colour experience. While it is already uncommon enough to have bisexual representation in the media, and for the word ‘bisexual’ to even be said, it is rare to see a woman of colour discussing her queer sexuality so plainly and so openly. And yet, this is not the first time that “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has done this. Captain Raymond Holt, a Black gay character on the show, regularly discusses his struggles with being a Black, queer man on a police force - particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. Whereas other media forms fail to represent queerness in any capacity, let alone POC queerness, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” does so outright multiple times. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is an incredibly popular and successful television show, that discusses and explores issues like visibility in a realistic, yet comedic way. We can only hope to see other media taking some cues from the example that “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has set. 

[queerlyvisible]

photo by: sarah f.

[queerlection]

[Image description - Images of the omni, neutrois, androgyne, demiromantic, queer, demisexual, bigender, lithro and genderflux pride flags with the text: REMEMBER THE PLUS IN LGBT+. End description.]

[adora-korra]

i made a thing

flags in order: intersex, transgender, genderfluid, aromantic, asexual, pansexual, gay, bisexual.

[queerlyvisible]

Despite the fact that woman-bonding has a long and honorable history in the African and African-american communities, and despite the knowledge and accomplishments of many strong and creative women-identified Black women in the political, social and cultural fields, heterosexual Black women often tend to ignore or discount the existence and work of Black lesbians

Audre Lorde, “Age, Race, Class, and Sex” from Sister Outsider, page 121

While gay men and lesbian women are more highly visible than those who identify as bisexual, pansexual, demisexual, and sexual, it is important to consider queer visibility and race: white sexualities are more visible than POC sexualities.

In Audre Lorde’s chapter “Age, Race, Class, and Sex” from Sister Outsider, she not only discusses the invisibility that Black lesbians experience, but the invisibility that Black lesbians experience in communities of other Black women. Invisibility is not always a scenario of ‘us versus them’, but rather, one of being excluded and invisible inside of your own communities. For instance, asexual people often find themselves excluded from the LGBTQ+ community - some queer people and queer communities do not accept asexual people as one of their own. In the case of Lorde, it is the ignoring of Black lesbians by the Black community itself.

[janellepierzina]